i right now on "america this morning," the new prediction about the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. just how long it could take before we see cases peak. hospitalizations, now even deaths on the rise. the new decision made by three big city school districts. plus, the push for covid vaccine booster shots and the white house reacts after china says it will not cooperate into the investigation into the origin of the virus in wuhan. a new cluster of covid cases in tokyo just as the olympics gets under way today. how the opening ceremony will be unlike any other. what a top official told us about the possibility of canceling the games. the massive outage across the internet thursday even though it

was not a cyberattack. our experts explain why this is part of a troubling trend. plus, a new bill to require women to register for the draft. a man in alaska says he was terrorized by a grizzly bear for an entire week. how he was finally rescued. and the new research on coffee and its effect on your brain. and good friday morning, everyone. we'll bring you to tokyo in just a moment as the summer olympics kick off with more cases of the coronavirus. but first the news here at home, more big city school districts are announcing a mandatory mask policy this fall as the highly contagious delta variant leaves unvaccinated children especially vulnerable. >> cases are surging up to 2,000% in los angeles in just the last month, and now more questions are being raised about the origin of the virus. china now says it will not cooperate with the world health organization's investigation

in wuhan. >> abc's alex presha is here with the very latest starting with those concerns about children. alex, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. so school is just around the corner for many parents and students, just a matter of weeks out and many of them are also learning that they are going to have to pack a mask with their lunch every day. this morning, some of the biggest school districts in the country are making masks mandatory for the up many coming. on thursday, atlanta, chicago and boston all announcing students and staff will be required to wear face coverings regardless of their vaccination status. it comes as the delta variant fuels a surge in cases across the country with one model predicting the current spike won't peak until october. >> we are yet at another pivotal moment. >> reporter: the cdc director is calling the delta variant one of the most infectious respiratory decides scientists have ever seen. >> it is one of the most infectious respiratory viruses

that we know of and i have seen in my 20-year career. >> reporter: the white house now says three states account for 40% of new cases. florida, texas, and missouri all of which have low vaccination rates. florida's governor insists there will be no mask mandate in schools in his state. >> we need our kids to breathe. [ applause ] we need our kids to be able to be kids. >> reporter: white house press secretary jen psaki slamming the governor for going against guidelines. >> that puts kids at risk. it's not aligned with public health guidelines. we know masks are not the most comfortable thing. i will say my kids are quite adjusted to them. as i know many kids are. >> reporter: in the meantime, a cdc advisory panel is urging action on booster shots showing support for giving people with compromised immune systems an additional shot but they acknowledge more data is needed. and now there are new questions about the source of the coronavirus which includes a theory that it came from a lab in wuhan, china. chinese government officials now

say they will not cooperate with the next phase of the world health organization's investigation into the origin of the virus, which would include audits from the wuhan lab. the white house called china's rejection of the investigation irresponsible and dangerous. mona. >> alex, thank you. fire crews battling the largest wildfire in the country face a new challenge this morning after nine firefighters tested positive for covid. they're in isolation as the bootleg fire approaches a staggering 400,000 acres. that's more than half the size of rhode island. a couple escaping had a camera rolling. take a look. describing their trip as a drive-through armageddon and forecasters say another heat wave is coming next week with temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above normal expected. let's head to tokyo where the opening ceremony kicks off the summer games this morning. these olympics will be unlike any other. we've learned about a new cluster of covid cases among european athletes, but the

xecutive director of the games told us overnight there's no longer any scenario in which the games could be canceled. first lady jill biden in tokyo for the games met with japan's emperor and kenneth moton is there with the very latest. kenneth, good morning. >> reporter: mona and andrew, after a one-year delay a current state of emergency here in japan and a surge in coronavirus cases, tokyo 2020 is finally ready to say, let the olympic games officially begin. tonight tokyo 2020 kicking off its opening ceremony under unprecedented conditions. japan's capital city under a state of emergency amid the pandemic. in covid infections, nearly 2,000 daily cases. officials say 110 people tied to these games including athletes have tested positive for covid-19. several positive casesn olympic village caused team usa gymnastics including the most decorated and most watched gymnast simone biles to move out and into a hotel to better control their safety.

extra added stress for the 11,000 athletes who have been told to follow strict covid rules. in the past a crowded parade of athletes have represented their respective countries during the opening ceremony. in tokyo, that won't happen. unlike the last time the city hosted the summer olympics in 1964, only 5,000 or 6,000 socially distant athletes are expected with about 1,000 spectators in olympic stadium including global leaders like first lady dr. jill biden leading the u.s. diplomatic delegation. organizers say the ceremony won't be flashy but a solemn and sobering show as the world continues to recover from the ongoing pandemic. so many negative headlines casting a cloud over these olympic games, but it's likely the resiliency and extraordinary talent of the athletes that will shine brightly over the next two weeks. that's if japanese and olympic officials can control that surge in covid cases. mona, andrew.

