>> janai: good morning, america. deadly festival fiasco. tens of thousands of people attending burning man trapped by flooding rain, turning the site into a muddy mess. the orders to conserve food, water, and fuel amid a worsening forecast. >> oh, my god. >> janai: plus, the rains causing flash flooding in las vegas. we've got the latest on the track and timing.

>> gio: heading home. the record number of americans taking to the skies this holiday weekend preparing for the return journey. the situation at the airports, plus, the best and worst times to hit the road. >> whit: water warnings. the advisory from coast to coast about contaminated water. the potentially deadly bacteria raising safety concerns. >> janai: remembering bill richardson. the former new mexico governor and diplomat dies at 75. how he capped his long career helping free detained americans like brittney griner. tributes pouring in. >> gio: depleted uranium. the heavy ammunition the u.s. is expected to send to ukraine. the armor-piercing rounds capable of destroying russian tanks. what we know about its radiation levels. >> whit: urgent manhunt. a convicted murderer who escaped from a pennsylvania prison spotted on surveillance camera. the massive search for the man

described as extremely dangerous. >> janai: murdaugh's next move. the possible appeal strategies for the disgraced lawyer convicted of killing his wife and younger son. >> gio: labor day car sales. the traditional time to get a deal on a new set of wheels. the strategies to help you save. >> whit: back on the track. the driver behind the wheel of this frightening crash last week making a remarkable recovery saying he's ready to race today. ♪ hey, look, ma, i made it ♪ >> janai: and football feat. a player's journey to land a spot on a college team more than a decade in the making. the 34-year-old kicker proving age is nothing but a number. >> janai: oh. college football is back. >> whit: sports janai. >> janai: yes. we're going to be talking more

about that later. look, primetime deion sanders was doing his thing. >> whit: he was. >> i'm very excited to talk about that later. >> gio: she can't wait to talk about that story by the way. i'm so excited. >> janai: good morning, america. we hope you're having an amazing holiday weekend. better at least than the situation at burning man. the annual counterculture festival in the black rock desert about 100 miles north of reno, nevada. >> whit: but that desert has turned into an enormous sea of mud because of torrential rain. the site all but cut off from the outside world and a death has now been confirmed. >> gio: and just take a look. the social media images are just stunning. comedian chris rock seen after a five-mile walk to safety eventually picked up by a fan. kabc is here in our studio with more. good morning, leslie. >> leslie: this is quite the emergency. monsoon season in full swing dumping heavy rain in the desert west. creating a muddy mess for festivalgoers as burning man in northwest nevada keeps people stranded.

tens of thousands of them in the middle of the desert without running water. >> many hours of rain. >> reporter: this morning, a festival in a remote stretch of desert turns deadly as tens of thousands of people remain stranded at the burning man festival in nevada. deputies saying the death happened during a torrential storm that led to flooding, forcing attendees of counterculture arts festival in the black rock desert to shelter in place indefinitely. >> we might not be leaving here until thursday because it takes two full days for the ply to dry off. >> reporter: those stranded now being told to conserve food, water, and fuel. >> they shut the water down. i'm walking around helping pull power cables out of the ground. >> reporter: more than half an inch of rain estimated to have fallen on the desert festival and more expected today creating impassable muddy conditions stopping festivalgoers from leaving and making it difficult for first responders to access in the event of emergencies. this video posted on tiktok showing how difficult it is to get out. this jeep now stuck in feet of cement-like mud.

the washoe sheriff posting on x, please avoid traveling to the area. you'll be turned around. all event access is closed. the thick mud making it difficult to even walk. >> i traveled this far, like, half a mile. so i keep going to these clean bathrooms right here. check out my shoes. >> reporter: dan beckman is stuck at a camp with about 50 people. he says the heavy rain conditions have kept them from being able to move. >> we don't have port-a-potties. ice will probably be low and other supplies and there's also some issues with getting medical attention to people. >> reporter: most left with no choice but to rough it out. >> if it were the end of the world, this is a group of people i would bet on, you know, that can overcome any obstacle. >> oh, my gosh. stop. what are you doing? >> reporter: and in southern nevada, heavy rain there turning roads into rivers. storms bringing major flash flooding to las vegas. rescuers finding the body of a possible drowning victim tangled in debris. the fast-moving floodwaters even stranding city buses.

