good morning, america. ida's destruction. the death toll rising from catastrophic flooding. the massive cleanup under way with walls of water smashing through homes as cities look to avoid future disasters. surveying the damage. president biden tours louisiana as hundreds of thousands of people struggle without power. the fuel shortage. >> many of these people have been waiting for hours. >> plus, the nursing home residents evacuated to a warehouse. the reported deaths and complaints of conditions inside. breaking overnight, abortion law battle. the small victory in a texas court for planned parenthood aiming to protect its employees from some lawsuits as we hear

from a texas health care the cdc urging people to stay home this holiday weekend if they're not fully vaccinated. the fears of a hospital bed shortage and the new questions this morning about booster shots. job incentives. the city's offering signing bonuses to recruit employees. labor secretary marty walsh joins us live this labor day weekend. breaking overnight, naomi osaka puts a pause on playing tennis. showing her frustration on the court, defeated in the third round at the u.s. open. >> i think i'm going to take a break from playing for awhile. >> her candid comments about winning and losing and her mental health. and big match-up. the college football season number three clemson facing number five georgia. >> touchdown! >> espn's desmond howard joins

us with a "gameday" preview. good morning, america. the aftermath of ida evident from the gulf coast to the northeast. the death toll now climbing to 63 people in 8 states as ida becomes the deadliest tropical storm to hit the u.s. in the last four years. >> there are real signs of desperation in louisiana where hundreds of thousands of people are entering their sixth day with no power. many waiting in long lines to get fuel and other essentials. >> and in pennsylvania, crews worked overnight to pump out the vine street expressway in downtown philadelphia as the massive cleanup effort gets under way. we have team coverage this morning. first, we go to rob marciano in rye brook, new york. rob, good morning to you. >> hey, good morning, whit. you know, during the height of the storm this babbling brook was a torrent up and over my head tearing apart this footbridge with its power. you know, we've heard so many e

in this case this muan ldi hdedo one of thousands of cars and homes destroyed with the wrath of hurricane ida. >> go, go, go, get out of here. >> reporter: this morning, the death toll rising as residents in the northeast reel from the aftermath of hurricane ida. abc news now confirming 49 deaths along the east coast spanning 5 different states, remnants of ida leaving communities in chaos. extensive cleanup under way, some forced to throw out all of their belongings. >> there's no choice. we have to because everything is gone. >> reporter: this as search efforts continue. police still looking for those missing. >> i will ask everyone to please check on your neighbors, family and friends to assure their well-being. we are continuing surveys and wellness checks on areas that were impacted by the storm. >> reporter: ida now the

deadliest tropical system to hit the u.s. in four years. this husband and wife i spoke to saw their home in rye brook, new york, fill with party. their car swept away a quarter of a mile ending up overturned in this stream. the water was so strong it ripped the floor right out of your house and then carried your car all the way down here across the street. >> across the street. >> it's probably a quarter of a mile from the house. >> reporter: in new york city, 13 lost their lives in the wake of the storm. 11 of whom were trapped inside flooded lower level apartments. >> we have lost a son. we have lost a sister, and this, this is -- i cannot comprehend, no one, the emotions here. >> reporter: the city's department of buildings now investigating living conditions after the fatalities. in a statement d.o.b. confirming, five of the six properties where new yorkers tragically lost their lives during the floods were illegally converted cellar and basement apartments. mayor de blasio calling the devastation in the city

a wake-up call. >> the worst tragedies we saw on wednesday did not happen anywhere near the shoreline. and this is another reality we have to face. >> reporter: the mayor also announcing a new weather response task force and measures to avoid future devastation including travel bans, door-to-door warnings and basement evacuations. meanwhile, in neighboring states like new jersey, residents trying to pick up the pieces there. >> what i saw and witnessed was actually worse than irene or sandy. >> we see this time and time again with tropical systems. most of the fatalities happen inland with this sort of flooding. most of the rivers have receded though there are some still in flood stage that will be slow to recede. the good news is, this will be the third straight day of dry weather for recovery efforts here. we can't forget what's going on in new orleans with their recovery. it's going to be another hot day across the gulf coast, and they have actually lowered the heat advisory for new orleans criteria because so many

