good m ready, set, space launch. virgin galactic set to make history. a former nasa astronaut joins us live on what this ground-breaking flight means for the future of space travel. hotel arrests. authorities seizing rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammo just a block from the mlb all-star events in denver. the investigation this morning. delta variant spreading. the states seeing spikes. some asking will it be back to wearing masks indoors? the u.s. surgeon general joins us live. wildfire explodes. the biggest blaze of the year in

the pope's message. pope francis delivering his weekly blessing from the hospital after he recovers from our report from rome. haiti turmoil. the nation on the brink. >> look at the bullet holes in the building there. >> our report from haiti as we hear from the wife of the assassinated president. britney's battle. the new allegations as she fights for control of her own life. the claim from her personal conservator about britney's dad. and sports-a-palooza. overnight top athletes shine at the espy awards. >> i really love you guys. >> argentina winning the copa america. italy takes on england in the euro championship. and djokovic versus berritini at wimbledon. and the bucks hoping to eclipse the suns in game three.

hey, good morning. happy sunday. we begin with a historic day in space travel. it is here. the day we've been talking about all week. virgin galactic getting ready for a ground-breaking flight. >> billionaire richard branson set to lift off in a spacecraft he built, changing the face of space travel. >> and abc's transportation correspondent gio benitez is right there in new mexico awaiting the highly anticipated launch. gio, good morning. >> reporter: hey, whit, good morning to you. we are getting closer and closer to that launch. already here a little bit of drama overnight. some winds delayed that launch but the skies are looking clear. so far still a go for launch. >> my mission statement is to turn the dream of space travel into a reality. >> reporter: this morning richard branson preparing to become the first person to go to space aboard his own spaceship. >> shimmy like twhe llingo. how does that feel?

>> reporter: branson and his crew of five getting an early look saturday at the spaceship unity, which will launch him into history this morning. the billionaire making it a huge production, even setting up a concert stage with pop star khalid performing during the launch. and people are showing up in droves to witness virgin's monumental moment. ann marie and george reckentine of new york were driving in their rv when they heard about the launch and turned around. >> there's so much out there and this is part of it. it's awesome. >> reporter: and now what's been dubbed the billionaire space race is getting friendlier. jeff bezos set to launch in just nine days on his blue origin ship posting this on instagram, wishing you and the whole team a successful and safe flight. best of luck. branson commenting on the post, thanks, jeff, for your kind words. best to you. and spacex founder elon musk whose crew dragons have already launched ten astronauts to the international space station with a surprise tweet, we'll see you there to wish you the best.

overnight branson posting this video about when he was first asked about wanting to go to space in 1988. >> i'd love to go into space. i think there could be nothing nicer. so if you're building a spacecraft, i'd love to come with you on it. >> reporter: and branson has but before the launch even happens, the mission already inspiring people like george and ann marie to dream. >> what kind of things is this technology going to unleash? are we going to be able to transport? i don't have to drive eight hours to get here. >> yeah. >> i could just hop in a time machine and get there. >> reporter: i like the way they think. take a look at this right now because richard branson just tweeted out this photo with spacex founder elon musk. he is here at space port america to watch that launch and you can watch it right now also on our streaming network, abc newslive. eva. >> really a historic day that we'll all be able to watch unfold. gio benitez, thanks so much. let's bring in former nasa astronaut and abc news contributor katie coleman.

so good to see you this morning. this is a crazy exciting day. walk us through what these passengers are going to experience today. i know you've been to space several times. walk us through exactly what somebody's body goes through on a flight like the one they're going on today. >> i first just have to say that there's nothing like waking up in the morning knowing that today is the day you're going to space. i mean, as a real person having that happen, when they actually -- they're fueling right now. they'll go out to the craft. there's about a 40-minute, you know, getting up to altitude where the spaceship is released. its rocket motor fire and they're sort of slammed into their seats until the gs build until about 3 1/2 gs, twice what you would feel at an amusement park and suddenly as they arc up over the top there's -- as soon as that engine cuts off, that rocket engine that's pushing them then suddenly it's zero g and that's the sensation, you know, of floating. they can unstrap, but the biggest thing is going to be

