moving forward and finding solutions. >> you are watching live on abc seven. we ask experts every day at three to give you experts in real-time. a political reporter. liz cheney lost big time. a flex alert will be in one hour. the dry lightning and fire danger. first, two major pieces of

health news today. first, cdc director rochelle walensky announces a shakeup to the agency, admitting to mistakes during the pandemic. and a local case of monkeypox that was not sexually transmitted, asking questions about how it is spreading. dr., thank you for coming on the show today to talk about these two major pieces of news. let's start with monkeypox and the unusual case you recently saw. what do we know about it? >> what was interesting about this case, the public health system and the nation more broadly is that there is no sexual exposure noted. we know that entire monkey box -- monkeypox outbreaks that

sexual exposure is not necessarily part of transmission. it happens through close skin to skin contact or with contact from saliva or other bodily fluids. with the current outbreak, there was a big amplifying event from europe where there was a spread among sexual networks. sex entails close physical contact, fluids, and draining lesions if there were any. it has been in msm communities and men who identify as bisexual. there could be in all transmission where you may not show symptoms right away. a more traditional route is only close contact was in a crowded outdoor setting where people were very close up against one another but there was no sexual

exposure. the case did not identify anyone around who was sick. a lot of people are going to be in situations like this. i don't think this will lead to a ton of transmission. >> you say there was no sexual contact but there was close contact. this person was dancing. were they fully closed -- clothe d? >> most people have been wearing short sleeves or shorts because it was hot and it was outdoors. so there was exposure to skin. contact with even saliva or where people could be exchanging saliva, not even through kissing but close face-to-face contact. it is very contagious and you could have transmission that way. i don't think it's as effective

as transmission and sexual networks. >> this highlights the fact that you can get it in nonsexual ways. since there are so few cases, does it suggest no need for a change in policy? >> in terms of what it does signify, we saw this earlier in the epidemic. it does say that we should be testing people more openly and there should be a lower threshold to test people so that we can have more transmission. can people transmit without any visual skin lesions. at what point do they start becoming contagious.

>> the risk is there. >> especially in big cities where we've had hundreds of cases. the risk to me is still small. >> a lot of kids are starting college and living in a communal setting, are there concerns over communal laundry rooms, bathrooms, or sitting on friends sheets? >> that have been a couple of documented cases in the past year where an infectious patient in a u.k. hospital, the bedsheets were thought to be how spread happened when they traced this outbreak. but these are very rare instances. monkeypox is a rare disease to begin with. i think the risk is low, but it

is high in the sense that people in college are sexually active. maybe more so than older age groups. that would be a bigger concern. but i would not be so concerned that necessarily the sheets or things that people are touching would be a big outbreak. >> it sounds like you want to see the testing ramped up. rochelle walensky cited mistakes in the pandemic. what are the mistakes that she owned up to? >> one of the big ones was testing. the cdc did not utilize the testing made available, and stud -- instead trying to develop their own test. testing is important early in an outbreak to figure out how many cases there are.

that was one specific one. generally with the cdc described as an agency that deals with a lot of data but is not necessarily the best at responding with action oriented strategies quickly and communicating that well to the public, so people know what's going on. their flagship publication takes so long, even with the polio case that we had. it took several weeks before we got that publication this week. some of this is bureaucratic and some of this is academic but this is saying that there needs to be a change with more and more epidemics. we need an agency that can work with public health quickly. >> are they sufficient to bringing in things that need to be identified? >> there was a discussion about

changing the culture about how the agency would respond. there is so much expertise at the cdc. these are the leading experts on public health. but the management and the way that things are organized and the way that things are done there is what i think director wilensky is bringing to front. the other thing is collaboration with state and public health departments and streamlining of data such that the cdc can access data in a quick way. other experts have noted that some of the software doesn't even allow them to get all the data they need from states that are trying to get them data from monkeypox. there are a lot of functional aspects that will be addressed. it >> what were the biggest fails to you personally with regard to covid and currently with monkeypox? >> i spend a lot of my career in journalism and communications and writing.

