and decreased appetite, which lead to dehydration and may worsen kidney problems. we're committed to helping ensure trulicity is available and affordable. learn more at trulicity.com. a former member of president trump's coronavirus task force blasts the team and now endorses joe biden but the white house says she's just a disgruntled former employee. new evacuations as another fire explodes out of control near los angeles our team is in the fire zone as if coronavirus in schools isn't enough to be worried about, kids are being outfitted with bullet proof backpacks. >> you'll meet the quick thinking mom who saved her son's life who nearly died after

getting tangled in a luxury car seat belt. "early today" starts right now. good friday morning. i'm phillip mena >> i'm frances rivera. the pandemic is front and center in the race for the white house. last night president trump defended his coronavirus response after joe biden went on the attack in a town hall. and joe biden picking up an endorsement from a member of the coronavirus task force. >> reporter: the biden harris ticket picking up an endorsement from a former aide she's now blasting president trump's leadership >> shfs shocking to see the president saying that the virus was a hoax, seeing that everything is okay when we know that it's not. the truth is, he doesn't actually care about anyone else but himself. >> i have no idea who she is she doesn't know me and it's

just another person that leaves. >> reporter: the white house digging in against cdc director robert redfield whcoronavirus ve widely available for most americans until the middle of next year. >> while dr. redfield may have a timeline in mind to my knowledge he hasn't had intimate discussions with those processes. >> reporter: chief of staff mark meadows suggesting the cdc has been on the sidelines as pharmaceutical companies race to develop a vaccine, echoing the president's surprising remarks about redfield, one of his own top officials. >> i think he made a mistake when he said that. it's just incorrect information. >> reporter: the trump administration insisting a vaccine could be announced as early as next month with 100 million doses distributed immediately to front line workers and 300 million ready to go in january. joe biden and kamala harris

accusing president trump of politicizing the vaccine timeline in washington, alice barr, nbc news with just a month and a half now until election day both candidates are diving head first. they're olding duelling events today in the battleground state of florida and ads bought by the first chunk of the $100 million pledged by michael bloomberg try zi potts joining us on this friday the candidates are squaring off over the coronavirus response. >> reporter: specifically a lot of talk on the campaign trail about wearing masks and this vaccine that the president continues to say not only will be approved but delivered by the end of the year. lots of skepticism about that. the three manufacturers who are working on the final phases of vaccine trials say they may have

in a few months have approval or results from their trials but it will be sometime in march or may next spring before they expect to have a final analysis in wisconsin the president had thousands of supporters who weren't wearing masks at all and the state's guidance of not gathering more than pen peoptene at a response. >> this is the greatest economy in the history of the world. then the virus came in t we closed it down, we saved millions and millions of lives. >> all the way back in march i was calling for the need for us to have masks, have the president stand and tell us what's going on. but he knew it he knew it and did nothing it's close to criminal >> and if the president had done his job, had done his job from the beginning, all the people would still be alive

>> reporter: biden says if elected he'll crack down and require people to wear masks on federal lands, in federal buildings or face a fine right now biden is ahead by a few points in minnesota where both candidates plan to campaign today, but it's within the margin of error so the race still very tight there for those ten electoral votes. >> so crucial. thank you. let's turn now tow the west coast and the battle against the deadly wildfires a fire burning for weeks in los angeles has caused more setbacks for firefighters exploding in size and triggering new evacuation alerts. it's also threatened a well known landmark miguel almaguer has more. >> reporter: just as firefighters were making progress, the bob cat fire near los angeles exploding again, flames feeding on dry hills and hot temperatures with crews stretched dangerously thin new evacuations just triggered

>> i don't think i've gotten maybe three or four hours of sleep each night. >> reporter: saving mount wilson observatory, the blaze coming within 500 feet of torching this historic landmark. it's still threatening the billion dollar telecommunication towers providing broadcasting and cell service to los angeles. hundreds of air drops helping firefighters who are undermanned and overmatched. >> thisone has extreme challenges of terrain, very active fire behavior. >> reporter: even with 17,000 firefighters on the front lines in california, they're losing ground >> we've seen a few fires come and go, but this has been probably the scariest. >> reporter: just over the last month 5,400 structures have been destroid by the greater toll, the 25 lives lost. authorities say amid the chaos, confusion costs one couple their lives. at this fire in northern california