looking at the view. seeing the earth from that far away. it's going to be amazing. and then as soon -- now you're in an arc. they're coming then down a few minutes later. they'll start to feel those gs. strap in. that's when they'll feel the gs, meaning that sensation. i say like it's a gorilla sitting on your chest, a big one. that's when they'll feel that. on the way down, not for very long. then just come in for a landing and be changed forever, i think. >> and i'm curious from your perspective, what do you think this means for the future of space travel? >> i think it means everything. and i'll say that no matter how things are going today and whether even for weather or whatever, they're not launching, technical difficulties, it's clear that we have the capability here on earth for people to leave the planet and that we have companies and different people thinking differently to bring more people up there. and not just about the people that get to go, but i think it changes the mindset down here,

especially for young people that they can do anything. >> that's so true. they can do anything. now we can go to space. one day we may even be able to go further in space. katie coleman, thank you so much for being with us this morning. dan? >> thank you, eva. we'll talk about a science story decidedly less happy science story with the latest on the pandemic. cases are rising and so is the concern about the delta variant that is spreading across the country. some hospitals are now facing supply shortages yet again and abc's trevor ault has more. >> reporter: this morning the delta variant accelerating across america driving up daily covid caseloads in an alarming 25 states. in missouri the department of health sounding the alarm about widespread infection. health officials are warning the variant is moving from rural parts of missouri into more populated areas. springfield's mercy hospital borrowing ventilators and pleading for more respiratory therapists to treat more covid patients than they've ever had before.

>> we're seeing a lot more intubations this go-around, younger people that are getting this delta variant. >> reporter: in arkansas, a state with one of the lowest vaccination rates, cases have increased a staggering 110% over the past two weeks. the governor now hitting the road, urging everyone to get the shot, but especially young people. >> those who are going to hospital now, the average age has gone down ten years. >> reporter: and joining the calls for vaccination more people who barely survived the virus. wisconsin father mike barry spent nearly six months in the hospital. he was resuscitated twice and even in a coma before finally coming home. >> you need to protect yourself from the virus so you don't go through what i went through. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: mike was welcomed back with a parade this weekend. his family even going back to the icu to visit and thank the workers who kept him alive.

and alongside those growing covid caseloads, we're also seeing hospitalizations climb back up in particularly unvaccinated areas. over the past two weeks in oklahoma and nevada covid hospitalizations have jumped 90% or more. whit? >> definitely a troubling sign. trevor ault for us, thank you so much. for more on all this, let's bring in dr. vivek murthy, the u.s. surgeon general. dr. murthy, good morning to you. it's good to have you here on a sunday. so with the rise of the delta variant, some health experts are now predicting we will once again have to wear masks indoors and bring back some restrictions in the u.s. other countries are already doing this. do you think we're heading in that direction? >> whit, good morning. i'm very concerned about the rise in the delta variant. we are seeing increases in cases in many states across the country. but it's important to note one critical thing here, which is that these increases are happening particularly in unvaccinated populations. and the deaths that we're seeing now, the vast majority of them, more than 99% are in

unvaccinated populations. so the bottom line from delta is get vaccinated. it's the best way to protect yourself. now, as far as masks are concerned, at this point we're not anticipating the cdc will change its guidance to recommend universal masking in public places for the whole country. but certain localities may make a decision to change their mask guidance, depending on their circumstances, specifically whether they have high or low vaccination rates and whether they're seeing significant local transmission of the virus. the bottom line is that the science on masking is telling us that your risk of getting infected or transmitting the infection is low if you're fully vccinated, that means two weeks past your last dose. but, again, with that said, some people may make the decision they want to continue masking, especially if they live in one of these environments where there's a lot of local spread, or if they live with somebody who is unvaccinated or if they themselves are immunocompromised. and that's perfectly fine, but the bottom line is we've got to stay vigilant. we got to get vaccinated as

