inspired to do something nice. right now on "america this morning," emergency rooms shutting down. the new impact of the covid surge as hospitals scramble to treat their patients. the fda now giving full approval to pfizer's vaccine prompting new vaccine mandates across the country. plus, the new message from the state of hawaii to travelers. stay home. deadline drama. the race to evacuate afghanistan hits a new snag. the taliban issuing new threats. what we're learning on the ground as the white house responds to claims that americans are being stranded. breaking overnight, fire breaks out inside a plane in seattle. passengers evacuated. also this morning the future in "je!"nesionbout the show'surd

a big oblem for the > and a change in y lerating aisle. why whole milk is making a comeback.> good tuesday morning everyone. we begin with a fight against the coronavirus and reports that some emergency rooms in the south are now being forced to close. right now more than 95,000 americans are hospitalized with covid. this morning dr. anthony fauci is providing a new estimate on when we could finally get the virus under control. >> it comes a day after the fda granted full approval to pfizer's vaccine. the move is expected to trigger a wave of new vaccine mandates across the government, corporate america and school systems. abc's dan lieberman has the latest. >> reporter: this morning, the spike in covid cases is overwhelming more hospitals in texas. the health care system in the houston area has closed three of

its emergency rooms so that staff at those ers can be transferred to other hospitals filling up with covid patients. this woman found the doors locked when she tried to get help for her daughter's ear condition. >> it's a little disheartening. you see people coming, you need help. it's close to our home. >> reporter: the u.s. averaging 137,000 new covid cases per day. the surge fueled by the delta variant. infecting unvaccinated people but dr. anthony fauci says the country could get, quote, good control of the virus by spring of next year if vaccination rates improve. >> if we can get through this winter and get really the majority, overwhelming majority of the 90 million people who have not been vaccinated vaccinated, i hope we can start to get good control in the spring of 2022. if we keep lingering without

getting those people vaccinated that should be vaccinated, this thing could linger on leading to the development of another variant. >> reporter: the fda monday gave full approval to the pfizer vaccine for people 16 and older, finding the vaccine is 91% effective in preventing covid. federal authorities believe full approval will reassure some 85 million americans eligible for the shot who are still unvaccinated to get it. >> it is a big deal to get the fda seal of approval because the fda takes its time to really look at safety and effectiveness. >> reporter: fda approval also paves the way for more vaccine mandates. almost immediately after the announcement, president biden made the shot mandatory for active duty troops. new york city issued a mandate for school employees without the option for weekly testing instead. meanwhile, pfizer's ceo says the company is developing a vaccine that targets the delta variant, but he said he does not think it will be needed because the current vaccine is so effective. dan lieberman, abc news, new york. >> dan, thank you. a spike in covid cases has

prompted hawaii's governor to urge visitors to stay away. limited hospital space led the governor to say this is not a good time to travel to the islands. the city of honolulu is suspending all large gatherings for next month. president biden has approved a disaster declaration for tennessee after that deadly flood west of nashville. the search will resume today for 10 people missing, 21 others confirmed dead. survivors are describing how they escaped a wall of water which destroyed entire neighborhoods after 17 inches of rain fell in a matter of hours. >> it was already waist deep by the time we come from there to try to -- to try to get up here. we had to climb this. >> we don't expect that those that were swept away by floodwater would be found alive so we are looking for recovery operations to give families closure.

the devastation is hard to fathom. >> the president's disaster declaration makes federal resources available for the area. turning to the crisis in afghanistan, new questions this morning about whether the u.s. military can evacuate tens of thousands of additional citizens and afghan allies from the country before the august 31st withdrawal deadline, which is one week from today. pressure is growing with the taliban making threats calling that deadline a red line. this morning, new security concerns in kabul. the u.s. military in a deadly gun battle outside of the airport. pentagon officials say attackers fired on afghan security forces prompting u.s. forces to get involved. an afghan soldier was killed and more gunfire was heard overnight. the violence coming as the pace of americans and afghans evacuating the country ramps up but tens of thousands remain left behind. president biden is suggesting the u.s.-led evacuation effort

