but that's what's making news in ight now "americis morning" -- on the brink. afghanistan now on the verge of a taliban takeover. the pentagon sending thousands of troops back into the country. disturbing new accounts of taliban atrocities, targeting women. we hear from two experts on how this could have happened so quickly. and the concern for u.s. citizens and allies in kabul. is the capital next? breaking news overnight in the fight against covid. the fda issuing a new statement about those long-awaited third shots of the vaccine and who should get them. plus the dire situation from florida to texas. one hospital official saying they're "beyond disaster." severe storms. nine inches of rain falling in just sixho lightning striking a beach, sending six people to the hospital. more than a million power

outages overnight. what to expect today. plus, britney spears scores a big win in the legal battle with her father. but her fight is far from over. they built it and they came. the major lea field of draemds game lives up to the hype. and from the famous piece of cake seg for big bucks to the big news for "home alone" fans to the video of one overly protective pooch. all your trending stories for your friday. >> announcer: from abc news in new york, this is "america this morning." good friday morning, everyone. we begin with the breaking news. the very real possibility of afghanistan soon collapsing into the hands of the taliban. >> the pentagon is now urgently sending thousands of troops back into the country to help evacuate u.s. citizens in kabul. one top republican calls this president biden's saigon moment, a reference to vietnam. the biden administration officials insist the u.s. embassy remains open. >> with shocking speed the

taliban has taken over large swaths of the country. in the last few hours militants reportedly took control of kandahar, the second largest city, which means kabul could thisorintensifying. the taliban seizing control of more major territory, coming within 80 miles of kabul. the u.s., canada and great britain now sending troops to protect embassy staff fleeing the country. but despite sending in additional 3,000 troops into the country, u.s. officials are refusing to call the deployment a combat mission or an official evacuation. >> our job here now with this additional plus-up is to help facilitate the safe movement of civilian personnel out of afghanistan. >> reporter: it comes as kndahar, the second largest city in afghanistan, falls to the taliban. militants have taken control of 12 provincial capitals in one week. >> the potential here for growing terrorist capabilities and terrorist threats deep within the heartland of

afghanistan the way bin laden did is very real. >> reporter: known for their brutal tactics, taliban soldiers are now on a path of vengeance, rounding up with the u.s. military. america's afghan allies, including interpreters and journalists still in the country, now fear what will happen to them if they can't get out. >> those who have particularly have had any affiliation, direct or indirect, with the united states personnel programs, projects and so forth are in imminent danger. >> we think about the past history here of tehran and benghazi where u.s. embassies have been overrun and the real danger again is that the taliban is so ruthless that the outcome might not just be hostages. >> reporter: just last month president biden was confident that afghanistan's military would be able to hold off the taliban. >> the likelihood there's going to be the taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.

>> reporter: but now -- ou goin? >> reporter: the white house staying silent on what's happening on the ground. >> as the taliban takes control, it's shutting down schools for girls and forcing women into marriages. turning to the pandemic, we've learned that four teachers in south florida have died from covid in recent days, raising more concern about school safety. florida has seen more covid cases in the last week than 30 other states combined. nationwide, hospitalizations are up 31% in the last week. we're now seeing the most infections since january. nbc's dan lieberman has the latest including a decision from the fda overnight regarding a third vaccine shot. >> reporter: this morning news that the fda has approved booster shots for emergency use in high-risk patients as the delta variant continues to surge. >> these are for people who almost certainly did not get an adequate response to properly protect them in the first place. >> reporter: this includes transplant patients, people on chemotherapy, and those on

medications that suppress their immune system. the cdc is expected to vote to recommend the third dose when it meets today. but for young crisis unfolding across much of the south. in north texas officials say they are out of pediatric icu beds. in mississippi -- >> i feel like we're beyond a disaster. >> reporter: -- so many covid patients officials preparing to open a mobile field hospital in the medical center's parking garage. >> we have no capacity to deal with the things that we should be able to take care of. >> reporter: in alabama this mother of a seventh-grader hospitalized with covid. >> you're on a covid wing and you look in glass doors and there are kids of all ages and they all look just like brody, struggling to breathe. and everyone's in a hazmat suit. >> reporter: to protect children dr. anthony fauci urging those who are eligible to get the vaccine to do so immediately. >> anybody around a child who