quickly as possible because that remains the best way to protect ourselves from covid. particularly delta variant. >> now, the cdc is out with new guidelines for schools specifically, which say fully vaccinated teachers and students do not have to wear masks indoors. but it will mostly be up to the schools to actually make their own rules. what do you say to parents and teachers who worry this could lead to confusion and just a patchwork of different policies across the country? >> well, first i want to say as a parent of two young kids who r vaccination because of their age, i can absolutely relate to parents who are concerned about their kids because there's nothing more important than protecting the health of our children. what the cdc announced this week in its new guidance is a recognition of two critical points. one is the importance of having our kids back in school to optimize their learning and development. the second is the importance of protecting our children, especially the unvaccinated and to do that using layers of protection. so what the cdc is now recommending to schools is that

they consider implementing a number of these layers, which include masking, surveillance testing weekly, ventilation, hand hygiene, keeping kids home who are sick and distancing whenever possible. now, it's possible if a school is in an area where vaccination rates are high and infection rates are low, then it may be able to gradually one by one peel back these layers, but the bottom line and the key message is to proceed with caution. we've got to protect our kids and right now for all those kids like mine and millions out there who don't have the chance to get vaccinated, they rely on us taking these precautions. they also rely on people getting vaccinated around them who are eligible because we serve as a barrier to infection, and that's another important way of protecting our children. >> some of those schools opening up in just a matter of weeks. dr. murthy, thank you for your time this morning. we appreciate it. >> eva. now to the arrests made in denver as the city plays host to the mlb all-star events. police seizing more than a dozen

guns and lots of ammunition at a hotel. abc's will carr has more for us this morning. good morning to you, will. >> reporter: good morning, eva. this hotel is just a block away from coors field where all-star festivities are kicking off a little bit later today. authorities say they arrested four suspects all in their 40s who had more than a dozen long guns, body armour and more than a thousand rounds of ammunition on the eighth floor of the maven hotel in downtown denver. they say they got a tip after a housekeeper found a rifle in one of the hotel rooms and according to our affiliate kmgh, one of the suspects recently got divorced and said, quote, he wanted to go out in a big way. this comes just a week after another housekeeper in chicago reported finding a rifle in a hotel room overlooking the city's lakefront. after the las vegas massacre, hotels have been extra vigilant about keeping an eye out for suspicious activity. now, we don't know if this incident was linked to the all-star festivities, but we do know that tens of thousands

of people are going to be in denver over the next three days. with that amount of firepower, that housekeeper deserves a lot of credit for spotting that gun. dan? >> absolutely. scary situation. will carr, thank you very much. we'll turn to a volatile situation in haiti after the assassination of the president there. the former first lady is now speaking out for the first time since being wounded in that attack, and abc's marcus moore is in port-au-prince with the very latest on a nation in turmoil. marcus, good morning. >> reporter: dan, good morning. the streets of port-au-prince were largely calm overnight, and we have seen people start to get back to their regular lives, there's still a lot at stake here amidst a world of uncertainty. this morning haiti facing a struggle for power, while the country attempts to return to some form of normalcy, there are new concerns the country could descend further into chaos. haiti's leaders asked the u.s. to send troops to help protect critical infrastructure and to keep the peace. so do you still want u.s. troops here? >> i think it's a yes because

we beyond that assassination, beyond the mercenaries, there was another issue of what we called urban terrorism. >> reporter: but this morning white house officials say there are no plans to send any troops. the fbi and the department of homeland security are sending agents to help investigate wednesday's attack that authorities say was followed by a shootout between the suspects and police. this is what's left. all the shattered glass. look at the bullet holes in the building. as you come this way, you can see the charred remains there. and you can even smell it. this is where everything ended. authorities have arrested at least 20 people including two americans. according to officials they said they were brought on as translators and that the plan was to arrest the president, not now we are also hearing from haiti's former first lady for the first time since her husband's death. [ speaking foreign language ] in an audio message martine moise says, i am alive, thank