the communications aspect were very problematic. like the summer when we were starting to see delta, everybody was told we could stop wearing masks if they are vaccinated and a reversal soon after. the cdc did not express what they did and didn't know. to say vaccinated people may still be able to get infected. you have a lower risk of getting sick, but if we see there is a lot of transmission we will have to bring masks back. communicating in such a way that you can attempt to address people's expectations is very important. that is one of the aspects that a lot of work can be done. the cdc personally has undergone more media training and communications training. the communication to the american public will help build back trust. >> we will see if changes start them in that direction.

coming up, a crushing defeat for liz cheney. liz cheney. we will look at the potential when that car hit my motorcycle, liz cheney. we will look at the potential insurance wasn't fair. so i called the barnes firm, it was the best call i could've made. call the barnes firm now, and find out what your case could be worth. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million

>> welcome back. it may be a wyoming house seat that it was closely watched across the nation. one of the fiercest republicans to go up against former president trump. liz cheney lost her primary against a trump-endorsed candidate. joining us to discuss the race and implications is political reporter alex. how significant is her loss given her family history, previous popularity in wyoming and previously powerful

leadership position in the party? >> it's a big deal, her loss. cheney is political royalty. not just in wyoming but in the republican party at large and it was reit shows the power of dond trump and his continued dominance over the republican party. he effectively ran the campaign for her opponent. top to bottom, her opponent stacked the campaign with trompe l'oeil lists. it was a trump owned and operated endeavor. the fact that cheney lost this race shows that this sort of anti-trump posture doesn't really have much of a constituency in today's gop.

>> and one of the reasons trump work so hard she is on the january 6 committee. does this suggest that trump still has a firm grip on the party? >> 100%. 100% this was a really lopsided defeat for liz cheney and it appeared that she wasn't even really trying to win. it raised a lot of questions among top republicans. it almost seems like she conceded this race and decided to focus more on the january 6 committee. trump has targeted a lot of the republicans who voted to impeach him following the january 6 riot and he's had some successene e ming cgr a start up in 2023, they will have even more trompe l'oeil lists

than there were in the current one. it will come at a time when trump is going to be waging another campaign for the presidency. >> eight out of 10 house republicans voting for peach might have been forced to quit or lost their primaries. how come lisa murkowski survived her primary? she voted to convict trump in his impeachment trial. >> the alaska races going to continue on until november. and we will see if lisa murkowski can survive that race. here's the thing about murkowski. she is a very astute and savvy politician known for running very effective campaigns. in 2010, she ran a campaign and proceeded to run a write in campaign in the general election and she one.

the murkowski name is also political royalty in alaska. she's a tough politician and tougher trump to dislodge. >> i'm not sure if democratic super pac stated in the cheney race but another primates is -- primary races, they poured money into the more extreme election deniers because they deem them easier opponents. is that a good tactic? or is that fear it could backfire? >> it is a really controversial tactic the democrats are embracing. there are people in the democratic party that don't like the national party is doing this. in the pennsylvania governor's race, in the primary, democrats lifted doug mastery auto, a very far right pro-trump candidate, someone who was on january 6, someone who repeats the lies about the 2020 election.

democrats effectively helped him win the republican primary and now advance to the general election. the democratic calculation is that mastery auto as a far right candidate could be a weaker general action, but at the same time, it's a controversial move because democrats are pushing candidates who have advanced a lot of election denial. >> liz cheney does not sound like someone who is throwing in the towel. where does she go next? does she have a realistic path to run for president? >> by all indications she's preparing to run in 2024. this group is similar. a lot of people run for

president and go to places like new hampshire and iowa. it appears she is preparing to run in 2024. can she do well in a republican primary? it could be really tough for her. >> if she goes independent, does she have a fighting chance? >> it is tough. we have conversations about independent candidates every four years. they don't get very far. it's possible. politics is an unpredictable sport. alex, thank you for breaking down the implications for us. coming up next, hot temperatures, storms moving in, and a lot to talk about with the i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program.