can be vaccinated needs to be vaccinated. >> reporter: in houston tensions running high as officials try to do just that. defying the texas governor. >> what we don't need is governor abbott sticking his nose in our business and trying to stop school districts from doing what they need to do. >> reporter: this as at least fur educators in florida have died from covid in the last 48 hours, as districts fight their governor over masks too. dan lieberman, abc news, new york. >> our thanks to dan. and new details on the possible origin of the coronavirus. an investigator for the world health organization says it's a likely hypothesis that a chinese scientist could have been infected with the virus while collecting bat samples. he's calling for a closer look at a second lab near the wuhan market where the first covid cluster emerged. back in this country more security concerns along the southern border. border crossings last month hit a 21-year high. more than 200,000 migrants were taken into custody. the number of unaccompanied children hit an all-time high. and covid cases among migrants

are also rising. the v. the census bureau has released data showing the u.s. became more diverse over the past decade, driven by the increase in latinos. the white population dropped for the first time ever. turning to the weather, a lightning strike in new york city has left a teerng fighting for his life. severe storms are blamed for causing more than a million power outages overnight. this morning a new round of summer storms and more extreme heat. in new york -- >> we've got called for numerous people struck by lightning. >> reporter: lightning striking this beach in the bronx, leaving six people hospitalized including a 13-year-old in critical condition. >> everybody was running. like lightning struck like 30 feet from me. >> reporter: more than 120 million americans from coast to coast on alert with heat warnings or advisories issued. in pennsylvania feel-like temperatures hitting 110 degrees. >> my goodness. it's excruciating. >> reporter: in washington state police say this driver crashed

off the road after getting heat stroke behind the wheel. in portland, oregon a temperature of 103 degrees last night. >> these heat conditions are very challenging for communities that frankly are not used to them. >> reporter: nationwide, four children have died in hot cars this week. the latest in kansas. in texas thunderstorms whipping up this tornado. >> holy smokes. >> reporter: the storms also triggering extreme floods in the midwest. >> i've got three foot of water in my back yard and it's flooding into the house. >> reporter: a deluge of rain inundating homes in illinois, forcing emergency teams to rescue families by boat. >> i was like, there's no way this is real. and then we walked outside and i went up to my car and the water was up to past the seats. >> reporter: people in michigan waking up to waist-deep water swamping their cars and homes. more than 1 million power outages were reported overnight in the wake of the storms from iowa all the way to pennsylvania. gibson city, illinois got nine

inches of rain in six hours. meanwhile, in northern california officials say some wildfires could burn until winter because of the drought. >> and with that let's take a look now at your friday forecast. fred is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm as it takes aim at florida tonight. up to eight inches of rain have fallen in parts of the caribbean. the storm is expected to make landfall tomorrow along the keys. looking at the radar, strong storms are possible today in parts of the plains and the ohio river valley with possibe flash flooding. and checking today's high temperatures, triple digits across the west. 90 and above for the south all the way to the northeast. heat warnings are in effect from philly to boston. 89 in miami. 91 in new orleans. and coming up, the new fight over footwear. two giants in the industry go to court over a familiar design. but first, caught on camera, a case of road rage turning

violent. and a big win for britney spears. her father is now stepping down as her conservator. so what happens next?

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tune in saturday august 21st at 8/7 central back now with a disturbing case of road rage. a man in washington state, you see it there, throwing a hammer through the window of of another car. police say it began when one vehicle merged onto the highway and the other driver started honking their horn. the man was taken into custody. we turn now to britney spears. her father has agreed to step down as her conservator, but the pop star's legal fight is par from over. abc's christine sloan explains. ♪ ♪ i call the shots ♪ >> reporter: this morning a major victory for britney spears and her fight to end a conservatorship that's controlled her life and career

for 13 years. her father, jamie spears, has agreed to step down as the conservator of his daughter's estate. the decision revealed a in new court fiegz where an attorney for jamie spears says britney's father has been the target of unjustified attacks but doesn't believe a public battle with his daughter is in her best interest. the attorney also saying jamie spears will not step aside until matters are resolved and that "mr. spears intends to work with the court and his daughter's new attorney to prepare for an orderly transition to a new conservator." one legal expert says jamie spears is just making sure his legal fees are paid. >> to me that's improper because you can't condition things on self-interested transactions like making sure his own attorney's fees are paid. ♪ i don't need permission ♪ ♪ make my own decisions ♪ ♪ that's my prerogative ♪ >> reporter: britney has argued she's been fit enough to perform

for 13 years, earning millions of dollars. she recently told a judge the conservatorship prevented her from making decisions about her own body and that she wants to press charges against her father for conservatorship abuse. >> britney's going other.noocras that she's incapacitated. she was concerned about losing the relationship with her children. >> reporter: jamie spears has disputed those accusations. in new court papers his attorney says, "the conservatorship saved mrs. spears from disaster." mona, andrew? >> christine, thank you. and turning now to another legal battle, this one in the footwear industry. new balance is suing michael kors for trademark infringement. it claims some michael kors shoes feature an n that's almost identical to the logo new balance has used since the 1970s. the company says it has asked michael kors to stop but was rebuffed. coming up, the field of

dreams comes to life. human chain trying to save a puppy trapped in flood waters.