god, but i have lost my husband jovenel. mercenaries entered our house and riddled my husband with bullets. haitsdz haiti's minister of elections say he and the prime minister plan to travel to miami to visit the former first lady as she recovers in the hospital. as for the investigation, authorities still have not revealed who they believe orchestrated the attack or why. >> whit. >> so many questnse way forward. marcus moore for us, thank you so much. we do turn to rome where just a short while ago the pope gave his weekly blessing from the hospital. abc's maggie rulli is right there with the story. maggie, good morning. >> reporter: hey, whit, good morning. you know, it was really special to be there to see the pope come out on the balcony outside his hospital. i was waiting with the crowds as they were praying and singing. but the moment he walked out, everyone just erupted into cheers. many screaming -- [ speaking foreign language ] long live the pope. but this was the first time the public has been able to see the

pope in exactly one week. that's when he went in for that surgery on his intestine right after last week's prayers on sunday, so for many, they were looking to make sure he was okay. but the good news is that by all accounts, he looked healthy. he was standing on his own. he was reciting prayers in a loud, powerful voice. and he was even smiling, and he took the time to thank people for their prayers this week, and he also brought in a few children who were patients in the hospital to stand by his side. what was so special about the prayer today is that it means so much to so many people. we had the chance to meet people in the crowd. we met one family from america, they're from washington state. they were there in rome on vacation. they said they had to see the pope today because for them this is so important. the pope is about more than just religion. the pope is someone who unites millions of people from around the world. dan. >> maggie, thank you very much. from rome to our own home grown italian stallion, robert marciano. i believe marciano means martian in italian. >> yes, so there is a downfall. in spanish it means martian. good morning, guys. look, we've been talking about

the heat and the fires in the west all week long, and this fire, the beckworth fire, just north of lake tahoe which has been growing at about 20,000 acres a day, evacuations in place, now we're getting these still images out of the ap, they're just frightening. structures and cars that have been torn up and burned. you see the activity with this fire. it continues to grow with only 9% containment at this point. wildfire right now. california - we also have the bootleg fire just north in oregon. 76,000 acres burning there. 41 large fires in total in the west. plus another 8 in alaska. the drought obviously not happening here or not helping. 83% of the western u.s. in severe to exceptional drought. this big dome of high pressure continues to bake eight states in this heat wave. 29 million people under heat alerts. and we could see records fall in redding and sacramento and salt lake city today. we're peaking today and tomorrow we start to wayne a little but still well above

good sunday morning. a finger of fog drifting into the east bay valleys allowing for a bit of a cool down. certainly having the cooler air along the coast and bay. excessive heat inland. over 100 degrees. mild to warm weather breezy winds kicking up in the afternoons. 70s, oakland. 90s the santa rosa. 102 in antioch. 100, livermore. speaking of italians, italy takes on england today in the euro cup. >> that's right. >> i'll be watching. >> i'll be rooting for italy. >> you better be, or you're going to have some relatives hunting you down. >> and on that note it is a big weekend for soccer fans. overnight argentina beating out brazil to become copa american champions. argentina edging out its rival, 1-0. star lionel messi winning his first major title for his home country and just hours away

from the euro championship game. all eyes are on wembley stadium. england gets home field advantage against italy. abc's julia macfarlane is there with a preview. i'm sure it's full of excitement in england this morning. hey, julia. >> reporter: eva, look, not that you can tell, england is holding its breath for tonight.no66e th team won a major championship. but tonight could be the night as england go head-to-head with italy. around 60,000 fans are expected to be here at wembley stadium. queen elizabeth, who is home in windsor castle, with a special message to the england boys tonight saying, i send my good wishes with the hope that history will record not only your success, but also the spirit, commitment and pride with which you have conducted yourselves. now, you're right, it's a huge moment of excitement for these two countries. both the uk and italy have had a devastating year with coronavirus. both have had the highest death tolls in europe at different periods.