are without electricity, but another warm day for recovery efforts there. >> you'll get temperatures and those people without power and just can't imagine what it must feel like in those homes as they try to repair the damage. rob, thank you so much for that. president biden is visiting louisiana to get a firsthand look at the damage. promising to leave no community behind. abc's elwyn lopez is in louisiana with the very latest on those struggling with the most basic needs in that disaster zone. good morning, elwyn. >> reporter: hey, eva, good morning. it's been nearly a week since ida hit, but take a look at what's been left behind. buildings like this ripped open, desk and chairs exposed. scenes like this playing out across southeastern louisiana. this morning, the despair in louisiana still palpable. on friday president biden surveying what ida left behind nearly a week ago vowing to rebuild areas hardest hit. >> i know you all are frustrated about how long it takes to restore power. it's dangerous work. we're working 24/7 with the

energy companies, and we'll get through this together. >> reporter: and ahead of that storm, more than 800 nursing home residents were evacuated to a warehouse in independence. now four are dead. three of them classified by the coroner as storm-related. abc news obtaining these images showing the crowded conditions inside. the state's attorney general now launching an investigation. >> it was terrible. the mattresses were on the ground. it was horrible. the five-gallon can was our toilet. >> reporter: loretta was there five days. her daughter saying she wasn't allowed to visit her mother during that time. abc news reached out to the nursing home's owner but has yet to receive a response. he reportedly told a local station that he believes they did a good job given the circumstances. and across the state, community members helping one another,

even those without, giving to those most in need as hundreds of thousands remain in the dark, waiting for the gas station, many of these people have been waiting for hours, lines all over southeastern louisiana. this man tells me he has a heart condition as he waits in line to fill up his tank. >> i been sitting in the car, you know, because i don't have electricity. i have to cool off and take heart medicine and stuff. >> reporter: and those most vulnerable are at risk as recovery efforts are hampered by lack of power and lack of gas and, guys, some places six days later there are places still underwater. >> elwyn, that's right. we can see the damage behind you. so much to clean up and get through in the coming days. thank you so much. we appreciate it. we do turn now to the pandemic and the cdc warning the unvaccinated not to travel this holiday weekend over concerns it could fuel more covid-19 outbreaks. u.s. daily cases are already up

nearly 1,000% over the last two months. seven states are at or above icu capacity of 90% statewide and pediatric hospital admissions the pand evor, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, whit. we've seen this now how many times heading into holiday weekends? millions of people get on the road, get together and then we see weeks of troubling numbers that follow. and this latest delta variant surge shows clearly we are not yet out of the woods so, once again, healthcare workers are screaming their warnings particularly for the unvaccinated. this morning, health officials fearing labor day weekend could further fan the flames of the pandemic, doctors in oregon warning, if you get sick or injured, they may not have a hospital bed available for you. >> the emergency department and the icu is under incredible strain right now. >> reporter: the cdc now warning people if you're not fully

vaccinated this weekend, you should not travel, and that recommendation extends to children. >> the rate of hospitalization for children was nearly four times higher in states with the lowest overall vaccination coverage when compared to states with high overall vaccination coverage. >> reporter: at wolfson's children's hospital in jacksonville, florida, pediatric covid patients have nearly doubled since august 1st. this week two children dying in a single 24-hour span, doctors voicing their frustration. >> how many children dying is too many? social distancing, disinfection. mask wearing, that's a small price to pay. >> reporter: and with just weeks until the nation is supposed to begin the rollout of booster shots september 20th, the "new york times" reports health officials are advising the white house to scale back that plan for now because they need more time to collect and review necessary data. moderna, pfizer and johnson & johnson all say they've