could run past the august 31st deadline. congressman adam schiff appearing after a meeting last night said it appears more time will be needed. >> given the logistical difficulties of moving people to the airport and the limited number of work-arounds, it's hard for me to see that being fully complete by the end of the month. >> reporter: but the taliban calls august 31st a red line and is warning of consequences if the deadline is extended. >> we're in touch with the taliban daily and reviewing our progress in this particular operation which we feel has been substantial and the president will make his own determination. >> reporter: white house press secretary jen psaki pushing back on a reporter who suggested americans are being sprandzed in afghanistan. >> first of all, i think it's irresponsible to say americans are stranded. they are not. >> there are no americans stranded is the white house's official position on what's happening in afghanistan. >> i'm just calling you out for

saying that we are stranding americans in afghanistan when i said -- when we have been very clear that we are not leaving americans who want to return home. we are going to bring them home. >> reporter: outside afghanistan the u.s. has enlisted a fleet of commercial jets to transport evacuees. hundreds of fleeing have now arrived in virginia. in the seattle area, this family of eight is settling in after fleeing kabul where their father was a translator for the u.s. >> i didn't feel good there, you know, so that's why i left my country. now i feel good, be safe and feel good. >> reporter: the evacuation effort will be the subject of today's group seven meeting. british prime minister boris johnson is expected to urge president biden to extend the august 31st deadline. the police officer who shot and killed ashli babbitt during the attack on the u.s. capitol in january has been cleared of

any wrongdoing. an internal investigation found the officer acted lawfully and will not be disciplined. he shot babbitt as she tried to climb through the broken door. the officer's name is being withheld due to death threats against him. in texas a suspect is on the loose in a case of road rage that left two children hurt. police say a 9-year-old and her 6-month-old brother were hit by shattered glass after another driver tried to merge in front of their parents' car on a houston highway. police say their father who was driving got upset and moments later gunfire erupted. >> they had an altercation, a verbal altercation, and the suspect decided to pull a gun and start shooting the car. >> another possible road rage shooting in houston claimed the life of a father whose young children then managed to steer the family's vehicle. road rage shootings are on the rise nationwide with more than 700 last year. the state of new york has a new governor for the first time in ten years. kathy hochul was sworn in at midnight becoming the state's first female governor in the

wake of andrew cuomo's sexual harassment scandal. cuomo delivered a a defiant farewell address maintaining his innocence calling the investigation that led to his downfall a political firecracker. time now for a look at your tuesday weather. the caldor fire raging east of sacramento has produced conditions so toxic that the air quality in the region is now considered the worst in all of north america. that fire has burned more than 100,000 acres. across the country much drier today in the northeast now that henri has moved offshore. storms are developing in the upper midwest where gusty winds and heavy rain are possible later today. looking at today's high temperatures, hot and muggy in washington, d.c. and temps hitting 91 in tampa. coming up, the breaking news overnight, a fire on board a plane flying to seattle, the images coming in.

also ahead, the new shortages at the grocery store just in time f b d r, the n

breaking overnight, passengers were forced to evacuate a plane in seattle when a cell phone burst into flames. officials say the phone caught fire inside the cargo hold of the alaska airlines flight after the plane had landed from new orleans. images on social media show the cabin filled with smoke. 128 passengers were on board. several of them suffered injuries, but all the injuries are described as minor. attention, shoppers, more stores are having trouble stocking the shelves because of the shortages tied to the pandemic. shoppers are being urged to buy other brands, other favorite products. it could be next year before the

problems are resolved. here's abc's megan tevrizian. >> reporter: this morning a warning for shoppers. the logistics nightmare that began during the pandemic may be getting worse. supply chain delays and labor shortages are hitting everything from shipping companies to grocery stores, and the problems could extend from this back to school shopping season all the way to the holiday shopping season. >> the real challenge comes from how the products are getting to the stores. there aren't enough truck drivers to drive that product to the stores. there's not enough cargo trains that are going to be able to get that cargo to the stores. >> reporter: at grocery stores the supply chain disruptions come as demand hits an all-time high with people dining in more and eating out less just as kids go back to school. kraft heinz says its popular lunchables is seeing double-digit growth for the first time in five years. the company saying it's working fast and furiously to get more product into the hands of