now, with national lockdowns, travel restrictions and all sorts of challenges getting in the way of training, both teams have come through an awful lot to make it here to this point, but football euphoria could further exacerbate the new wave of covid-19. italy and england dealing with rising cases, largely down to the deltvarit. epemiolostare warning bo fuel its spread among younger mostly male adults. fears here in london that it could be more than just football coming home but covid. eva. >> julia macfarlane for us there, thank you. you can watch the euro final at 3:00 p.m. eastern on espn with pregame coverage starting earlier on espn2. we know who my husband will be cheering for. >> england. >> he's losing his mind already. >> eva married to a brit. while we're talking sports, i actually have something to add here. you can watch game three of the nba finals as the bucks try to come back from a two-game deficit against the suns. that's tonight at 8:00

right here on abc, and i'll be live tweeting it as well. it's going to be a home run. >> you'll be streaming "the crown" tonight. >> yeah. all right, we do have a lot to get to here on "gma." new details in britney spears' fight to end her conservatorship. how much of the star's money her personal conservator says jamie spears has used to keep control of his daughter's finances. plus, a showdown in the texas statehouse over election restrictions. also one other shorts thing to tell you about, the espys were last night. we've got the big moments on the stage and on the red carpet right after this. "good morning america" is sponsored by state farm. like a good neighbor, state farm is there. jake from state farm, i'd like to formally extend my gratitude for the russell rate on my insurance. do you mean surprisingly great rates from state farm? i don't believe in accepting help. but i'll make an exception. here's the deal russell, there's no special rate. these prices are for everyone. with the oak and the eagle as witness, consider us square.

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welcome the rainbow. taste the rainbow. from prom dresses to workouts and new adventures you hope the more you give the less they'll miss. but even if your teen was vaccinated against meningitis in the past they may be missing vaccination for meningitis b. although uncommon, up to 1 in 5 survivors of meningitis will have long term consequences. now as you're thinking about all the vaccines your teen might need make sure you ask your doctor if your teen is missing meningitis b vaccination. delicia: this is where all our recycling is sorted -- 1.2 million pounds every day, helping to make san francisco the greenest big city in america. but that's not all you'll find here. there are hundreds of good-paying jobs, with most new workers hired from bayview-hunter's point.

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h street. crews say fireworks were going off all last night in this area. firefighters were busy putting out a fire nearby when they got the call about this house fire. they say it's unlikely fireworks causes fire, or it could be likely that they did. let's get a look at the forecast. foggy in the city. you can tell it's d., over 1000 feet the temperatures in the 50s. where it was warmer yesterday, we are in the 60s. we are in the 60s in the city. 70s across the bay.

we have to we have to go back to where it all started. >> where did you think i was all this time? welcome back to "gma" on a sunday morning. marvel's "black widow" dominating the box office in a big way this weekend. shattering pandemic era records, on track to collect nearly 88 million bucks in its opening weekend. i think eva is still the only of the three of us who has seen it yet. >> we're getting there. >> we're delinquents, you and i. >> it's good. how did i become the first in the mcu group to be watching this? i would never have guessed that. >> you win the nerd award. let's turn to some of the other big stories we're following here this morning. happening right now, 86 bodies have now been pulled from the condominium collapse in

surfside, florida. another 43 people are still unaccounted for. and even though authorities say there's no longer any chance of life in that rubble, crews remain under pressure to find victims for the sake of their families. california's biggest wildfire of the year has doubled in size this weekend. the beckworth complex fire north of lake tahoe is showing no sign of slowing down. flames jumped a highway and are now threatening homes in nevada. in happier news, guys, i'm just bursting with sports stuff to tell you this morning. history on the sidelines happening at wimbledon. that's where they play tennis. today a croatian, marija cicak, is going to be the first women in the tournament's history to umpire the men's final at the all england club. they announced her selection on saturday. >> your sports broadcasting this morning right on point. >> yes. >> everybody loves it. all right. we do start this half hour with britney spears. the pop star reportedly taking an important step in the battle

more on that story. faith, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, whit. now that britney spears is finally speaking up for herself, we're seeing this blame game happening between the very people the courts have put in charge of her life. this morning serious new allegations in the ongoing saga surrounding britney spears' wishes to control her own life. e toxic ♪ in newly filed documents obtained by "people" magazine, spears' personal conservator jodi montgomery telling the court the pop star's father has used, quote, more than $2 million of his daughter's money spending it to defend himself in court and in the public eye as he allegedly fights to become the sole conservator of britney's estate. the accusations come after spears recently asked a judge to terminate the legal arrangement. >> when you think about a conservatorship, usually it's for elderly people, someone that has dementia or alzheimer's or someone who has a developmental or an intellectual disability. none of that applies to britney