>> all right, kenneth, thank you. coming up later this half hour, the new olympic sports debuting at the tokyo olympics. the pentagon confirmed new air strikes targeting the taliban in afghanistan. sport of forces as the u.s. troop withdrawal nears an end. officials say the goal was to destroy military vehicles and equipment the taliban seized from afghan forces. mississippi formally asked the supreme court to overturn roe versus wade, one of several states that passed a law banning most abortions beyond 15 weeks of pregnancy, but lower courts blocked it from taking effect. the high court has not set a date to hear arguments yet but a decision could come next june. we're learning more about a massive outage across the internet thursday, and this was not a cyberattack. it was a software problem. and it highlights just how vulnerable the internet is. abc's andrea fujii explains. >> reporter: this morning, new details about a massive outage affecting major corporate websites across the internet.

on thursday around noon eastern, companies like fedex, u.p.s., amazon, mcdonald's, some airlines and even some 911 emergency systems showed error messages on their websites. delta and southwest customers unable to check in online. i spoke to cybersecurity expert scott spiro. now, these were big companies that had these outages. how bad was the problem? >> the challenge here was that when folks would visit these websites, they would either receive nothing at all or would receive a very, very slow performing website. >> reporter: a key internet service provider, akamai says this was not a cyberattack but rather a bug in its software update. sounds innocent enough but akamai is one of the few companies in the world that serves as a internet middleman making sure people can get to the websites they want as efficiently as possible. >> for a good almost an hour it was a real major issue. >> reporter: adding to the concern, this is the third major internet outage in just the past two months.

the second involving akamai. in june dozens of major websites went down for nearly one hour and days later some airlines and stock exchanges also experienced outages, which akamai said was again from a bug in its system. all this highlights the growing risk of relying on so few companies to provide the infrastructure that runs the internet. >> there's a very small number of companies that have huge control over the internet functioning properly. if one of them becomes impeded or becomes hacked or breached, it can affect all of us. >> reporter: the tokyo olympics website also went down for a brief period thursday, but like the others it was back up and running within an hour. mona, andrew. >> andrea, thank you. time now for a look at your friday weather. the southeast is bracing for more flooding today as rounds of wet weather are expected to inundate parts of the region.

people near boulder are still cleaning up from this week's mud slides. storms are forming on the radar in colorado and new mexico. tucson, arizona, could get up to 3 inches of rain through sunday. looking at today's highs, 90s from dallas where thunderstorms are possible. mostly 80s in the rt hoininneapolis. 80s in s 89 in miami. and 85 in los angeles. that's a look at the country's weather. coming up, new research on how coffee affects your brain. but first what could have been a major tragedy, a giant video screen collapses at a stadium just before a festival. what we're learning. and the investigation into whether someone tried to burn down beyonce's house. what authorities found inside.

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 a giant video wall collapsing over a stage on miami's hard rock stadium. it happened just one day before a music festival where tensg. unately, none was injured. crews were working on repairing that wall. a deadly home explosion jolted a neighborhood north of minneapolis. one person was killed and two others were injured. the house was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, and they're still trying to determine the cause. this is the latest in a string of recent home explosions. earlier this week a woman was killed when her home blew up near buffalo, new york. and in plano, texas officials now say an explosion that injured six people may have been intentional. we turn now to the investigation at a home owned by superstars beyonce and jay-z. investigators say evidence appears to show someone tried to set the house on fire. ♪

this morning wednesday night's fire at i amansion owned by beyonce and jay-z now being authorities in new orleans believe the fire began in the kitchen, where they reportedly found a gas can along with books inside the oven. >> i was walking around the corner with ziggy smalls and all the smoke was coming out. >> reporter: witnesses say a man was seen running from the mansion when the fire broke out. >> my neighbor right around the corner, she had witnessed the dude. he like jumped over the fence, like right on the back side of harmony over here on 8th. >> reporter: authorities have not disclosed how much damage the home sustained. but it took 22 firefighters to extinguish the fire. records show beyonce's management company bought the mansion in 2015 for $2.6 million. originally the building was a church and then a ballet school. neighbors say few if any people have entered the mansion in years. although they say a gate was unlocked, allowing people to access the property. the city's fire department says the building has been vacant for

some time. representatives for beyonce have not responded to requests for comment. important medical news for people who drink lots of coffee. researchers found that people who drink more than six cups per day are 53% more likely to develop dementia. the study also found a link between high coffee intake and other brain diseases including strokes. the research was done at the university of south australia and is reportedly the largest study of its kind. coming up, the nfl's new rules on covid and the vaccine. the backlash this morning. but first, gunfire erupts outside busy restaurants near the nation's capital. the new plan to stop the violence. why hide your skin if dupixent has your moderate-to-severe eczema or atopic dermatitis under control? hide my skin? not me. by hitting eczema where it counts, dupixent helps heal your skin from within, keeping you one step ahead of eczema. and that means long-lasting clearer skin... and fast itch relief for adults.

