>> g right now on "america this morning." covid come back. just how quickly hospitals are filling up again. a top medical group is calling for children to wear a mask in school this fall. contradicting guidance from the cdc. the breaking news from tokyo. 70 covid cases now associated with the olympics. >> investigating the attack opt u.s. capitol. this morning the republicans chosen to join a special committee looking into the riot. three voted to over turn the 2020 election. >> count down to the bezos blast off. what you can expect during the historic lift off to space. and what he said at dinner last night if asked if that was his last supper.

82 year-old passenger tells us what this journey means to her. >> several people in the hospital after an explosion levels this home. lightning reported in the area. the blast caught on camera. >> the massive $26 billion settlement related to the opioid crisis. who is paying up. >> from a $2,800 smart speaker to manning's new job. and the sheep rescued by a life guard. trending stories for tuesday morning. >> this is "america this morning.." good tuesday morning, everyone. >> we begin with the troubling spike in coronavirus infections. >> daily cases up 145% from earlier this month. hospitals are limiting visitors. a florida hospital is raising the thet level to high.

after hospitalizations doubled in two weeks. >> one concern is how to protect children. a group is calling for all kids whether they are vaccinated more not to wear mask in school. which contradicts cdc guidelines. >> days before the olympics another american athlete tested positive. women's basketball player. will miss the games. an alternate for the gymnastics team tested positive. officials are reporting 71 covid cases associated with the games. >> we begin the coverage at home. starting with that debate over masks. >> this morning the cdc is under pressure to revisit the covid-19 guidance after a leading group of pediatricians monday called for students to mask up when schools reopen in the fall. >> there are lots of kids in the school buildings who are younger than 12. and not eligible. >> going against cdc recommendation.

telling parents that students and teachers should wear a mask this fall. regardless of vaccine status. >> the academy they are a thoughtful group. they analyze the situation. if they feel it's the way to go, that's reasonable. >> it comes as the delta variant fuels a spike in infections across the country. health officials say nearly all new infections and deaths are unvaccinated people. >> it's important to recognize that while children don't get as severely ill as adults on average they did can get quite sick. this is the tenth leading cause of death for kids in the past year. >> much debate among the school board and parents. >> last year was certainly a challenge. we're excited to open up normal. as possible. >> a federal judge setting a possible precedent for college

students. after ruling that indiana university can require students to show proof of vaccination. judges are expected to rule soon on similar lawsuits against other universities. >> in the meantime, wall street. concerns about the delta variant growing the dow monday posted the worst day since october. fearing new restrictions could be on the way. >> over the weekend, mississippi which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country saw the biggest jump in covid cases since february. >> closer look at the surge in covid cases and the confusion about kids and masks. earlier i spoke with a doctor about the mix messages from health experts. >> we have heard so much about misinformation. what about mixed messaging. what do you say to parents confused about the information surrounding kids and masks. kids should wear masks in school. the cdc is not saying that. >> i understand where parents are coming from.

i want everyone to understand all groups want children back in in person learning. now we know the unvaccinated are particular risk. those are children. parents when in doubt mask your kids. and get involved. check out the school for yourself. >> l.a. has reimposed the indoor mask mandate follow? >> there will be a push possibly to get businesses to wear masks. i don't see a nationwide mandate on masks in other states. we didn't have it mandated with no vaccine. there's more of a push. you can't have lifted restrirkss, no vaccine mandate. no mask mandate with a surge of the delta variant. >> with the variant on the rise we're hearing more about so called breakthrough infections. people fully vaccinated sgitill getting the coronavirus. what do we know about the risk of transmitting to other people?

>> it's still possible. it will be less likely. you're less likely to get a symptomatic severe illness and shed the virus. it's important for people to understand breakthrough infections are happening. there's more virus out there. coming at people who are vaccinated. the durability maybe going down. pay attention to the fact and people around them. that is individuals. look at who you are around who is unvaccinated. >> thanks to him. >> california largest utility company says its equipment may have sparked a fire near sacramento. already burned 40,000 acres. more than 80 large fires are burning in the west. a record drought. in oregon the nations largest wild fire jumped containment lines. it's one-third the size of rhode island. >> the death toll from the flooding in germany is about 200 people. hundreds are missing. one official says the destruction could be the most