spears. ♪ i call the shots ♪ >> reporter: the singer just last month saying in dramatic testimony that the 13-year conservatorship has been abusive. those involved controlling every part of her life including how much of her own money she can spend and forcing her to use birth control. her father, jamie spears, denying those claims. telling the judge he's concerned that montgomery, the personal conservator does not reflect his daughter's wishes. montgomery firing back in the new documents writing that the new comments are ironic since, quote, it's no secret that ms. spears has wished her father out of her life for years. >> we're learning lots of facts about what's been going on for the last 13 years and it's not pretty. >> reporter: montgomery sharing screen shots of text messages she says were from britney, telling her, quote, i need you to stay as my co-conservator of person. i'm asking for your assistance in getting a new attorney. and recently jamie spears filed his own court document opposing montgomery's request for $50,000 a month from britney's estate to cover security costs. both sides say they've been getting death threats.

abc news reached out to their representatives but have not yet heard back. eva? >> faith abubey for us. this story, lots of details continue to come out. so many people following it. let's switch gears and talk about the weather. i was hoping you were going to have something pretty behind you. but it doesn't look like it. >> what exactly is that? and it's not a beauty shot. no. it's one of seven tornadoes that touched down yesterday, this one in illinois. we had over 100 reports of damaging severe weather including trees down in parts of nebraska. we highlighted lincoln in the last segment. omaha seeing some damage yesterday and trees down. all right. today it's going to be from parts of new mexico, santa fe, down to the mexican border. san angelo, south of dallas. get part of the metroplex in there into shreveport as well. stretching into mississippi. the threat today will be damaging winds, large hail. can't rule out a tornado, although the atmosphere isn't quite set up for that. but we'll probably see storms with rough winds.

some will stretch all the way to the ohio river valley. good morning. the bay shoreline escaping the worst of the heat. today in the 70s. a nice afternoon in oakland. this weather report has been this weather report has been sponsored by ozempic. >> you know what's galling? i just watch him -- >> galling? >> i watch him do the weather with such, you know, enthusiasm. and then i ask him is it going to rain in my backyard barbecue today, and he says, and i'm quoting here, tbd. >> yeah, well -- >> look, you got -- >> it's not a personalized forecast just for you. >> right. i cover the big picture, the lifesaving important stories. your life, not so important. [ laughter ] >> that's on -- we were recording, right? >> i'm kidding. that's on tape. can we redo that? >> all right. thank you, rob. i appreciate that. you won't be back ever again. anyway, coming up on

"gma," the storm brewing in texas, see what i did there, over voting rights. why we could see lawmakers walk out of the chamber and what this means for the rest of the country. and then honors in the sports world, the big winners at the espy awards. winners at the espy awards. espy awards. struggling to manage my type 2 diabetes was knocking me out of my zone, but lowering my a1c with once-weekly ozempic® helped me get back in it. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic® ♪ my zone? lowering my a1c and losing some weight. now, back to the show. ozempic® is proven to lower a1c. most people who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. and you may lose weight. adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away

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now to politics and the battle over voting rights, the possibility of another mass walkout by democrats is hanging over a special legislative session in texas as republicans try again to pass new voting restrictions. hundreds of people waited for hours at the state capitol to testify against the plans, which would ban 24-hour polling places, ban drop boxes and end drive-through voting. democrats staged a legislative walkout in may to temporarily block action on new restrictions. since then republicans have dropped demands to ban sunday morning voting when many black churchgoers go to the polls and a provision to make it easier to overturn elections. at the same time texas authorities are accusing a houston man who stood in line to vote for six hours last year of voting illegally. hervis rogers' determination to vote went viral on social media and now