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meanwhile, in italy what could be the hottest temperature ever recorded in europe. 120 degrees was reported in s sicily. let's turn to a baseball game that transcended the sport. two historic teams played last night on a real-life field of dreams inspired by the 1989 kevin costner moving, and by all accounts the magic of the game lived up to the hype. here's will ganss. >> if you build it, they will come. >> reporter: they built it. and sure enough -- [ cheers and applause ] kevin costner and the mlb paying homage to "field of dreams." ♪ the yankees and the white sox playing a game in the corn fields of dyersville, iowa. >> 30 years ago on the other side of that corn we filmed a movie that's stood the test of

time. tonight thanks to that enduring impact that that little movie had it's allowed us to come here again. >> reporter: the mlb leaning heavily into the nostalgia of the 1989 oscar-nominated film. >> the one constant through all the years, ray, hasrm ofmsaying years gone by. the stadium only able to seat 8,000 fans. tix picks says thursday's game is the most expensive regular season mlb game ever. the average ticket going for 1,413 bucks. but once inside, hungry fans able to help themselves to a taste of iowa including cheese curds, deep fried oreos, and the field of dreams nachos, topped with pulled pork. no nachos on the field, but the white sox's tim anderson -- >> anderson hits it into right! >> reporter: -- serving up a walk-off homer in the ninth inning, securing a 9-8 win for

chicago. >> hey! is this heaven? >> no. it's iowa. >> mlb commissioner rob manfred said the league would play another game at the field of dreams site in 2022. mona and andrew? >> given the game was played in a corn field i think it was a stalk-off home run. >> i see what you did there. >> the shocking price for a piece of cake saved from princess

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ah. time to check the pulse. and while it may be friday our first story is about everybody's least favorite day of the week. >> really? we've got to talk about monday already? because we are talking about monday morning dread. and it's apparently getting so bad that it's ruining sunday. >> i've got to get out of here. i think i'm going to lose it. >> uh-oh. sounds like somebody's got a case of the mondays. >> did you get the memo? >> a new survey finds the pandemic has made the dread of monday much worse because of the uncertainty of remote working or even calling the phenomenon the sunday scaries because people are worrying about monday on sunday. >> on this friday the 13th we're worrying about monday today. millennials and gen z workers are most affected. later on "good morning america" some advice to overcome it. here's my advice. don't think about it. >> and enjoy friday while you have it. >> you'll cross that bridge when you get there. well, next a piece of 40-year-old wedding cake fetching way more money than expected. >> a british collector paid, get this, $2,500 for a slice of cake

from the wedding of prince charles and princess diana. it belonged to a royal staffer who wrapped it in plastic for some reason. and the auction house advises against eating it. obviously. >> yeah, don't do it. >> and from historic cake to fast food, wendy's is getting into the home delivery business. >> that's right. it plans to open 700 delivery-only kitchens for the growing number of people who just want to enjoy their fast food at home. third-party services like grubhub and door dash will handle the orders. >> speaking of home, "home alone" is making a comeback. a sixth movie in the franchise will debut in time for the holidays. >> yes, but no kevin mccallister this time. the new disney blus movie called "home sweet home alone" will feature jojo dancer star max mercer protecting his family house from intruders. i wonder if macaulay culkin was busy. and finally, dogs are man's best friend and also babies' best friend. >> cue the video. we are talking about this ohio mom reaching for her baby girl but her dog toby isn't having it.

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announcer: building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. >> booster shots authorized.

experts will sort out the details on exactly who should get that third those. >> we are not out of the woods as it relates to covid. yes, we are sick and tired of it, but it is nee to have your vaccination verification on hand in san francisco. new rules for indoor spaces taking effect one week from today. >> and the election now only about a month away. governor newsom's plan to swing across the state. you are watching abc's 7 mornings live on abc 7, hulu live. we made it to friday. >> happy friday. we check with you, mike, with a check of the forecast. mike: is the only friday i don't look forward to all year. i wasn't going to make a deal out of it. friday the 13th.