submitted their booster data for evaluation from the fda, though the agency's independent advisory board isn't supposed to take up the booster issue until september 17th. and at least one board member, dr. paul offit, doesn't think boosters are needed right now. >> all the data shows that if you've gotten two doses, you are protected against serious illness. people need to be reassured about that. >> reporter: before we made it out of this pandemic, the white house is outlaying a plan for future pandemics based on the lessons we've learned from covid-19, seeing how hard we have been hit both financially and in everyone's general well-being, the biden administration calls this an economic and a moral imperative. dan. >> already bracing for the next one, trevor, thank you so much. we're going to turn now to the battle over the new texas abortion law. overnight, planned parenthood won a court battle to protect its employees from some lawsuits, and abc's rachel scott is right there on the ground in houston with the story. rachel, good morning to you.

>> reporter: dan, good morning. now, a texas judge handing planned parenthood a very narrow legal victory. this targets the unique section of the texas law that allows private citizens to sue anyone who helps a woman get an unlawful abortion. for now the texas judge ruling that one of the largest anti-abortion groups in the state, texas right to life, cannot sue any of planned parenthood's doctors or healthcare workers. but that is a small drop in the bucket. there are 29 million people in this state. other private citizens could still carry out those lawsuits and the most restrictive abortion law in the nation still stands right here in texas. i can tell you we have been on the ground now for a few days now, and the reality of that is still settling in. we were inside one clinic here in houston just yesterday. one healthcare worker telling me that she has had to turn away 70% of the women who have called in. >> i feel like i failed. i take it personally.

i have failed in my role to help someone. they have relied on planned parenthood for years, and usually we would have some answers. we have no answers. we have no answers. >> reporter: while we were inside that clinic just yesterday, doris told me their call center has turned into a crisis hotline. texas right to life, one of the largest anti-abortion groups here in the state says that they are undeterred by this. they see this law as groundbreaking and say they will continue to press forward. >> rachel scott for us there and president biden is speaking out for the first time against the texas abortion law. abc's white house correspondent maryalice parks is on the north lawn with that part of the story. good morning, maryalice. >> reporter: good morning, eva. yeah, well, the white house has been speaking out against this law. yesterday was the first time that president biden answered questions about it in front of the cameras, and it's clear that the very unusual mechanisms in

this law that let one neighbor sue another neighbor was top of mind for the president. he described that as a vigilante system and said it was almost un-american. now, yesterday the white house counsel's office met with reproductive health leaders and afterwards the white house said they are looking ways that the federal government can respond to the law and ensure that all women have access to safe and legal abortion but still the white house has not yet laid out any specific next steps. now, a number of democrats including speaker nancy pelosi have argued that this is the time for legislation. massachusetts congresswoman ayanna pressley is one of the leaders on a bill that would solidify access to abortion on the federal level. i spoke with congresswoman pressley yesterday, and she said that the president needed to throw his full weight behind this. >> just because there is a ban on abortion doesn't mean that abortions will stop happening. it means that there will not be

safe access to legal abortions for our most vulnerable. we risk losing this majority if we do not act boldly and meet the needs of the coalition that elected this majority. >> reporter: now, she went on to say that being the majority can't just be a talking point. democrats are really feeling the pressure here to respond, especially as a number of republican governors are now saying that they want to copy the texas law. whit. >> a lot of other states watching it closely. maryalice, thank you. now to the death of ahmaud arbery, his family speaking out after the former district attorney is charged, accused of interfearing in the investigation into the georgia man's shooting. abc's alex presha spoke with arbery's mother. >> reporter: this morning, a georgia prosecutor who was handling the murder case of ahmaud arbery now facing criminal charges of her own. former brunswick district attorney jackie johnson indicted this week by a grand jury for alleged obstruction and hindering law enforcement and for allegedly violating the oath of public office.

