this morning on "world news now," president trump doubles down again, saying both sides are to blame for the violence in charlottesville. we have details on the comments and the reaction. tensions running high across the country over confederate monuments. with pressure building for many cities to remove them or take them down. and heavy rain swells rivers and creeks and flooding homes. >> it comes as we follow hurricane gert, now swirling off the coast but still packing enough of a punch to impact the eastern seaboard. and check it out. a diva rink side, cheering on her son.

can you name the singer underneath this hockey jersey? we'll have the answer in "the skinny" on this wednesday, august 16th. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> the most beautiful singer in the world. >> oh, just ask her, she'll tell you? >> we'll find out. >> that is a hint. we'll start with the president's fiery and perhaps most controversial comments on the charlottesville tragedy. >> he appeared to walk back the comments where he called out the kkk and white supremacists, now saying there was blame on both sides for the violence. >> now the news conference in front of seemingly stunned reporters and staffers inside trump tower lasted little more than 20 minutes. >> why did you wait a long time. >> i didn't wait a long, i didn't wait a long time. i wanted to make sure, unlike most politicians, that what i said was correct. not make a quick statement. the statement i made on saturday, the first statement

that direct unless you know the fact. it takes a little while to get the facts. you still don't know the facts. and it's a very, very important process to me. and it's a very important statement. i will tell you something. i watch news very closely, much more closely than you people watched it. and you had a group on one side that was bad, and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. and nobody wants to say that. i'm not putting anybody on a moral plane. what i'm saying is this. you had a group on one side and a group on the other, and they came at each other with clubs and it was vicious, and it was a horrible thing to watch. but there is another side. there was a group on this side, you can call them the left. you've just called them the left, that came violently attacking the other group. so you can say what you want, but that's the way it is. yes, i think there's blame on both sides. you look at both sides. i think there's blame on both

it, and you don't have any doubt about it either. and, and, if you reported it accurately, you would see it. >> do you think things got worse or better since you took office? >> i think they've gotten better, they've been frayed for a long time. you can ask president obama about that, because he made speeches about it, but i believe that the fact that i brought in, it will be soon, millions of jobs. you see where companies are moving back into our country. i think that's going to have a tremendous positive impact on race relations. >> and politicians on both sides of the aisle have now condemned the president's comments. >> including arizona senator john mccain who tweeted here, there is no moral equivalency between racists and americans standing up to defy hate and bigotry. the president of the united states should say so. the charlottesville tragedy also brought news that the

white supremacist group. robert neller tweeted, no place for racial hatred or extremism in the u.s. marine corps. our core values frame the way we live and act. in the meantime, the controversial film maker, michael moore invited audience members of his broad way show to protest outside trump tower overnight. the film maker and activist loaded willing audience members onto two double-decker buss after the show. and they were joined by mark ruffalo. moore and ruffalo led a candle light vigil for heather heyer killed in the violence over the weekend. and one person not upset is david duke. >> duke's support comes amid rising tensions over images and monuments to the confederacy. here's eva pilgrim. >> reporter: the president offering at least some support to the protesters who descended on charlottesville. >> you had a lot of people in that group who were there to

protest. i don't know if you know. they had a permit. the other group didn't have a permit. so i only tell you this. there are two sides to a story. i thought what took place was a horrible moment for our country. a horrible moment. >> reporter: the former head of the kkk, david duke, over the weekend tweeting a warning to the president. i would recommend you take a good look in the mirror and remember it was white americans to put you in the presidency, not radical leftists. a new tweet from duke, grateful to the president for his words. thank you, president trump for your honesty and courage to tell the truth about charlottesville and condemn the leftist terrorists in blm, anti-fa. here in charlottesville, one white nationalist told us the president has helped him. >> he's opened up a door. his movement has opened up a door. but it's up to us to take the initiative. >> reporter: and the fight over confederate statues is now a flash point. in

tearing down a statue honoring confederate soldiers. >> let me be clear, no one is getting away with what happened. we are pursuing fell any charges. >> reporter: there are 700 monuments like this throughout the u.s. pressure is building for many cities to move them or take them down. that fight energizing white nationalists who want to stop them. already, planning events in the coming weeks. the southern poverty law center reports in the last three years, more than 125 new hate groups have formed. >> they're just kind of now becoming more to light and coming out from the cracks, because of the new election, the new administration. >> reporter: cities and schools taking a hard look, balancing public safety and the right to free speech. texas a&m already canceling a planned white nationalist rally that was supposed to happen in september. eva pilgrim, abc news, charlottesville, virginia. >> nearly 70 of those monuments