prosecutors say he was on parole for a burglary conviction 46 when he cast his vote in the primary election. a conviction could lead to 2 to 20 years in prison. rogers got out on bail tuesday. he is being represented by the aclu of texas. >> for more on this, and there's a lot to talk about here, let's bring in an ace, abc news deputy political director averi harper. good morning. >> good morning. >> this is a big fight in texas over voting rights, and what impact do you think this will have on the national picture because there's a lot of fighting going on in washington, too. >> this is really just the latest state to be in the spotlight over restrictive voting legislation. this is a continuation of the battle that we've seen waged in states across the country. the difference though in texas is that democrats and civil rights leaders are fighting this battle with fewer tools in their arsenal after the supreme court voted to uphold restrictive voting measures in arizona that advocates called discriminatory on the basis of race. so we know that the president is going to speak out about this. he has plans to go to philadelphia and speak about voting rights. it remains to be seen if public pressure is enough to make any

changes in any of these states or in washington. >> speaking of joe biden, the binews oadimir, the ssn present, andd a these kind of hack attacks that have been emanating allegedly from russia and focusing on american entities and american companies. i gu i hear this is how much teeth -- how much -- are there any teeth in these threats? how much leverage do we have? >> right. well, the main line of response has been sanctions. the white house has indicated and signaled that the response might go beyond that. they stopped short of telling us exactly what their plans and actions are. they say some of the actions will be more visible, the others more covert. but we don't know exactly what's going to happen, so they say that thor's going to be implementing that plan in the next days and weeks. that's something we'll be watching. >> the stakes are incredibly high. for sure. averi, great to see you on a sunday morning. and be sure to watch "this week" later this morning.

george stephanopoulos is going to interview dr. anthony fauci about the surging delta variant and the cdc's new guidance on re-opening schools. plus, new york city democratic mayoral nominee eric adams on his primary victory. and we will be right back with "pop news." we're on the red carpet at the espy awards with all the highlights, keep it here. >> today is our anniversary. t h. a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. nucala reduces eosinophils, a key cause of severe asthma. nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala. find your nunormal with nucala. [swords clashing] - had enough? - no... arthritis. here. new aspercreme arthritis. full prescription-strength? reduces inflammation? ds

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prevagen. healthier brain. better life. ♪ time for "pop news" and mona kosar abdi is in for janai this morning. as we always say going into "pop news," what's popping? >> ooh, what's popping? i see that. what's popping is we'll start with the big event overnight, of course, i'm talking about the espys. le noon w or t first

time in over two decades, and i was on the red carpet. overnight the biggest names in sports gathering once again. >> and the espy goes to -- >> reporter: the espys recognizing an unforgettable year by highlighting hope and inspiration during a time of uncertainty. >> zalia avant-garde in the building! >> reporter: host anthony mackie inviting 14-year-old spelling whiz and basketball prodigy zalia avant-garde as his personal guest. >> who do you want to detonight? >> naomi osaka. i'm really excited to meet her. >> reporter: zalia there to witness this moment. >> and the espy goes to naomi osaka. >> reporter: naomi osaka taking home an espy for best female athlete. >> it's been really tough for a lot of us, and for me i just want to say i really love you guys, and this is my first espys. so it's really cool to be surrounded by all these incredible athletes. >> reporter: stars like tom

brady, brianna stewart and stephen curry taking home the top awards. this year's jimmy v. award for perseverance presented to chris nikic. [ applause ] he became the first person with down's syndrome to complete an iron man finishing the race 14 minutes before the allotted 17 hours were up. >> it's easy to make excuses and quit. i don't do excuses, and i don't quit. [ applause ] >> reporter: "gma's" own robin roberts taking the espy stage to present the arthur ashe courage award, which she won herself in 2013, passing the torch on to this year's winner. >> she walked away from the game to dedicate her life to fighting for an injustice she refused to let stand. >> reporter: wnba star maya moore, who helped free jonathan irons, a wrongfully incarcerated man from a missouri prison, a man moore would go on to marry.