>> this two-count indictment of a former sitting district attorney is a shocking turn of events. >> reporter: prosecutors say johnson showed favor and affection to one of the men now charged for arbery's murder, greg mcmichael. he once worked as an investigator in her office. they also say johnson directed police not to arrest mcmichael's son travis after the fatal shooting. in february of last year ahmaud arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was jogging when he was chased and confronted by three white men. the mcmichaels and their neighbor william "roddie" bryan and the men accused arbery of break-ins in their neighborhood and the deadly encounter with aubery allegedly being shot with a shotgun as bryan filmed it. for more than two months no arrests until that cell phone video leaked in the georgia bureau of investigation took over the case. johnson's lawyers told abc news they won't comment on ongoing litigation. >> they say johnson failed to

treat ahmaud and his family fairly and with dignity. what do you think dignity would have been? >> to protect ahmaud as a human being first. >> reporter: prosecutors say johnson called neighboring district attorney george barnhill to advise police after the incident, something johnson allegedly never disclosed before barnhill took over the investigation. >> we're hoping that the evidence will be sufficient to indict george barnhill. >> reporter: barnhill has not been charged, and it remains to be seen if further indictments will follow. for ahmaud arbery's mother, this indictment is vindicating, but the progress doesn't erase the pain. >> because i am ahmaud, i am ahmaud arbery. >> reporter: the mcmichaels and bryan have pleaded not guilty and this case is now being handled by the district attorney in cobb county, just outside of atlanta, a completely different county from where johnson worked. dan. >> thank you very much. much more to come on this case. time now though to check the weather again. let's go back to rob who is in rye brook, new york. rob, good morning, once again.

>> hi, dan. like i mentioned earlier, a beautiful day again for the northeast, low humidity and some sunshine, but we are getting into the heart of hurricane season, and we have another major hurricane that's in the atlantic right now. let's show it to you, and also another disturbance that is scheduled to get into the gulf of mexico. hurricane larry, 115-mile-per-hour winds at the moment and scheduled to increase in intensity to a cat 4 as it heads its way toward bermuda on wednesday or thursday. computer models kind of pretty confident hopefully turning out to sea. this will create rough surf but likely not until after labor day for the east coast. and that disturbance in the caribbean, we have 30% of it lisa: good saturday morning. i am lisa argen. check out the fog in the city. that is a compressed marine layer that will give way to

sunshine, but we still have haze. due to the moderate air quality and the smoke drifting from the north. it is sizzling hot inland, near 100 degrees, especially tomorrow. we get to some high clouds and looking at cooler temperatures by tuesday. 84 in fremont. 94 today in concord. 70 >> this weather disaster hitting close to home for me. i'm just five miles from my house, which also got flooded. so we're dealing with that, garnering some more empathy for the flood victims i have to cover on a yearly basis and whit got flooded as well but lucky we're alive. >> so many. it is incredible the historic flooding throughout the neighborhood. you got it much worse than we did, but our thoughts and hearts definitely go out to all those suffering after ida. really incredible. just cutting a path across the country like that. >> and so many people still

without power this morning. >> absolutely. >> disturbing what it says about what could be coming next in terms of these storms. let's switch gears now and defending u.s. open champ naomi osaka suffered a surprise defeat overnight, losing her composure and the match in front of a crowd at arthur ashe stadium, and now she's talking about taking another break from competition. janai norman has the story. >> reporter: overnight, a tough loss for naomi osaka at the u.s. open. her frustration on full display before delivering this stunning admission during an emotionally charged press conference. >> i honestly don't know when i'm going to play my next tennis match. i think i'm going to take a break from playing for awhile. >> reporter: osaka's decision coming after a grueling three-set defeat in the third round at the u.s. open against teenager leylah annie fernandez. the tennis superstar seen slamming her racket to the ground. now she says she needs a break