it just feels like a dire situation for those people that are at the festival and let's talk about the weather right now. the big picture is the weather is still intense. we're talking about flash flooding as a possibility. we do have some thunderstorms rolling through that black rock desert area. so that is creating a flash flood watch in that community. as far as those thunderstorms are concerned, more bubbling up today. the anticipation is that there will be more rain coming down heavily at times. this is going to continue all the way through this evening. so hopefully they get the help or reserves they need. it looks as though the highs today in the particular area is going to be just around 76 degrees. so, as far as temperatures are concerned, 74, 76, 79 through the afternoon, but then the overnight lows and that's where the concern is. we're dropping down to the 40s making for very cold evenings and of course it's the desert so we will watch out, wait and see and hopefully we get some good news out of the area. back over to you. >> whit: we'll check with you in just a bit. we do turn now to the

holiday travel picture, the numbers, a record number of air travelers are expected to make their way back home. zohreen shah is at los angeles international airport with more. good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, whit. i was just on a flight a few hours ago, and let me tell you, l.a.x. was pretty busy for a saturday night. did not expect that, and around the country, about 2.7 million travelers were screened at tsa on friday and about 2.5 million were expected to fly yesterday according to tsa, and atlanta's main international airport, over 330,000 passengers went through tsa on friday and some had to wait over two hours to get to their gate. now, a lot of people are also hitting the roads as well, but the good news is that the national gas price average is a little bit cheaper than a year ago at $3.81, but it is still 6 cents higher that last month. now if you haven't left yet, wait until after "gma." the best time is between 10:00 this morning and 6:00 tonight, but for the most part tomorrow, it will also be a tough travel day.

if you have to leave tomorrow, wait until after 7:00 p.m. to leave. janai? >> janai: important information. glad you made it back from hawaii, zohreen, thank you. for those at home, if you are not heading to the airport, you may be heading to the beach. now to that holiday beach advisory about potential bacterial contamination in the water. abc's jaclyn lee as those details. good morning, jaclyn. >> reporter: janai, good morning. as we all know, summer is winding down so many of us want to squeeze in those last-minute beach trips, but officials say you really want to pay attention to those advisories before going in the water. this morning, an urgent warning for beachgoers. advisories from coast to coast about contaminated water with some beaches closed entirely. >> when do we want it? >> now. >> reporter: the situation so dire in coronado beach, dozens of people gathering for a stop the sewage rally protesting the continued sewage-contaminated water from the tijuana river, demanding california governor gavin newsom declare a state of emergency. >> this is the crap -- excuse the expression -- that people are dealing with when they go in

the water. it's impacting our health, our economy, our navy s.e.a.l.s, people who work around here, and we're sick of it. >> reporter: officials are urging everyone to check advisories before hitting the beach. four michigan beaches and one massachusetts closed. five beaches in maine with contamination advisories. >> i mean, it's scary because you can't really take your kid to the beach and, you know, be at ease. >> reporter: officials say exposure to the contaminated water could lead to serious health emergencies and other infections. >> this is why it's so important to pay attention to the water you're getting into. if you have a wound or an open cut, and be aware of any signs of an infection after you get out of the water and seek medical care if you notice them. >> reporter: in the northeast, three people with open wounds died after swimming in the ocean due to a bacteria called vibrio vulnificus and in florida, health officials warning about the high levels of bacteria in the water as a result of hurricane idalia. and health experts say these infections are rare but they do