>> one of the best ways that we role model this is by being honest about our own humanity first. >> just an incredible night. and if you guys remember, it was right here on "good morning america" that anthony mackie personally invited zalia to be his guest. both of them from new orleans. i tried to get street cred by saying n'awlins, and they told me to cut it out. while i work on that the good news keeps coming for spelling bee champ zalia avant-garde, also an accomplished basketball player, getting this message from the wnba commissioner. >> we thought a fun way to celebrate your amazing win and accomplishments to date would by joining us at this year's commissioner's cup championship in the phoenix, arizona in august. i know the wnba players would love to see you and a family member there. >> oh, i just know that she's going to be really excited about that message. now we also know that she has been offered a full scholarship to lsu. she is one to look out for. and we will keep up with her.

the stars of "mad men," are reuniting as well, but not in the advertising boardroom. jon hamm and john slattery starred in the amc hit drama series that ran for seven seasons ending in 2015. now they'll be both appearing in a reboot of sorts of the movie "fletch" called "confessed fletch." it's based on the mystery novel series that inspired those hilarious chevy chase films. hamm will be playing fletch, the investigative reporter trying to clear his name in a murder investigation. and finally, speaking of men, we look at why men enjoy eating meat. and it may not have anything to do with taste. a new study done by ucla found that men have a tendency to eat meat so that they are perceived as manly. the study finding it affirms their masculine identity. men who often eat fish and pork the findings may help encourage men to switch to meat-free diets. so which would you guys i can't speak for the steak.

i don't know if it's well done. >> we know where the vegan stands on this. >> look, i'm comfortable with my masculinity. i don't eat steak. i don't watch sports. >> and you drink fruity drinks. >> thank you, mona. >> rob's in here stealing the steak. >> i'm going to stick with the salad. >> here comes mr. masculinity himself. >> i actually like the steak. i will never take the salad over a steak. >> i believe it was fletch who said i'll have a steak sandwich and a steak sandwich. >> why can't have you your cake and eat it too? why can't you have your steak and eat it too? >> that's right. we can. >> fair point. >> mona, thank you so much. we appreciate it. and save some of the steak and the salad for us. we'll be right back here with more in just a minute. ome of thd for us. we'll be right back here with more. and take. it. on... with rinvoq. rinvoq a once-daily pill can dramatically improve symptoms... rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. and for some, rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. that's rinvoq relief. with ra, your overactive immune system

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>> i'm just picking away here at my manly salad. it's got some mango in there, some strawberry. i love it. rob. >> healthy, it's good for you. >> that steak looks really healthy. >> feels great. >> walk out of here on that steak. hey, thanks for watching. we'll see you back here next weekend. weekend. good morning. i'm liz kreutz. a chance to show off your dance moves on wheels. sunday roller disco party is returning to golden gate park

this afternoon. the man known as the godfather of skate will lead the event with groovy tunes. he will teach disco dance moves to people of all ages. the free party, in a spot what the gets a proud roller history. retuindaas ea is the market highlights the bay area best in jewelry, clothing, and accessories, housewares and more. every sunday, vendors will be inside of the grand hall to celebrate community and small business. fog city flea is from is from 5:00. let's get a check in the forecast. in san francisco, you wouldn't know there was a heat wave. >> we need the jackets out there. we will see temperatures come down today and even inland where we are seeing numbers in the 90s, you will notice the difference. 62, san francisco.

mt. tam, the fog is thickened up. 68, to near 70 inland. it's not a stretch to reach 90s to 100. mid-70s in oakland. or 70s on the peninsula and 80s the further south you get. we have the heat advisory and the north bay were temperatures will be in the 90s in santa rosa. lakeport, heat advisory and excessive heat warning through monday night. it will be hot in spots. 70s and 80s around the bay, and the cooling trend continues through the week. thank you for joining us.

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>> announcer: "this week" with george stephanopoulos starts right now. covid confusion. questions about vaccines, boosters and masks. >> it will really be up to the schools. >> as the delta variant continues to spread. >> this rapid rise is troubling. >> and the vaccination effort hits a wall. >> now we need to go community by community and oftentimes literally knocking on doors. >> we cover it all with dr. anthony fauci and the chair of the national governors' association, asa hutchinson. plus -- >> our military mission in afghanistan will conclude on august 21st.

our round stable debates the lessons of america's longest war and all the week's politics. new york city our first choice is eric adams. >> eric ads