from the pressures of the sport. >> when i win i don't feel happy. i feel more like a relief. and then when i lose, i feel very sad, and i don't -- i don't think that's normal. >> reporter: osaka's struggles with mental health dates back to 2018 when she was victorious at the u.s. open withdrawing from roland garros in may. the tennis player telling "time" magazine in july, i communicated that i wanted to skip press conferences at roland garros to exercise self-care and preservation of my mental health. i stand by that. athletes are humans. perhaps we should give athletes the right to take a mental break from media scrutiny on a rare occasion without being subject to strict sanctions. her u.s. open loss marks osaka's first competition since the summer olympic games when she participated in the opening ceremony for japan, her home country. now it's unclear what the future holds.d eaold sayiht

w nn isn't f her.ns questions as to when osaka will return to the court even raising the question if she ever will. guys. >> all right, janai, thank you. still ahead here, with government jobs going unfilled during the pandemic, the incentives some are offering to recruit new employees. plus, labor secretary marty walsh joins us live to talk about the latest jobs report. "good morning america" sponsored by progressive insurance. save when you bundle auto, home or motorcycle insurance. now, we all know progressive offers 24/7 protection, but we also bundle outdoor vehicles with home and auto to help people save more! [ laughs ] ♪ [ humming ] [ door creaks ] oh. [ soft music playing ] what are you all doing in my daydream? it's better than that presentation.

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>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. >> morning. happenings day food concession workers at oracle park plan to take a strike vote as the giants are in the middle of their weekend series against the dodgers. their union claims that at least

20 workers have come down with covid this year and the union is demanding bon appetit hazard pay and access to health insurance. now look at our weather. >> there is fog behind you but we have here is the south bay where moderate air quality is with us. pockets of good air quality along the shoreline. sonny with a high of 70 and lots of 50's now but numbers in the mid-90's inland. >> thank you for joining us. the news continues right

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♪ tell me why ♪ tell me why, ain't nothing but a heartache ♪ ♪ tell me why ♪ ♪ ain't nothing but a mistake ♪ >> i knew you were enjoying this as much as i am. welcome back to "gma" on this saturday morning. more than 20 years after its release, the backstreet boys' hit video "i want it that way" is back kind of. coming up in "pop," janai will tell us what music megastar is putting his spin on the boy band classic and breaking records in the process. >> i enjoyed those baggy pants. remember those back in the day. when i got married to my wife, they slowly disappeared. i asked her, tell me why. >> you can't wear them like joey fatone. >> no, no, you can't. exactly. exactly.

>> oh, boy, we could keep talking about this and i would like to but they're tell using we need to move on so let's take a look at some of the other stories we're following right now. happening right now, a plea deal for the so-called "qanon shaman," the man wearing a furry hat during the january 6th capitol riot. jacob chansley pleaded guilty carrying a maximum sentence up to 20 years in prison. also right now, boxer oscar de la hoya telling fans from his hospital bed that he's pulling out of his comeback fight next week after testing positive for covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated, the hall of famer posting a video on twitter thanking fans for their support. la hoya hasn't competed in the ring for the past 13 years. and virgin galactic's former flight test director is calling for an independent review of the company' with sir richard branson. the faa has now grounded virgin galactic flights as it

investigates what caused the rocket plane known as spaceship 2 to veer off course during its descent in new mexico. we start this half hour, though, with the disappointing numbers from the latest jobs report falling far short of estimates. president biden blaming the lackluster figures on the pandemic. abc's deirdre bolton is here with more on the challenge to fill government jobs on a number of levels. good morning to you, deidre. >> reporter: good morning, eva. towns, cities and states, they are competing seriously for workers and, in fact, some are offering never-before-seen bonuses and other kinds of incentives. hiring in the u.s. downshifted abruptly in august with the smallest jobs gain in seven months. restaurants and bars and retail took the biggest hits. government employment also declined. >> in conversations with local governments, for them this is w they've seen in their lifetimes.