happen, so they say just be prepared and reconsider going in the water if you have an open wound. gio? >> gio: reconsider indeed. all right, jaclyn, thank you. we turn now to bill richardson. the former new mexico governor and u.n. ambassador has died at age 75. he capped his long career by helping to negotiate the release of a number of americans detained overseas. abc white house correspondent maryalice parks is in washington with more on him. good morning, maryalice. >> reporter: a true public servant. good morning, gio. bill richardson was highly regarded as a leader in the democratic party as well as a successful diplomat for decades. a statesman with a storied career. bill richardson served more than a decade in congress and two terms as a democratic governor of new mexico, but his lasting legacy was on the global stage, a diplomat who later as a private citizen dedicated his time to bringing american hostages home. >> i'm a believer that you talk

to anybody, you talk to your enemies. you try to reason with them, that diplomacy and dialogue and mediation and negotiation is a lot better than taking military action. >> reporter: the richardson center for global engagement which he founded said in a statement saturday morning that he died at home in his sleep. he was 75 years old. president biden called richardson a patriot and a true original writing in a statement, he would meet with anyone, fly anywhere, do whatever it took. under president bill clinton, richardson served as the nation's ambassador to the u.n. and energy secretary. he led nuclear talks with north korea. back home in new mexico, he was incredibly popular. the first hispanic governor in the state, he briefly sought the 2008 democratic party nomination for president, famously campaigning in english and spanish. [ speaking in a non-english language ] >> reporter: most recently richardson worked with moscow in the months before a prisoner swap with russia that led to the release of marine veteran trevor reed. he also worked to free wnba star

brittney griner, telling our george stephanopoulos at the time -- >> i don't want to go into everything that i have been doing. i have been talking to the russians. i talked to the white house. i'm a catalyst. >> reporter: richardson worked on behalf of some 80 american families to secure the release of their loved ones. >> we have to bring american hostages home, especially those wrongfully detained. especially those that have served in our military. >> reporter: now richardson was married to his wife, barbara, for over 50 years. they had one daughter, and the current governor of new mexico summed up his life this way. she wrote, he was fighting for the little guy, world peace, and everything in between. whit? >> whit: maryalice parks for us, thank you. we do turn now to the war in ukraine as we learn more about the latest u.s. aid package. officials tell abc news that it includes depleted uranium shells. abc's britt clennett joins us from kyiv with more on what we're learning and more on what this all could mean. britt, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, whit.

yes, the next u.s. aid package for ukraine could for the first time include depleted uranium rounds for abrams tanks and other fighting vehicles. officials told abc news that this could be announced as early as next week. depleted uranium is useful for penetrating advanced armor and it could help ukraine take out russian tanks. but it's really controversial. critics say there could be serious health risks when inhaling it like cancer and birth defects. ukrainian troops do appear to be making notable progress against heavily fortified positions in the south. that's according to white house spokesperson john kirby who says gains have been made in the past 72 hours. in a push aimed at splitting russia's land corridor to crimea, president zelenskyy pushed back at critics who say the counteroffensive is moving too slowly saying, despite what anyone says, troops are moving forward.

meanwhile, russia fired dozens at odesa port near the romanian border and injured at least two people. janai? >> janai: thanks for that update from overseas. now let's bring in retired army lieutenant general doug lute. good morning to you, general. as you just heard, the u.s. is expected to send depleted uranium shells to ukraine. there's the criticism, the health risk. can you tell us more about what these uranium shells are, and what they can do? >> first of all, depleted uranium is less radioactive than naturally occurring uranium ore on the earth's surface. it's very effective as an anti-tank munition. that's because it's very dense. it's a very dense metal, and upon impact with an enemy tank, it has a self-igniting, fire-producing effect. it's very useful to punch against enemy armor. look, it's been in use by american forces and frankly by

our allies and even russian forces for decades without known health effects. so i think in the net effect is that it's most dangerous, its most severe health effect is to an enemy tank. >> janai: all right, and we're talking about this latest u.s. aid package. the abrams tanks are expected to arrive soon to the battlefield. what sort of difference could they make? >> well, the abrams is the world's best tank. the challenge here is that we're only providing 30-some tanks to ukraine while our nato allies our european allies have provided several hundred comparable tanks. so it's very good in terms of quality, but i think 30 is short in terms of quantity. >> janai: and just real quick before we let you go, critics saying that this ukrainian counteroffensive that's been going on for three months now is moving too slowly. what are the ukrainians trying to achieve?