have come down since the shootings that took place in south carolina years ago. now president trump is noncommittal when it comes to steve bannon. even before the deadly violence in charlottesville, many high-profile republicans were causing for his ouster. >> now some of the closest advisers are pushing for bannon to go. on tuesday, the president defended bannon but made no promises about his future. >> i like him. he is a good man. he is not a racist, i can tell you that. he's a good person. he actually gets a very unfair press in that regard. but we'll see what happens with mr. bannon, you about he's a good person, and i think the press treats him very unfairly. >> the president down-played bannon's role in his campaign saying he was a latecomer. in the meantime, bannon had reportedly been telling people he thought his job was safe. and charlottesville schoolteachers were

when they decided to honor their community. ♪ lean on me when you're not strong ♪ ♪ and i'll be your friend >> and that's the teachers also paying tribute to those killed on saturday by singing the bill withers classic "lean on me." your health insurance premium could sky rocket if president trump makes good on a threat against the affordable care act of the president has threatened to stop payments to insurers. but the non-partisan congressional budget office says that would rise premiums for a popular type of individual health plan as much as 20%. many people would be lett with no insurance objections at all. so far the trump administration has continued to make those payments. south carolina lindsey graham is pushing for a block grant method of funding health care. it would give money to each state and let the governors decide how to use it, depending on what would work best in their state.

glam graham says his plan is gaining support. >> i hope by the end of the month to have at least 25 governors on board for the block grant approach. president trump, i talked to him a few days ago. he really likes this idea. >> the bill was drafted by graham, of course and bill cassidy and dean heller of nevada. the group hopes completing a formula by next week to determine how much each state gets. overseas, the death toll is rising from severe weather in south asia and west africa. at least 245 people have been killed in flooding and mudslides, triggered by a monsoon across part of india, southern nepal and bangladesh. millions of others have been displaced. meanwhile, at least 300 people have been killed in devastating mudslides in sierra leone. at least 700 others are missing. thousands have lost their homes. and here in the u.s., heavy rain has triggered flash flooding across parts of arkansas. more than four inches of rain

parts of the state, swelling rivers and creeks and flooding homes. meanwhile, out in the atlantic, hurricane gert is pushing out to sea, still enough of a punch to cause rough surf and rip currents. from north carolina though southern new england. an alabama woman says she stayed alive in the woods for a month by eating berries and mushrooms. >> she was missing since mid july. but she was recently reunited with her family after being stopped walking along the road. she lost about 50 pounds during the ordeal. >> so still the question remained about how she ended up alone and in the woods. police say around the time that she disappeared, she was with two men who are now facing burglary charges for allegedly breaking into a hunting lodge. she said she ran into the woods to escape those men. >> lucky to be alive. coming up, jennifer lawrence needs somebody to help her drink wine and calls up some exes. and you could be her lucky

partner in crime. >> sign us up. and fans are descending on grace land to commemorate the 40th anniversary of elvis' death. but first we take a look at today's forecast. grace land to commemorate the 40th anniver "world news now" weather, brought to you by liberator medical supply. erator medical supply.

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well, this group in milwaukee who tried to car jack a 50-year-old woman didn't get what they came for. grandma fought them off. surveillance video showing the woman fighting off her attackers and chasing them away. all they managed to get were a few personal items but not her car. >> don't mess with grandma. and rudy giuliani is recovering in the hospital after a fall at his home in long island. the 73-year-old giuliani told "the new york post" that he underwent quadriceps tendon surgery after his knee gave way. his wife judith says he is already back at work from his hospital bed. giuliani has been advising the trump administration on cybersecurity. and officials in connecticut are investigating a restaurant where they say the wife of chris berman allegedly had lunch before she died. th

67-year-old kathryn berman was ruled an accident. the state liquor control commission received a report regarding her being sold alcohol. however, the restaurant's owner tells the hartford grant, they were closed the day of the crash. today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of the king of rock 'n roll, elvis presley. >> thousands lined up for hours to make the solemn procession up the driveway of his home, grace land. >> his former wife, priscilla presley said it was the largest anniversary they'd ever had. and at the vigil, it was his daughter, lisa marie, who held the torch to light the candles in the assembly. would you like the chance to throwback some wine with jennifer lawrence? sign us up. >> all right, we'll tell you how. "the skinny's" next. sinus u sign us up.