>> reporter: with more than 10 million jobs unfilled in the u.s. economy, a record, there's more competition than ever for workers. in the broad category of government work, one in ten jobs are open. to fix the problem on a local level, towns, cities and states are taking a page from corporate america. >> in tulsa, oklahoma, they're offering $2,000 bonuses for 911 dispatchers. >> reporter: albuquerque is offering several incentives to bring in workers including those from nearby cities or even states. >> we have a bonus of $15,000 attached to lateral police officers who come from different public safety agencies. teachers and teaching assistants, they're being offered $750. in the 22 years that i've been with the city, this is the first time that we've seen something like this happen. >> they're having to do things that may be completely unfamiliar to them like signing bonuses. you don't necessarily think of a government as offering a signing

bonus the way that say a wall street bank would. >> reporter: baltimore is one of those cities struggling, facing a persistent shortage in the public works department where a quarter of the jobs are subornly available. baltimore also upped the pay of city truck drivers to about $23 an hour, a raise of up to 5%, by postponing hiring in other departments, but it is still struggling to attract enough applicants. some city leaders telling us it is really difficult for them to compete with the private sector. one reason, most city jobs are in person, and that leaves working remotely off the table. dan. >> deirdre bolton, thank you so much. let's bring in the u.s. secretary of labor marty walsh who joins us exclusively this morning. secretary, thanks for coming on. as you heard there, deirdre's report talked about how many municipal jobs are going unfilled. how can that be turned around? >> well, thank you for having me today, and certainly after yesterday's report we've been looking at, you know, a lot of

the results, i think that some of the folks that are coming in, you mentioned municipal employees and potential workers not coming in because they want to telework, i think we still have to focus on the delta variant and the coronavirus, and we have to do everything we can to get people vaccinated and get we saw a spike in the month of august in the coronavirus, which obviously was part and party to hurting our numbers being high, so we have some work to do there. there's no question about it. and i also think that schools starting this week and next week is going to help us as well. lots of people having lots of problem with child care, particularly single mothers and individual family members having a difficult time trying to have a place for their kids to go. so, again, with school open in person, as long as we continue to move forward here, we should be in a lot better shape as we move into the fall. >> what about places where schools may not be able to re-open. can you help parents with child care in order to get them back into the labor force?

>> yeah, the president put forth in the american rescue plan $39 billion for the child care industry. certainly that was restaurants but child care industries were hit hard too during the pandemic because a lot of people stayed home and they didn't send their kids to child care, so there's a $39 billion investment that right now is going -- that has gone a couple of months ago to the states, and the states are allocating those dollars to child care facilities. we have to get them open. i mean, if we're going to be a point, at some point in our time here in the united states, we need to get more and more people back to work. the positive side, i do want to talk a little about the entire picture, since the president has taken office, 12.5 million americans have come to work, this month of august is one snapshot of a longer recovery. obviously we knew it was going to be a long recovery. there's no road map on how to come back from a pandemic, so we're talking about a glimpse of one month. but certainly we all know and the president knows and the administration knows that we have work to do.

there's no hiding that, and that's why the president's been so insistent on people being vaccinated. that is the way to make sure you keep yourself safe and help us defeat this virus. >> speaking of the work that needs to be done, i want to talk about another pain point for many people, the enhanced federal unemployment benefits that have been in place since last year are going to end this weekend. what kind of impact will that have, and do you favor extending these benefits? >> well, what myself and secretary yellen did, we sent a letter to the states allowing them the opportunity to use the american rescue plan if they need to extend the unemployment benefit. right now when the congress passed that legislation, they put a time limit on it, september 6th was the time line, and that's when the $300 ends and hopefully as we think about what's happening, we don't need it consistently across the country because we have some states with very low unemployment rates. it varies from state to state and quite honestly it varies city to city. if a state needs to extend those