>> well, look, they're trying to cut the russian defenses. that's where russia occupies parts of ukraine. they're trying to cut those defenses in half, and in the process of doing that, also isolate crimea, the crimea peninsula, which is a russian stronghold, and they do that isolation by way of cutting the supply lines that resupply crimea. so this is a very important, initial step towards breaking the russian defenses. >> janai: all right, we appreciate you being with us. retired army lieutenant general doug lute, thank you so much. make sure to tune into "this week" later. george stephanopoulos interviews presidential candidate vivek ramaswamy who wants to stop u.s. support for ukraine. they'll also discuss his path to the republican nomination after that combative first debate, and george speaks with senator tim kaine of virginia. that's about the state of the democratic party and congress' to-do list as lawmakers return to washington. gio? >> gio: we will be watching. and now to the urgent manhunt for an escaped murderer in pennsylvania. authorities urging residents to be on watch, and abc's jay

o'brien has more on where he's been spotted. >> reporter: the chester county, pennsylvania district attorney's office releasing this home security camera footage saying it's the most recent image of convicted murderer, now fugitive, danelo cavalcante since his escape last week. authorities asking for the public's helt in tracking him down, saying that's cavalcante moving through the bushes and then out of sight. the footage taken at 1:44 a.m. yesterday in a rural part of pennsylvania just north of delaware in the same town as the prison he escaped. the video prompting a surge of local, state, and federal law enforcement to an already massive search. >> we believe that he's in a certain area. it's a heavily wooded area. >> reporter: recently sentenced to life in prison without parole for stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death 38 times in front of their children, the 34-year-old was awaiting transfer to a state corrections facility when authorities say he broke out of chester county prison thursday morning.

he was then spotted about an hour later in this photo walking down a nearby road wearing a t-shirt and jeans. officials still reviewing how he escaped and warning cavalcante who is also wanted for murder in his native brazil should be considered extremely dangerous and a fugitive with nothing to lose. >> i believe he will do anything he can to escape. do not approach him, but if you see him, you could contact 911 as soon as you do see him. >> reporter: there's a $10,000 reward for any information leading to cavalcante's capture. the district attorney tells abc news that his ex-girlfriend's family has been made aware that he is on the run, and they are in a safe place. whit? >> whit: jay o'brien, thank you. now to the new covid variant that health officials are keeping an eye on coming amid a rise in hospitalizations for the virus. abc's derricke dennis here with details.

derrike, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, whit. the cdc documenting a rise in hospitalizations across the u.s. the latest data showing what we're seeing here. there were 15,000 new covid hospitalizations for the week ending august 19th, and retailers and pharmacies are reporting an increasing demand for at-home covid tests. walgreens saying we're seeing a greater demand which may cause a temporary and isolated shortage. the cdc also monitoring as the virus continues to evolve through -- though it is far too early really to say whether one of those variants, the ba.286 might cause more serious illness or be more transmissible than others. so far only 24 cases worldwide, including four in the u.s. the cdc says it appears current testing and medications are working against the variant. now the cdc also says the new vaccine for covid is expected to be released in mid-september. so what should you be doing to protect yourself? well, the cdc says you should get your covid vaccines as recommended. test yourself if you have any

covid symptoms, and seek treatment if you test positive or are at high risk of getting very sick. of course, the bottom line is as we head into fall and spend more times indoors, we should remain vigilant and use the advice we've all been given. wash your hands. cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and if you feel you need to mask up, do so to stay healthy, guys. you know, every time i see someone with a mask, i'm grateful because it means they're protecting me and themselves. >> janai: especially as we're seeing more about covid coming back. derrike, thank you so much. time now for the weather and miss leslie lopez from kabc in los angeles. >> leslie: you guys are awesome. you're a lot of fun. it feels like family. i won't tell the people at home that it feels like family. >> janai: they might -- >> whit: thank you. >> leslie: we're talking about some hot weather though. unfortunately a large majority of the nation is dealing with some heat and on a really big weekend. it's a holiday, and what we're