country history. trophe in the - >> fall out from the january riot at the u.s. capitol. five republicans have been recommended to join a committee investigating the attack. three voted to over turn the 2020 election. it comes as judge hands down the first major sentence in connection with the riot. >> this morning, hundreds of people arrested for the u.s. capitol riot. now have an idea of what they could be facing. on monday a judge sentenced paul to eight months in federal prison. the first punishment handed down for a felony charge in the january 6th attack. the crane operator from florida admitted to being in the senate chamber for 15 minutes carrying rope and goggles and waving a trump flag. the sentence is lower than prosecutors wanted for the felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding. the judge cited the willingness to accept responsibility and lack of criminal history for the light punishment. which would help determine the

severity of sentences in other cases. >> many of the people who attacked the capitol tried to stop the election face more vee serious charges. weapons and assault. they are looking at hard time in federal prison. >> house minority leader now says he'll recommend five republicans to serve on the house committee investigation. three of them congressman jordan, banks and nels among the 139 house republicans who voted to over turn the results of the 2020 election. over night, banks saying he's accepted the appointment. because we need leaders who will force the democrats and media to answer questions so far ignored. adding if democrats were serious about investigating political violence, this committee would be studying not only the january 6 riot but also the hundreds of violent political riots last summer. >> nancy pelosi has to approve

the choices. telling the "washington post" the speaker got the names last night and said stay tuned. >> a rescue caught on camera. in western new york. a police officer was seen racing towards this house on fire. a family was trapped inside. he urged them to jump from the up stairs window to safety. take a listen. >> jump, i got you. >> everyone is expected to be okay. >> incredible. time for a look at tuesday weather. >> flash flooding will be a concern later today. thunderstorms move across the south. from texas to the carolinas. monsoon rains could bring flooding to the southwest. there's no rain for areas of the west where dozens of wild fires are burning. checking the highs. things warm up in the northeast. washington to boston

temperatures around 90. it will be 90 in chicago and detroit. warmer in north dakota. 95 denver and salt lake city. 73 seattle. >> coming up. the al gaiter attack in florida after a man fell off his bike. >> several people hospitalized after a massive home explosion caught on camera. lightning to blame. >> former quarterback manning

narrator: covid-19 has changed how we show up and show out with our family. now it's time to take the first step that lets us get back to talking smack with a side of mac and cheese. before we can safely come together, we need the facts. as covid-19 vaccines become available, you may have questions. man 1: should i get it? man 2: is it safe? woman: should i wait? narrator: it's smart to question. now get the facts at getvaccineanswers.org so you can make an informed decision when vaccines are available to you. back now with new information about a fire works explosion that injured 17 people. in l.a. last month. the police chief now says the bomb squad miscal weight of the illegal fire works being seized and over loaded a

containment chamber. five member of the squad have been removed from duty. >> investigation under way in texas after a massive explosion. several people including children were injured. we have the dramatic video. >> this morning, investigation under way into what levelled this home in dallas. doorbell camera video from across the street showing the instant the house erupted. >> it was like an air strike happened. >> grab you and shake you. >> there's not a roof anymore. >> the home -- leaving behind debris. the car caked in ash. there was heavy rain, thunder and lightning before the explosion. >> i heard a light i think strike. after that, two big booms. >> residents say they felt the

impact of the blast. one mile away. >> the glass shattered and blew inside. >> my walls were vibrating. >> six people including three children were rushed to the hospital. fire officials say one person was inside the house at the time. the other injuries were residents of the home next door. >> cherish every memory you have. every day you wake up. you never know when unexpected things can happen. >> no officil word on the cause of the blast. the gas company is participating in the investigation. >> breaking over night a $26 billion settlement stemming from the opioid crisis is expected to be announced this week. the reported deal ends thousands of laufts by state and local government against johnson & johnson and the three largest opioid distributors. over doses claimed half a million lives since 1999. >> florida man suffered serious injury after being attacked by

an alligator. he was air lifted to the hospital from a park. police say he fell off his bike and landed in the water near a nine foot long female gator and her nest. a trapper later captured two gators. >> coming up we take you to texas. for the count down to jeff bezos historic space flight this morning. >> one of the passengers, 82 year-old wally funk talks about her 60 year wait to make the journey. we're at the launch site. we're at the launch site. we check in welcome! it's time to see which chew is best in show for long-lasting flea and tick protection. we may be here for weeks, or even months! holy smokes, a rejection in protection at week 5! but bravecto just won't quit! let's hear from our veterinarian expert. bravecto's our clear winner. 12 weeks of powerful protection, nearly 3 times longer than any other chew. now that's what i'm talking about! bravo, bravecto! bravo!