unemployment benefits, they have the ability to through the american rescue plan dollars which they have right now. >> u.s. secretary of labor marty walsh, thanks for coming on on a saturday morning. really appreciate it. >> thank you for having me today. boston accent on the show on a - saturday morning. >> there you go. >> i almost called him marty walsh. didn't know if that would be appropriate. >> he would have appreciated it. >> yeah, he probably would have. back to the weather and rob marciano out there in rye brook, new york, there, the damage just incredible. people cleaning up, rob. at least we're going to get a break from some of the severe weather in the northeast. >> yeah, it's turning into a bit of more a quiet pattern and the past couple of days have been dry, very dry as a matter of fact, low levels of humidity helps when you're trying to clear out wet debris from your home. all right, let's talk about the other big weather headline, that, of course, the ongoing fires in the west, the caldor fire, 213,000 acres burned. this is the one burning south of lake tahoe near kirkwood. you see firefighters trying to get a handle on it. it has been cooler and winds

a little bit lighter and they've got over 30% containment now so a bit of a progress there, thankfully. thankfully and hopefully keeping that away from the big buildings in south lake. mt. hood national forest, a bold fire there, about 13,000 acres burning, but we're getting into a very hot weekend and firefighters are concerned about that. excessive heat watches are posted for parts of southern california, some of the deserts here can get up to 118 degrees and air quality alerts, of course, where those fires are burning. the building heat will extend, it looks like, right on through the end of the labor day holiday into monday. >> this weat >> this weather report has been sponsored by chase.

guys, i'll send it back to you in the studio. i normally say the weather is horrible, and i wish i was in studio, but it's actually turning out to be a lovely morning, so there's that. >> there is that. great to hear. just before we go, i want to apologize to joey fatone who was not in the backstreet boys. i meant to say aj mclean, so i feel very badly. >> he was in 'nsync. 'nsync. very important correction. thank you. coming up on "good morning america," it's like christmas for college football fans. espn's "gameday's" desmond howard gives us a preview of the big college match-ups. i earn all this cash back? oh, i gotta tell everyone. hey rita, you can earn 3% on dining, including takeout! bon appetit. hey kim, you earn 5% on travel purchased through chase! way ahead of you. hey neal, you can earn 3% at drug stores!!! buddy, i'm right here. why are you yelling? because that's what i do!

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and welcome back to "gma" and welcome back to "gma" and the big day in college football today, plenty of intriguing match-ups. joining us now is heisman trophy winner and espn football analyst desmond howard. he is in charlotte, north carolina, with the preview. desmond, good morning to you. we can already hear and sense some of the energy out there. very exciting. so what do you expect the atmosphere to be like today in charlotte for "college gameday" and for tonight's game between georgia and clemson? >> well, look, it's not even

8:00 in the morning yet, and you can see the crowd behind me. i mean, these guys are fired up. you know, we come on live at 9:00 a.m., and they're going to have to be here until kickoff. these guys are just so excited to be in this environment. charlotte is on fire. it's going to be exciting. when you get a number -- a high match-up with number three versus number five, you expect fireworks, and that's what we expect tonight here in charlotte. >> seeing the fireworks and the signs start to appear, we're reading them one by one. so we've got five games today featuring ranked versus ranked teams. which is the most intriguing match-up in your opinion? >> well, first of all, that's great observation on your behalf, because the sign game is back. we have some very good signs behind me. one of the most intrig games is on abc at 3:30, and we have a full slate, but this one, miami versus alabama. you look at the story lines. you have miami's quarterback d'eriq king. tore his acl at the end of the year last season. he's back. almost 100%. going up against an alabama defense.

everybody thinks at this stage they're going to be national championship worthy but alabama is replacing mac jones, and they have a young quarterback named bryce young. we have to see what is he going to bring to the offense. how will he handle this manny diaz defense that miami presents. manny diaz is their head coach but the defense played so horrible at the end of the season that manny said, i'm going to be the dc, so that's a very intriguing story line. alabama versus miami and atlanta, abc, 3:30. >> all right, we are looking forward to that. desmond, as always, we truly appreciate it, and as you noted right there, you can catch "gameday" at 9:00 a.m. on espn. then it's clemson against georgia at 7:30 right here on abc, and we'll be right back with our "play of the day." ur " the day." ow. it means experience. i mean, put it this way. if i told you i'd been jarring raspberry preserves for 85 years, what would you think? (humming) well, at first you'd be like,