looking at right now, the hottest all-time records in some of these places. some of these places including miami, couldn't imagine some of the all-time records there. also in houston, we're talking about el paso, dealing with all-time records for the entire record-keeping. now we get back towards places like sioux falls, minneapolis, green bay. today, they're likely going to break some records as well. so this is not done. we are looking at that dome of high pressure moving out toward the east, and this particular dome is going to create hot temperatures for places like philadelphia and washington, but philadelphia and washington could be dealing with an all-time record this week.

>> leslie: happy labor day weekend. back over to you guys at the desk. >> janai: thank you so much. leslie, we'll check back in with you shortly. now to one of the young victims who lost her life in that mass shooting at robb elementary school in uvalde, texas. 10-year-old maite rodriguez dreamed of becoming a marine biologist. her mother keeping her dream alive by starting a scholarship to support a student to study marine biology. at texas a&m, corpus christi. she's getting help from the mexican rock band mana who brought mom on stage and dedicated a song to maite last night in san antonio. so important we do not forget those kids, those victims in uvalde. stick around. we'll be right back here on "gma." farm jingle ♪ here it goes. uhm...

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moving forward. finding solutions. this is abc7 news. >> good morning. i'm stephanie sierra. we have new details on another shooting on a freeway in oakland injuring at least two people and hitting several cars. one of these vehicles was traveling in the opposite direction and was hit by a stray bullet. chp says none of the victims were at the scene when officers arrived. no word yet on a motive or whether the victims were targeted. the freeway was shut down for about an hour now. all lanes have since reopened. and to weather now and frances dinglasan is tracking the latest on your labor day weekend forecast. good morning. morning, stephanie. >> morning, everyone. check out these gorgeous clouds. adds some cirrus clouds, mid-level clouds from mt. tam. temperatures are in the upper 50s to low 60s same as yesterday for this afternoon . >> stephanie frances, thank you. and thank you all for joining us. the news continues right now with good morning america.

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last year, colorado was 1-11. shedeur sanders, 510 pass yards, the first colorado qb to surpass 500 yards. travis hunter dominating on both sides. i know we laugh about sports janai, but i was so intrigued by this story. >> whit: stats for the game? >> janai: i'm a believer, deion sanders. i'm a bandwagon colorado fan now. >> gio: i was supposed to do this story, and we had to give it to janai because she said, no, no, no. i really want to talk about this. >> janai: the energy of deion sanders yesterday was everything for the return of college football. still coming up, we have another emotional moment on another football team that's a long time coming. >> whit: espn just called. they're, like, wait a minute. she just raided our statistics department. all right, we'll have more on that coming up. first, though, let's take a look at the other stories

we're following this morning. happening right now, president biden and the first lady dr. jill biden surveyed the damage left behind by hurricane idalia on saturday. the president reassured the storm's victims of the federal government's response. florida governor ron desantis declined to meet with the president during his visit. >> janai: also right now, an australian icebreaker is on a urgent mission to rescue an expeditioner in need of special medical attention. the ship is carrying helicopters that will be used in the evacuation. the expeditioner was unable to be flown out because of the harsh winter weather. >> gio: and four nasa astronauts are finally making their way back to earth after weather delayed their trip home. the spacex crew dragon capsule carrying the astronauts has just undocked from the international space station this morning, and is expected to splash off the coast of florida just after midnight monday morning. the astronauts completed a nearly six-month science mission in orbit. six months in space. isn't that something? >> whit: all right. we do start this half our with new signals on how alex murdaugh may be seeking an appeal. the disgraced attorney convicted