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countdown to liftoff because we are back with billionaire jeff bezos and his crew of tourists preparing for their launch to space. the nearly 60-foot-tall rocket will begin its journey to the launchpad this morning. bezos and his crew say they are ready to climb into the capsule for their historic flight. >> abc's marci gonzalez is in van horn, texas, where final preparations are finally under way. marci, good morning. >> reporter: hey, andrea and andrew, good morning. yeah, those final preps under way about 25 miles outside of this very tiny, very excited town of van horn, texas. this is as close as most people will be able to get to watch this historic launch. overnight jeff bezos' blue origin rocket ready for liftoff. the amazon founder and his three fellow passengers are scheduled to blast off to space at 9:00 a.m. eastern.

>> new shepard is ready to fly. >> reporter: the 11-minute flight set to launch them 62 miles above the surface of earth beyond the 53 miles billionaire richard branson reached earlier this month. bezos will be joined by his brother mark, as well as 18-year-old oliver daemen, who will become the youngest and the first ever paying passenger on a commercial spacecraft and female aviation pioneer wally funk. she's 82 and will become the oldest person to travel to space. >> for two or three weeks after my training, i was told that i did better than the men. >> we've been training with wally here in west texas, and i can tell you, she's still doing better than the men. >> oh, no. >> she can outrun all of us. >> reporter: funk trained in the 1960s for a women in space program but was never given the chance to go until today. >> i've dreamt a long time to get to go up. >> reporter: but with any spaceflight, there is risk. >> we've had 15 successful flights, and we're -- you know,

i'm excited, but i'm not nervous. >> reporter: blue origin designing the craft to be autonomous, but with no pilot, what happens if something goes wrong during the launch. blue origin says there are backup plans. >> so this is the escape motor. at any phase in flight we can fire this, and we can get the capsule far and fast away from the booster if anything is detected. >> reporter: bezos even joking about the risk last night before dinner. >> is this your last meal? are you having steak and eggs? >> hey, did somebody say last meal? i don't think we should put it that way. let's talk about it in a different way. >> reporter: he's got the right attitude, so again liftoff is set for 9:00 a.m. eastern. it'll be a really quick trip to space, just three minutes, and then once there, t passengers will be able to unbuckle and experience three minutes of weightlessness and, of course, those incredible views out of the biggest windows that have ever gone to space before beginning their descent back to earth. andrew and andrea. >> all right. marci there with a front row seat to history.

marci, thank you, and, remember, abc news will bring you live coverage of the launch on air and streaming on abc newslive. >> so exciting. well, coming up, the news about peyton manning and his brother eli. also ahead, a new kind of smart speaker. [♪] cooking and eating at home more often means food odors get trapped in your home's fabrics and released back into the air so you smell last night's dinner the next morning. for an easy way to keep your whole home smelling fresh try febreze fabric refresher. febreze's water-based formula deeply penetrates fabrics to eliminate trapped food odors as it dries. spray febreze fabric refresher when you clean up after meals to ensure your entire home smells fresh and clean. try febreze fabric refresher. brand power. helping you buy better. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ just two pills for all day pain relief.

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all in one. time to check the pulse. we begin with a high end speaker that looks more like a ufo. >> unvailing the new light up speaker. with an out of the world price tag of $2,800. it's covered in the brands classic monogram. >> the company says it can serve

as an artistic center piece and sounds great too. >> young hockey player making history. >> the first player to reveal he's gay. living his authentic life will help him become a better player. a month after the member of the raiders came out as gay. >> next the mannings are coming back to monday night football. >> they will headline an alternate broadcast. the former quarterbacks will coanchor a second, casual broadcast on monday night football. on espn 2. 30 games over three seasons. >> extra excitement at the pool. >> run away sheep looking for relief from the heat. took a dive into the deep end of a public pool in pennsylvania. and life guards rescued the animal. it was returned to its owner.

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now at 5:00. a critical decision. there's a big vote >> and ready for liftoff. the countdown is on for bezos' liftoff to space. >> the covid surge coming as kids head back to school the new bush from the american academy of pediatrics about what should knapp class. >> and is it black friday in july? this is a picture of of of of o outside a local best buy store. >> good morning. welcome to tuesday, july 20th. >> we want to begin with a check on our forecast with mike. >> no fire th