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♪ i'm a rocket man ♪ ♪ i'm a rocket man ♪ back now with our "play of the day," and we are flipping for this superstar jet skier at the top of his game. whit, i feel like this is something that you would try to do. >> we'll see. >> check out five-time world champion mark gomez catching ridiculous air. >> i don't know if i would try that any time soon, but that looks pretty cool. >> yeah. he's performing his famous tricks in an exhibition event 46 in lake havasu, arizona. >> dan, how about you? >> doesn't look like that's what the machine was designed to do. >> you're more of an inflatable pegasus in the pool guy. >> yeah. me and joey fatone. >> apparently he's been doing this for 15 years. he started when he was 9 so he's had a lot of practice. >> you actually ride jet skis. >> but not like that. i ride them very speed limit. >> very cautious. >> she's more of the segway

variety of jet skis. >> i use them for the actual purpose. >> it's very cool. hey, we'll be right back with more "gma." keep it here. i'm morgan, and there's more to me than hiv. more love, more adventure, more community. but with my hiv treatment, there's not more medicines in my pill. i talked to my doctor and switched to fewer medicines with dovato. dovato is for some adults who are starting hiv-1 treatment or replacing their current hiv-1 regimen. with just 2 medicines in 1 pill, dovato is as effective as a 3-drug regimen... to help you reach and stay undetectable. research shows people who take hiv treatment as prescribed and get to and stay undetectable can no longer transmit hiv through sex. don't take dovato if you're allergic to its ingredients or if you take dofetilide. taking dovato with dofetilide can cause serious or life-threatening side effects. hepatitis b can become harder to treat while on dovato. don't stop dovato without talking to your doctor, as your hepatitis b may worsen or become life-threatening. serious or life-threatening side effects can occur,

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"gma" is now two hours on saturdays. "gma" is now two hours on saturdays. coming up, the big cleanup from the south to the northeast. dealing with the damage from ida. plus, monica lewinsky sharing her feelings about being publicly scrutinized ahead of the miniseries, "american crime story: impeachment," which is set to air. and in our "gma" cover story, the magic number of steps to add years to your life. is 10,000 overkill? we'll find out, stay with us. nd.

>> announcer: we're celebrating by traveling all over the country. >> "rise & shine." >> "rise & shine." >> announcer: celebrate with abc's "good morning america's" "rise & shine" tour. the world may feel out of your control but your happiness doesn't have to be. learn the secrets to happiness, listen to the ten percent happier podcast free on apple podcasts. on apple podcasts. 20 years after our world 20 years after our world forever changed, the powerful stories that unite these women are the things mir >> abc 7 mornings. good morning. happening today, the oakland zoo is giving away free family passes if you get vaccinated at the zoo. .

-- zoo website runs from nine to two -- 9:00 to 2:00. the next event is september 30. chase center in san francisco bringing the jokes. it is outdoor comedy night. it takes over the plaza for a night show with sets from san francisco's top comics. there will be food trucks, a beer garden and if you rsvp, you will get a chance to see trevor noah's show in november. the art and wine festival excelled at 10:00 this morning and features live music, artwork, as well as gourmet food . the art and wine festival runs through tomorrow. we want to make sure you know all about it because it is happening in downtownillbe. req. let's get a look at whether.

lisa: lettie of dense fog. we do have haze. fog right now in the bay. half mile visibility mount tam, a little hazy. another view and you can see the haze. we will be in the mid 90's today. amanda: up next, as the caldor fire continues, a storm warning this holiday from south lake tahoe officials, stay away.

annoucer: building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. amanda: smoke continues to drift into the bay area. it comes after a warning to stay away from lake tahoe as the caldor fire is not done yet. you are watching abc 7 news live on abc 7, hulu live, and wherever you stream. i am amanda del castillo. let's take a look at how it is affecting us. here is lisa argen. lisa: the fog inside the bay. visibility reduced