of killing his wife and younger son reportedly appears to be focusing on the jury that delivered the guilty verdict. abc's jay o'brien is back now with more on that. jay, good morning. >> reporter: whit, alex murdaugh's attorneys have already indicated they plan on appealing. what we don't know this morning is what argument they plan on making to try to convince a judge to let their client walk away from a life sentence. this morning, abc news has learned the defense team for alex murdaugh, the disgraced former south carolina attorney found guilty of murdering his wife and son will hold a press conference this tuesday about their plans to appeal that conviction. >> mr. murdaugh, i sentence you to the state department of corrections on each of the murder indictments. >> reporter: in march, murdaugh was convicted of shooting and killing his wife maggie and youngest son, paul. they were shot multiple times. murdaugh is currently serving a life sentence. his lawyers already filed notice

they plan to challenge his guilty verdict, but haven't yet laid out their legal argument. in an interview just this week, murdaugh attorney jim griffin saying as part of their appeal, his team interviewed jurors in the case looking for bias saying, there are serious questions as to whether this jury was subject to outside influences during the case. >> appeals are extraordinarily difficult to win. the question that i'm sure the counsel for alex murdaugh in this appeal is going to argue is there's no way that this small town in south carolina where this family had such a prominent name, there wasn't a person in the area that didn't know the murdaugh name. >> reporter: similar claims about an allegedly tainted jury were made by murdaugh's eldest son buster in a new fox nation docuseries "the fall of the house of murdaugh." >> it's an absolutely excruciatingly difficult experience. >> reporter: breaking his

silence, buster also saying he doesn't think his dad killed his mother and brother, but he believes he has psychopathic qualities. >> i'm not prepared to sit here and say it encompasses him as a whole, but there are characteristics where you look at the manipulation and the lies and such, and i think that's a fair assessment. >> reporter: this appeal is only expected to cover murdaugh's murder conviction. according to court records released about a week ago, murdaugh plans to plead guilty to different federal charges that he stole millions of dollars from his clients, gio. >> gio: all right, jay o'brien, thank you so much. let's go ahead and bring in abc news live contributor channa lloyd, managing partner at the cochran firm. channa, so good to see you. thank you for being here. how strong do you think murdaugh's chance of appeal actually is? >> the legal standard to mount an appeal and to be successful is really high, and what he's basing it on is either jury misconduct potentially or improper evidence that was admitted about his financial crimes. both of which are things that the higher court will take

seriously, but it is a very high burden to meet. >> gio: and channa, what avenues would the defense team look for when filing an appeal here? >> the avenues that they're going to look for is they're either going to want to show something that would have altered the outcome of the trial. essentially what you have to show is that either jury misconduct, admittance of improper evidence, abuse of discretion on behalf of the judge, would have changed the outcome of the trial and produced a different verdict. >> gio: and what about buster murdaugh's comments that his dad has characteristics of a psychopath? could that factor into anything if the prosecution raises it? >> you know, gio, although it's very interesting and it would have been good to know at trial, it now will not be typically use for anything. he's not a mental health professional so he can't make that level of a diagnosis that could be used at a trial or going further in any of the other legal proceedings. >> gio: channa lloyd, always

appreciate having you here. and answering these questions. thank you so much for joining us this morning. so much mystery surrounding this case still to this day. >> janai: still just the twists and turns and abc's eva pilgrim has been on it from the very beginning. it's just been fascinating to watch it all unfold. we are going to shift gears now though and get a check of the weather with leslie lopez from our station kabc in los angeles. take us to the beach. take us to the beach. >> leslie: it's a really nice weekend for all of that good stuff, yes. we want to keep people safe. one of the places that we're looking at right now, myrtle beach, boy, is it really nice. the beaches expected to be very crowded. now, maybe a little too early, but count on it. we are looking at rip currents as a concern, and myrtle beach, we're not dealing with much in the way of rip currents. not the case for places like new jersey down through delaware and through north carolina. some of those beaches dealing with high rip current threats. you have to be really careful as we don't want anybody being