>> they had pack their belongings b later decided not to evacuate based on erroneous information the fire was 51% contained. >> reporter: the golden state engulfed in red. >> that was miguel almaguer reporting. new updates this morning about vladimir putin's rival who has been fighting for his life now traces of a russian nerve agent were found in the hotel room where the politician was staying. we're joined now by helena humphrey in london what more did his team say. >> reporter: very good morning to you, frances. according to a new video posted on his instagram account, as soon as members of his team heard that alexa had become seriously ill they rushed to the syberian hotel where he had been staying to collect evidence. what you can see in that video is members of his team donning plastic gloves, putting items

from the hotel room into plastic bags and sending that off for analysis in a german military lab and that lab finding that the military grave nerve agent was found on one of the water bottles. that is significant because previously, members of his team say they believe he may have been poisoned at the airport while he was waiting to board that flight to moscow. this establishes a chain of events earlier currently we don't know when this attack took place moscow denying any involvement whatsoever the kremlin saying it will not be launching an investigation. all the while he's continuing to recover in a berlin hospital seen in an instagram post sitting up in bed quite literally an opposition leader not taking things lying down he says he will return to russia once he is well again. >> maybe he can fill in the blanks as he gets better thank you. now to community leaders in

chicago who are working to keep students returning to school safe they are handing out bullet proof backpacks that could protect students from gun violence in the city they cost around $200 apiece and several people many the community are looking for investors to help pay for about 4,000 backpacks. the goal is to also distribute bullet proof hats for kids in chicago. dee snider is not happy and he doesn't want them playing the group's music. in his tweet snider called the group selfish adding they do not have permission or busting to use my song for their moronic costs. >> a very grim and extreme punishment for people who violate the face covering

mandate. violators are ordered to dig graves for those who have died from coronavirus eight people have been sentenced with that punishment violators did not participate in the actual burials they've also had to sit in a haers containing a casket and asked to reflect on their actions. >> it's been quite a weekend for weather out there. let's check in now with janessa webb on this friday. good morning >> good morning, you two good morning, everyone we have sally is finally starting to exit, but just a few rain bands that are still impacting north carolina into west virginia. virginia as well and this will push offshore by this afternoon. then we transition to tropical depression 22 that formed yesterday. i do think this becomes a tropical storm by this afternoon into your evening. right now sustained winds, 35 miles per hour but look at this movement out of the northeast at

3 miles per hour so another slow go of things and right now the national hurricane center putting out its latest track, this time. it will meander across the western gulf, start to gain some more steam so we're going to be watching this storm system for a while. but what you can count on is that tropical moisture impacting texas all the wa still building across the southwest. heat across phoenix, 105 it's been a tough week but i have a wonderful looking forward. stay tuned for that. >> makes us all smile. can't wait to hear it.

now to a major loss for the literary world winston groom has died at the age of 77 in southern alabama. his novel was the basis of the 1994 movie that won six oscars including best actor award for tom hanks. a friend says the novel is a lot darker and richer than the movie. groom was a talented journalist and a notable author in american history. an important warning about kids and seat belt setafy. >> and a creative way to hand out halloween candy while staying six feet apart superior to humira®t, trn in providing significantly clearer skin. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya®. uncover clearer skin that can last. janssen can help you explore cost support options.

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>> the dad says he had already wanted to make it easy for people in wheelchairs or those pushing strollers. now it's making it even fun. it's great enough to get candy >> this halloween is going to be odd. you know, to see it unfold, you know >> if it even happens. >> exactly depending on where you live there a young boy is recovering after a harrowing experience in the family car he got caught in a seat belt and couldn't breathe gabe gutierrez has the important lesson for every family. >> reporter: it was a freak accident in this mother's backseat that prompted a frantic 911 call >> hi, we need help right now. >> reporter: she was desperate at this intersection in bedford, massachusetts. >> he just said mom, i can't breathe. i'm stuck. >> her 8-year-old son brayden was trapped. she told nbc 10 boston that he was in the backseat of her acura tangled in a seat belt next to him connected to the ceiling

>> this particular latch did not have a quick release like a normal seat belt. >> reporter: the harder he pulled the tighter it got. >> he was basically hanging from the ceiling just unconscious, blue as can be there was blood coming out from the pressure. >> reporter: that's where she stopped at a nearby salon where elizabeth costa was working. >> all i can think about is my four-year-old screaming for me she brought scissors and his mother cut him free. acura says it's looking into it but that seat belt entanglement is a potential danger in nearly all vehicles authorities say it's a good idea to include scissors in your car safety kit >> reporter: seat belt cutters are also available for purchase online >> i don't want another parent to ever see their kid go through that i don't want anybody to -- i don't want anybody to experience that. >> reporter: one mother's warning of an unexpected danger