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♪ skinny ♪ so skinny we're starting up "the skinny" with breaking news. huge. daniel craig confirmed he is returning for another bond movie. this will be his fifth time playing the dashing 007. >> it seemed like he was done with his super spy days after spectre, but he says he will be back, but this will be his last bond film. we've heard that before. noting that he wants to go out on a high note. >> basically, he wants to make up for spectre? >> that was okay. >> we don't have many details about the next insaulment, but we can expect to see it in theaters around november 2019 and maybe it will seem like craig wants to be there. >> he said he would rather have something painful than do another bond film. >> he made quite an ultimatum of

done to him than do another bond film. moving on to two of our favorite things. jennifer lawrence and wine. >> mm-hm. >> lawrence who just turned 27 yesterday posted a funny psa. >> she invites you to a california picnic which sounds awesome. >> it will be great. we'll hang out, drink some wine, talk politics, drink wine. maybe we'll call your ex-, maybe we'll call my ex. who knows. the point is, we'll have fun. and i know what you're thinking, jen, why would i go wine tasting with you. you probably can't even tell the difference between the review of a great wine. >> she goes on to play a fun game, as you see there that she's setting up. movie review or wine review where she has to guess if the quote is about one of her films or wine. >> okay. i guess we're going to do this. >> pretty interesting. >> full-bodied. >> full-bodied could go for any of her movies or wine.

>> i'd say the wine. sure, full-bodied, right? >> i think it was referring to one of her movies. so the proceeds go to benefit the group "represent us". so we've all been to sporting events and jammed along to the songs that they're playing. sometimes you get a little bit into it. >> get caught up into it. >> here's another example. that is grammy winner celine dion dancing and cheering on her son at a hockey game in quebec. and gettin' down. >> why is she the only one jamming out while everyone else is paying attention to what's going on on the ice. >> there's no music playing. >> she does like music at any opportunity to dance. she reminded us when she was back stage singing along with fellow diva cher to "believe." i think that was at the billboard music awards. >> this moment showed celine with the sleeves fluffing up and down.

to the hockey game. >> nobody knew celine was such a hockey fan who dances in the stands. we've been wondering what david beckham has been doing since his retirement, buying up soccer teams and such. it seems he's been working in construction. here he is, six days ago as he started putting together a 4,000-piece lego, disney castle for his daughter harper. >> here he is yesterday at 1:00 in the morning. finally finished. the caption says, "someone's going to have a nice surprise in the morning." good job, david. >> once again, stars are just like the rest of us. david spending a week doing that. next, he's going to take on an ikea set. that should give him a month. >> good luck with those instructions. but of course the big breaking news this morning. daniel craig is returning. there was all this talk about who would be the next bond. answer, daniel craig.

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without any harsh chemical residue. ♪ lysol. what it takes to protect. ♪ every day i get with you ♪ magic bus ♪ get on the bus ♪ takes me to you ♪ magic bus ♪ i'm so nervous ♪ magic bus >> get back on the bus. no? >> calm down. >> all right, well, as the kids head back to school, districts across the country are dealing with an unexpected problem. a lack of bus drivers. >> districts are finding more creative ways to get people behind the wheel of a big yellow bus. >> dancin'? >> that and then some. here's steve osunsami. >> r

shortage in schools across the country. as kids are heading back to class, many systems are finding they don't have enough people to drive their buses. >> the economy is better. so people are going back to jobs that they had done previously, or they find the need to stay at home. >> reporter: in denver this year where they're still looking for at least 40 more school bus drivers, they're offering bonuses and pay raises and recruiting stay at home parents, hoping they can fill the gap, telling them they can bring any preschool aged children along for the ride. >> as long as they can walk up on the bus, we can get them into a car seat and make sure that they're safe. >> reporter: according to a recent survey, 22% of bus contractors are calling the shortage severe, and 5% say they're desperate to find drivers. >> we're seeing some

districts having to cut routes or consolidate them, having fewer stops. >> reporter: one of the problems seems to be the long process it takes to get a driver's license. it can take up to 12 weeks with background checks. the salaries, bringing about $50 a day and split shifts, working at two different times each day aren't helpful. julie says it's the bond that keeps her coming back. >> i was a route driver for two years, and i still see kids that i know that they're like, hey, ms. julie. you know, that's cool. >> reporter: in some school districts, this has become a real problem for after-school programs, it's taking children a lot longer to get home. steve osunsami, marietta, georgia. >> i think they is should consider the dancing thing, put a disco ball in the middle of the bus. ♪ oh, magic bus >> that's a magic bus. what are you driving?

>> you don't want that horrible gaper delay. >> gaper delay?

making news in america this morning, reaction pouring in after president trump's heated exchange with reporters about the violence over the weekend in charlottesville. the president again blaming both sides for the deadly chaos. top members of the republican party are coming out against him. we're live in washington. also, developing, extreme weather. hurricane churning up the atlantic stirring up powerful surf and a series of storms lined up out in the atlantic. we're tracking it all. a survival story from a woman who made it through weeks on her own. living off the land in the woods. we have some details about her ordeal. flying dry. why one airline wants a drinking limit for passengers before they get on board.