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ensure, with 27 vitamins and minerals, now introducing ensure complete! with 30 grams of protein. back now with two men injured as shots rang out in this busy area of the nation's capital. people eating dinner at sxrernts pedestrians in the area ducked for cover as the gunfire erupted. authorities say one person was targeted. police searching for the shooter released this video overnight of the suspects fleeing the scene. meanwhile, as gun violence surges across the nation, attorney general merrick garland announced a strike force to fight gun trafficking in major cities including washington, d.c. country music star morgan wallen is breaking his silence for the first time since he was caught on camera using a racial slur. he apologized after the video surfaced, but radio stations pulled his songs and he was disqualified from the country music awards. now wallen is sitting down with

"gma's" michael strahan. >> there are going to be a lot of people who are going to watch this interview and say he's only sitting down because he wants to clean up his image, it's all a performance. what do you say to that? >> i understand that. i understand that i'm not ever going to make, you know, everyone happy. but man, i can only -- i can only come tell my truth. and that's all i know to do. >> wallen revealed to michael how he got help after the incident. those details coming up at 7:00 a.m. we turn now to the nfl. announcing a new hard line stance when it comes to the covid vaccine. some players are not happy about it. this morning at least one nfl player is questioning his future in the league after the nfl revealed its new stance against unvaccinated players. >> what the league is doing instead of requiring it is trying to incentivize it. >> reporter: the nfl has insisted it will not mandate vaccination, but it's now warning teams that outbreaks among unvaccinated players could lead to games being forfeited

this season and players not getting paid. the nfl telling teams in a memo, "if a game is canceled/postponed because a club cannot play due to a covid spike among or resulting from its non-vaccinated players or staff, then the burden of the cancellation or delay will fall on the club experiencing the covid infection. but if a team can't play because of cases in vaccinated players, the league will attempt to minimize the competitive and economic burden on both %-pg special requirements for unvaccinated players. >> if you are vaccinated, you have different rules that will apply to you this year than if you're unvaccinated. you don't have to get tested every day. you don't have to wear a mask. there are no limitations on how many guys can be in the weight room at one time if everyone in there is vaccinated. whereas if an unvaccinated player goes in they have to limit the numbers. >> reporter: some unvaccinated players now speaking out. bucks running back leonard fournette posting "vaccine, i can't do it." and cardinals all pro receiver deandre hopkins writing "being

in a position to hurt my team because i don't want to partake in the vaccine is making me question my future in the nfl." the nfl says about 75% of players are at least partially vaccinated. coming up, lebron james's net worth reaches a whole new level. also ahead, one man in alaska is terrorized by a grizzly bear for an entire week. [♪] 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. i order my groceries online now. shingles doesn't care. i keep my social distance. shingles doesn't care.

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and the man had no cell phone service. >> the coast guard crew only spotted him after they changed direction to avoid clouds and saw an s.o.s. sign on the roof. next, a vote to make women register for the draft. >> a senate committee has approved language that calls for young women to sign up for selective service just like men and supporters say it's a necessary and fair step. >> one poll found 54% of americans believe women should take part in the draft if it's reimposed. next, another big record for lebron james. >> that's right. he's now the first person to become a billionaire while still playing in the nba. much of that income was earned off the court with investments and endorsements. >> okay. we've got a note here that michael jordan is a billionaire but he didn't reach that threshold until after he stopped playing. >> ah. and finally a woman in las vegas sharing video of something she saw in the sky. >> take a look for yourself at what she saw from her back yard, what clearly appears to be a face in the clouds. a heavenly sight indeed. >> do i see it? i see the -- is that the eyes?

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it is still a little scary knowing it is on campus. at 5:00, breakthrough covid cases at stanford. what we know about the students who got sick. requiring vant vaccine requirements. a prediction. and self driving lyft right smack coming. the rollout expected this year. good morning. you are watching abc7 mornings live on abc7 and stream. now let's check on the forecast. the self driving cars are robots, right? >> technically. >> how do we feel? >> how are you this morning? >> 100% human. mike welcome to friday. let's talk about what is going on weather wise. as you can see from the exploratory him that the morning marine