consumers as soon as possible. one grocery chain is getting so desperate, it had to create its own version of lunchable snacks because shipments were behind. >> so many behaviors changed during the pandemic, and that's kind of what we're experiencing. there is a lot more confidence in the kitchen. >> reporter: the delta variant of the coronavirus has forced some ports overseas to work less than capacity creating a logjam meaning shoppers will pay more for a wide range of products and have fewer options. companies like adidas, hasbro and crocs are already warning consumers to expect disruptions during holiday shopping this year. and back to grocery stores, some chains saying they are stockpiling goods to keep their shelves stocked. one company recently saying it purchased 50% more items than usual to try and get ahead of the supply chain problems. andrew, mona. >> megan, thank you. >> coming up, the high school coach who says he was forced to

resign because he's gay. also ahead, what the future could hold for "jeopardy!" after a new decision about its current host. does your plug-in fade too fast? try febreze fade defy plug. it has built-in technology to digitally control how much scent is released to smell first day fresh for 50 days. la la la la la. ♪

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release more hormone. averages school is offering an explanation for what happened. >> they said i had two options. the first option was to -- sorry, was to denounce that i was gay. >> he's a christian, a volleyball coach and a gay man. >> they said basically my dreams of marrying another man would have to just stop. >> it's his sexuality, he says, that's caused him to lose his job in colorado. he was told at valor to stop being gay or abandoned his role as coach. >> i feel it's a repeat of 27 years of life where i hated myself. >> reporter: he says he's not angry. >> anger, i taught to my kids, is such a valid emotion but useless and worthless. >> reporter: but some parents are. >> i'm very disturbed by it.

if this can happen to a teacher, i'm afraid there's back lash that could go towards my daughter. >> reporter: they became aware of a facebook post that suggested he may not support valor's believes. the statement goes on to say that, after a conversation with inoke, he requested separation from the school. >> my main message was to make sure i'm speaking out for those that are silent. i love and hope that, especially as a christian school, that they left those who shun people and find those who are shuned to bring them back. >> he says the school claimed he was a danger to the students. and the school says he misrepresented some aspects but did not elaborate.

the actress, known for her roles on "blossom" will be first in a new round of celebrities vying to replace alex trebek. >> i think it was probably the easiest choice to begin with because they already have her in the stable as the host of the primetiming special editions of "jeopardy." >> richards, meanwhile, plans to stay on as executive producer. the line up of guest hosts has not yet been revealed. and coming up, a problem with one of the world's fastest roller coasters. and can eating a hot people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible with rybelsus®. ♪ you are my sunshine ♪ ♪ my only sunshine... ♪ rybelsus® works differently than any other diabetes pill

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>>ti we begin with a li life-altering study about hot dogs. >> it's life altering in a bad way. researchers at the university of michigan claim every hot dog you eat cuts 35 minutes off your life. so what does that mean for hot dog eating champ joey chestnut. >> he put away more than 1,000 hot dogs during food eating competitions meaning he's cost himselves four weeks of life. now chestnut himself made fun of the study tweeting that he may need to eat more nuts to get time back. the same study suggests foods like peanuts can add up to 15 minutes to your life. >> well, time's up for me then. next a writer who has declared the triumphant rturn of whole milk sparked a fierce debate online. >> she says while traveling the country she found many people ditching dairy alternatives and she says people just want to get back to the basics and are realizing the familiar benefits of real dairy. >> others sharply disagreed with some claiming two-thirds of

adults can't even digest dairy milk. to the world's fastest roller coaster on suspension. >> that's because at least six i the coaster, which is in japan, reaches so-called superdeath speed accelerating to 118 miles per hour in less than two seconds. next marvel released the first trailer for the new "spider-man" movie. >> tom holland returns and teams up with dr. strange to take on a familiar villain. >> the problem is you trying to live two different lives. the longer you do it, the more dangerous it becomes. >> hello, peter. >> oh, yeah, that's alfred molina reprising his role as dr. octopus. "spider-man: no way home" is due out in december. and finally a bowl fit for a king. >> or your dog. hermes is selling the luxury dog bowl. ♪

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or do not come inside, not even a negative covid-19 test will suffice. the places that could be off-limits to unvaccinated people. >> planes landed the u.s. ringing hundreds of evacuees from afghanistan. this morning the mounting pressure on president biden. >> clean air in the classroom is especially important to stop the spread of covid-19 and to read the air of wildfire smoke. the big investment going into san francisco. it is tuesday, august 24 and you are watching abc seven mornings. >> let us start with the forecast with mike nicco. mike: good morning on this tuesday, the exploratory camera showing cloudiness and it will spit out drizzle near the coast as the marine layer is the