caught in a rip current. as you look at the temperatures, not bad either. corpus christi, 93, a little hot there. 88 degrees in panama city, and 83 in myrtle beach, that's a nice one. you head out towards the west. it's cool, santa monica, just 73 degrees as we get into your afternoon. a nice beach day for large majority of the nation, but again, we'll be back with more of that coming up. >> leslie: and will you find yourselves at a beach this weekend? >> whit: yes, the plan. we'll see how it goes. >> gio: going to the jersey shore. >> whit: you're going to the jersey shore? >> gio: i am. >> whit: going to beat up the beat. catch him at the clubs. leslie, thank you. it's great to have you in this weekend. coming up here, a week after this terrifying crash here, nascar driver ryan preece insists that he's ready to race again today. >> gio: and then getting in on

those labor day sales. how to save on a new pair of wheels. you're watching "gma" on this sunday morning. once in a lifetime is never enough. never enough! (♪) ♪ love and happiness ♪ when i wear diamonds, i feel powerful, fun, fabulous. i feel on top of the world. ♪ love and happiness ♪ diamonds are for everyone. i put them everywhere. (laughter) diamonds! love for all. diamonds for all. pandora. lab grown diamonds. i'm so glad we did this. i'm so glad we did this. i'm so glad we did this. life is for living. let's partner for all of it. i'm so glad we did this. edward jones my a1c was up here; now, it's down with rybelsus®.

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>> janai: welcome back to "gma" on this sunday morning.

when ryan preece's car barrel rolled at daytona last week, people were amazed that he was able to walk away from it on his own. now he says he's ready to get behind the wheel today. >> really, really lucky to be able to walk away from that. >> reporter: this morning, nascar driver ryan preece is back on the racetrack. >> he's barrel rolling. >> reporter: a week after this terrifying crash at the daytona international speedway. >> ryan preece, upside down in the infield. >> reporter: watch as preece makes a hard left hitting another car in the 155th lap and sending his number 41 ford into an uncontrolled barrel roll. >> it looks like a toy car flying through the air. >> reporter: the car flipping ten times, bouncing off the ground before coming to a stop on its wheels. the engine catching fire. >> i remember going sideways. i remember the car taking flight and then everything just getting really, really quiet.

>> reporter: preece miraculously seen getting out of his car that night on his feet, taken to a local hospital for observation. this latest crash reviving safety concerns for nascar drivers and their cars, which nascar has been trying to address with enhanced safety features in its fleet of next gen cars. >> nascar and everybody with the development of this car and the continued innovation and constantly trying to make it better, that's what's going to keep drivers like myself from being hospitalized or, you know, killed. so definitely my hat's off to them. >> reporter: cleared to race by nascar friday, preece already itching to get back behind the wheel. two black eyes and all. >> being a part of a race car driver is being tough. that's what separates us from other people is our willingness to be uncomfortable. so i'm looking forward to getting back in this race car and hopefully having an opportunity to win. >> janai: my goodness.

get this, guys, preece is a brand-new dad. his wife gave birth to a daughter three weeks ago. that poor woman. >> whit: yeah. >> janai: she must be so nervous, but he says that he's ready. >> whit: he said willingness to be uncomfortable. i would say that crash is a little more than that. >> janai: yeah, unbelievable, but good luck to him. still coming up here on "good morning america," taking advantage of labor day sales at the car dealership. what you need to know before you buy. okay, here we go... you're new. you're an underdog. and you're something you've never been before. a professional. (♪) you've made it to this point. now what? here's what: you connect with prudential and start your career by planning for what comes after. so, no matter where you are today or 40 years from now, you're ready. who's your rock? see how ethan is making the most of this moment at prudential.com

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>> reporter: good morning, gio. in between the barbecues and the beach, americans are expected to go out and shop this labor day weekend. everything's on sale from patio sets to mattresses, and if you are in the market for a new ride, well, there's a deal for you too. labor day, the unofficial end of summer turns out to be one of the best times to actually buy a car. >> the sun is setting on toyota's national sales event. >> reporter: this weekend, ford, toyota, and nissan are offering low or 0% financing. dodge and kia have cashback deals on certain vehicles. >> hurry in for great deals on the trucks that are built to serve. >> reporter: it's welcome news for potential car buyers after a year of supply shortages and soaring prices. inventory is on the rise, and so are the deals. >> incentives for new cars are trending back up. roughly $2,100 per car --