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in today's quick hits disney

has found the studio cast in the lead for the upcoming disney plusem and was nominated for a golden globe johnson is making history as saturday night live's first black openly cast writer nissan showing off their new prototype sports car the company is hoping to bring the car to dealerships next year likely retailing at over $30 million. >> some good news for homeowners we're joined now with all those details. good morning >> reporter: let's take off with what's happening in the home market the national median price of a home jumped 11% in august to just over $328,000 that's the largest annual increase that we've seen since february 2014.

part of what's driving that is strong demand for houses given the low interest rate environment. at the same time we are seeing a restrained supply to the supply of available homes for sale has fallen to another new low. as a result, median home prices then have increased in every single one of the 85 largest metro areas. that's according to data overall home sales were up nearly 10% from a year ago and walmart is raising pay for approximately 165,000 hourly workers across u.s. stores they are doing that by introducing new leadership roles and cross training opportunities. the pay increases will start in october and take the place of the annual increases in place typically have to wait until february or april to receive >> could use the cash. thank you so much. when we come back more on weekend weather from janessa ancrksasd oo ch in on the pandemic

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another 860,000 people filed for unemployment last week and now new warning that scammers are trying to steal those benefits >> reporter: good morning. the good news from this unemployment report is that we continue to move in a downward direction. that's where we want to be going but the bad news is unemployment is still five times what it was prepandemic and now unemployment agencies are being hit with fraud. getting unemployment in this pandemic has been painful since the start. >> i've called the line hundreds of times >> there's just no getting through. >> reporter: state agencies

already bogged down by the record number of applications and out of date computer systems now also plagued by fraud. state officials say taxpayer money meant for those applying for pandemic unemployment assistance, a program created by the cares act is being stolen. >> we're seeing systematic and sophisticated attempts to commit fraud. >> reporter: in pennsylvania 10,000 inmates illegally applied for benefits behind bars potentially stealing millions of dollars. >> what kind of sophistication are we talking about here? >> in some cases we charged inmates for making applications from prison and many of them sadly got that money others utilized people on the outside and stolen identities. >> reporter: often those stolen identities coming from other data breaches. in colorado, 75% of pandemic unemployment applications were ruled fraudulent over a six-week period this summer in california officials suspect fraud is behind a recent surge

of nearly 100,000 new claims it's now thad anticipates more arrests >> they knew the priority was to get those funds into the hands of americans sooner than later so they jumped on an opportunity to exploit americans. >> reporter: pandemic unemployment assistance is a fruitful target because it's specifically for the self-employed or independent contractors meaning there's no employer to verify an applicant's income >> every dollar taken out by one of these criminals is a dollar less available for a family who are legitimately in need. >> reporter: officials say this fraud is the tip of the iceberg. to check if you've been affected try calling your state unemployment agency and asking whether a claim has been filed in your name >> thank you really valuable information when it comes to that >> yeah, i mean, people need to do better, you know.

we really should >> it's really sad, a shame that we're hearing of all these people takin have a great fridaa better weekend hey, my twitter is blowing up! dear jack box, bring back the spicy chicken strips, still waiting for the spicy chicken strips, so many about spicy chicken strips. wow, i hear you. so i'm bringing back my juicy 100% all-white meat spicy chicken strips combo for only $5.99! all-white meat spicy chicken strips combo we know these are challenging times. rest assured, you are not alone. we've all had to adapt. and with summer here, your energy bills might go up with rising temperatures. together, we can save energy and money. try closing your shades during the day... setting your ac to 78° or higher... or cooling off with a fan when you can. united we are always stronger. stay well, california, and keep it golden. is it the juicy 100% all-white meat? or because you can spice them up or cool them down?

or because a little birdie told me you wanted them back really bad... get my spicy chicken strips combo for only $5.99. right now at 4:30 as we approach the weekend clear skies remain. here's a live look outside of oakland right now. our team tracking when the smoke could return as you start to make those plans. "today in the bay" starts right now.o much for joining us. i'm laura garcia. >> and i'm marcus washington. mike is, of course, getting set for the big commute this morning. i hope it's not too big for you. first we want to start with meteorologist kari hall and the forecast. smoke coming back to the bay