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>> the bay area is dealing with another day of searing hot temperatures although the cooling has begun in san francisco and around the bay. but there is a new threat today. potential tncheck out thisid moomment the truck was hit by lightning.nobody was hurt t how different -- fierce lightn srm can be. mike has more with our risk. >> lightning strikes around the bay since this morning and most of those have been either within the cloud or from cloud to cloud. only two of them have dropped down to the ground. we have not heard of any fire starts but the cloud is pretty ominous outside. if you see lightning and hear thunder before 30 seconds, head inside until 30 minutes after

the last bolt of lightning. and some of the shelters should be a substantial building with wiring and plumbing or a car as you saw. the occupants within it are fine. where you do not want to seek shelter are covered portions, tents. it will likely hit the tallest object. you may want to shelter under their, thinking it will save you from the rain. if you are the tallest object in an open space, you are more likely to get hit by lightning. you can see live doppler 7. as we put it into motion, moisture comes up from the south. we still have that chance according to future radar and especially the north way. that is where we have the red flag warning for lake and mendocino counties. you talked about the heat.

the hottest temperatures today and through the next couple of days will be solano county, like, and mendocino county. we are not using as much electricity because it's not as hot as yesterday. >> i am never the tallest object or person anywhere. mike mentioned the statewide flex alert issued for today kicks in at or clock p.m. so a little more than half an hour from now and runs until 9:00. they are asking us all to use less energy to help avoid outages. joining us live to discuss this and how we can help his pg&e spokesperson deanna contrary is. good to have you on. what is a flex alert and why is it needed today? >> that is when the state calls on utilities and californians to conserve energy. the flex alert today is between 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. pg&e is asking our customers to try to conserve as much as you

can starting in about 40 minutes. it is peak demand. even though it hasn't been as hot, the peak amanda still there with people running air conditioners and fans and so forth. >> today is not as hot as yesterday. >> that's right. we have had several days of hot weather in santa rosa. in the clouds are coming in today a little bit. it is still hot. demand is still there. >> what are some ways that we can conserve energy? >> in 40 minutes, we ask you turn your thermostat up to 78 degrees. every degree above that counts for 2% savings. not only are you conserving energy, but you are saving on your bill. early in the day when it is

cooler, we are looking for the bay area and we can open up the windows. that is really the name of the game with the flex alerts. >> if we don't save enough energy and we are using too much, would that mean rolling blackouts? >> it is really about supply and demand and the flex alert really helps balance that. we did see rotating outages asked year. the demand was really getting up there. >> ok, good. any changes on your operations? how about any shifts on your end? >> with the heat, it's so hot today but with multiple days of

heat, we could see some heat related outages. always be prepared for possible power outages. >> besides the short term, is there anything longer-term that can help improve the power supply and reduce the need for occasional flex alerts? >> a lot of customers are on different rate plans. so you will save on your energy bill if you wait to use the dishwasher or the washing machine. it we are asking you to do the dishes after 9:00 p.m. and you can really save on your meal if you change habits in the long term and do those things that require large lances. >> is there anything you can do that all of us can do in california to increase the power

supply? >> that is really a statewide issue for all of the utilities. and of course, pg&e is doing its part whenever we are called upon for hydropower generation. but that hasn't happened today. >> that is a longer conversation that we should have another day. you can get our live newscast and more with our abc 7 bay area streaming tv app available on apple tv, android tv, and roku. apple tv, android tv, and roku. ♪ ♪ well well well, what have we here? a magical place... that's lookin' to get scared! with bats... and ghouls ... and cars in disguise. (laugh) i've cast quite a spell now... you won't believe your eyes! (laughter) the spell is cast.

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today on this interactive show, getting answers. we will be here every weekday at re-:00 answering your questions. tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. the head of the cdc ordering a complete overhaul of the agency. cdc director dr. rochelle walensky with the scathing review of her own agency's handling of the covid pandemic here in the u.s. calling public guidance confusing and overwhelming. preparing for sweeping changes, including faster responses to new health threats. all of this coming as the biden administration says new covid boosters targeting the original strain and omicron subvariants could now be available to millions of americans within three weeks. also breaking tonight, once nicknamed america's mayor, former trump attorney rudy giuliani tonight testifying for nearly six hours before a special grand jury in georgia. the target of a criminal investigation about