>> we're anticipating labor day this year will be, you know, 5% to 10% better than it was last year. >> reporter: the average list price for a new car, roughly $47,000. used cars are averaging about $20,000 less, and nearly $1,200 lower than a year ago. still those high sticker prices and rising interest rates have many consumers waiting it out like evan nohra who's holding onto his 2015 nissan rogue. >> my biggest concern right now if we had to purchase a car was coming up with the down payment and the interest rate as well, getting approved. >> reporter: the monthly average car payment now more than $700. rejection rate for auto loans is on the rise. those high interest rates creating an affordability crisis as a growing number of americans now defaulting on their car payments. experts recommend knowing your credit score before going to the dealership and for the best deals -- >> go for vehicles that are less popular than others. look for a sedan or a hatchback. even consider something like a hybrid. >> reporter: also, get pre-approved before going to the dealership for better financing options and you could be eligible for a tax credit of up

to $4,000 for buying a used electric car. another good time to car shop, the end of the year and presidents' day weekend in february. of course, the wild card in all of this, if the united auto workers strike later this month, that could squeeze inventory and push prices of new and used cars back up again. gio? >> gio: all right, alexis, thank you. janai and whit are in the market. so we appreciate your reporting. >> whit: that minivan. >> gio: we'll be right back here with our "play of the day." mini >> gio: we'll be right back here with our "play of the day." ? it's up early, giving you extra time in any of the four theme parks every day. and welcomes you back to even more magical moments, you'll never forget. now you can save up to 25% on rooms at select disney resort hotels. why would you stay anywhere else?

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team was always his dream back when he first attended the school in 2007, he was turned down graduate, and then served in the marine corps as a cobra helicopter pilot for a decade before returning to pursue his mba. so amazing. he'd been practicing all this time, tried out again and made the team. and what a debut. and ganyard also happens to be the son of abc news contributor steve ganyard, our favorite a former defense and state department official who also one very proud papa. yes, love. congratulations yeah, that's awesome. leslie. it was great to have you come on back. thanks. have a great week, everybody. >> many are calling him a big winner of the first gop debate. now, vivek ramaswami faces george. plus what's next for donald trump? this morning on building a better bay area moving forward, finding

solutions this is abc7 news. >> good morning. i'm stephanie sierra. a death at burning man is under investigation this morning as flooding strands thousands of people. take a look at this video showing people trapped in the mud including many from across the us and here in the bay area who made the trek to the nevada desert with more rain on the way today, officials are urging people to shelter in place, conserve food and water and other supplies. we're still waiting on an update about the person who died at the festival. add some extra time to your drive if it takes you through the east bay for the holiday weekend. part of i-80 is shut down and it won rpen until tuesday morning. from hercules to vallejo, westbound interstate 780 and highway four. includes the carquinez ge. you can see tours in green on this map. drivers should take 7 to 82 680. then highway four back to 80. crews are repaving a five mile stretch. caltrans says so far

the major project is on schedule. well to weather now. it will be a good day to barbecue tomorrow. francis is tracking your labor day weekend forecast. a good morning. >> good morning, stephanie. good morning, everyone. yeah, we will get more sunshine tomorrow, but right now we're dealing with lots of clouds. it's actually looking really pretty from mount tam. we're seeing mid-level clouds, high level clouds, temperatures in the 50s and 60s. san francisco, 59, oakland 62, san jose warmer at 66 degrees. and then this afternoon, look for things to be still cloudy and cool at the coast. san francisco, 69. oakland 72 warmer as we head inland in the upper 70s for some of our warmest locations. now tomorrow with labor day, a little bit more sunshine, slightly warmer inland. stephanie, thanks. >> francis this week with george stephanopoulos is next. >> do you own a house that you just need out of quickly or just

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