>> stephanie ramos, thank you. >>> now to a fourth of july tragedy in michigan.oung nhl goalie for the columbus blue jackets killed in a fireworks accident involving a mortar blast. the coroner saying he died of chest trauma. here's abc's alex perez. >> reporter: tonight, a fourth of july celebration turned tragic. nhl goalie mattis kivlenieks killed, authorities say, by fireworks gone wrong. >> kivlenieks, his first national hockey league victory! >> reporter: kivlenieks, a goaltender for the columbus blue jackets. police say the 24-year-old was at a private gathering sunday night when a mortar-style firework tilted downward and shot towards a group of people in a hot tub. authorities say he tried to clear out of the way but was struck in the chest by the firework and later died. a native of latvia, kivlenieks signed with the blue jackets in 2017, making his debut in 2020. tonight, tributes pouring in. the blue jackets general manager tweeting, "life is so precious and can be so fragile. hug your loved ones today. r.i.p. matiss, you will be dearly missed." accid

science will win. >> and stephanie ramos now with us tonight.nd stephanie, this delta variant, of course, now the dominant strain in the u.s., and we were looking at the numbers today, accounting for more than half of new cases and in some places, authorities believe it's much higher? >> reporter: it is, david. some parts of this country, including missouri, are seeing the delta variant in 80% of new covid cases. dr. fauci today saying it is critical to goat fully vaccinated, because the delta variant is doubling up every couple of weeks and so far, vaccines do hold up against it, david. >> the newest front in this virus. stephanie, thank you. >>> and the news from chicago tonight. two federal agents and a police officer shot and wounded in an unmarked car. late today, chicago's mayor face-to-face with president biden, amid those growing pleas for help. abc's alex perez in chicago. >> reporter: a chaotic scene in chicago. authorities scrambling after three officers were shot. >> we need an ambulance. we got three p.o.s shot. get some ambulances

and here's stephanie ramos. >> reporter: tonight, health officials are warning the delta variant is spreading faster than expected throughout the country. >> although we expected the delta variant to become the dominant strain in the united states, this rapid rise is troubling. >> reporter: in southwest missouri, just 6% of icu beds are available. teams inside mercy hospital are treating patients who are younger and sicker, and mostly unvaccinated. >> this is the absolute worst that i've ever seen. there's people saying that they are comparing us to new york about a year ago. >> reporter: in nearly all u.s. counties with the highest covid rates, less than 40% of residents are vaccinated. the delta variant now behind 80% of cases in parts of the midwest and plains. officials in colorado linking at least one outbreak to last month's country jam festival in grand junction. and outside new orleans, the number of covid patients at one hospital tripling in the last two weeks. all of them unvaccinated. >> and so people are out and about going and eating and traveling, which is totally understandable

here's stephanie ramos. >> reporter: tonight, the delta variant, now estimated to the dominant strain of coronavirus in this country, making up more than 51% of new cases. mercy hospital in springfield, missouri, is battling a covid surge worse than last winter's and nearly all those patients unvaccinated. >> get vaccinated so that you don't see this. >> reporter: the hospital now forced to bring in extra ventilators and traveling nurses. across town, 42-year-old russell taylor has been in the hospital for three weeks. >> i really thought i was going to die. probably the closest i've ever ben to dying. >> reporter: he was skeptical about the vaccine, but now wants to get his whole family vaccinated. hospitals admissions are now climbing in ten undervaccinated states.galveston, texas, the with 1stg positinked to antbaktc late today, the president acknowledging he didn't meet his july 4th goal of 70% of adults with at least one shot, saying this delta variant should make everyone think twice, doubling down on reaching communities where shots are needed most. >> now we need to go to comm

stephanie ramos, abc news new york. >>> it looks like what is old is new again.vers are seeing an increase in business because rideshare businesses are getting more expensive. amy hollyfield has the story. >> reporter: ask people in san francisco who they call when they need a ride and you hear a lot of this. >> i'm usually taking uber. >> lyft. >> whichever is cheaper. >> reporter: the habit of grabbing a rideshare might be one you want to reconsider. if >> i under noticed it. one time it was $60 on uber and then i will go with lyft and it will be $12. it makes no sense, a win day afternoon, it doesn't matter. >> reporter: it is pushing people to go old school and grab a cab. >> in one word it is wonderful. these drivers have been hit hard over the past year. >> reporter: he says his taxicab app company, flywheel, has seen a significant increase in business as uber and lyft charge more for rides. >> we have seen a record number of downloads, mainly because uber and lyft have been surge pricing their rides, which i think alienated a lot of their customers. >> rep

stephanie ramos covering it all for us. morning to you, stephanie. >> reporter: t.j., good morning. it's been a long wait but new york city is in celebration mode as it sees success in the fight against covid. this vaccination site here, which was once a field hospital early on in the pandemic, is set to close for good tomorrow. a sign that the city is back. ♪ this morning, cheers of gratitude. new york, once the epicenter of the virus, celebrating where daily hospitalizations and deaths are decreasing. honoring the heroic frontline workers led by nurse sandra lindsay, the first person in the country to receive the covid vaccine. >> i feel so proud, such progress has been made and we need to just keep it going. thank you, new york. >> reporter: but a tale of two americas emerging as new york celebrates nearly 73% of adults receiving their first shot of the vaccine, hospitalizations surging in multiple states with low vaccination rates linked to the delta variant. in missouri, where cases and hospitalizations are surpassing

our stephanie ramos is at the javits center vaccination site with more. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: whit, good morning. president biden welcomed a thousand essential workers and military personnel to the south lawn this weekend to celebrate independence day and independence from covid exceeding his prediction from march that fourth of july get-togethers this year would look a lot more like they used to, even though the country is just shy of the 70% vaccination goal, but this weekend, the virus and the delta variant still gripping parts of the country and areas populated by people who refuse to get vaccinated. the administration ramping up those efforts to try and reach those people, whit. >> but stephanie, that new poll shows it could be a real challenge to reach some populations in this country. >> reporter: exactly, that view, abc news/"washington post" poll really lays out just how challenging it will be. three in ten adults in the latest abc poll say they have not gotten a coronavirus vaccine and definitely or probably will not get one. in t

stephanie ramos has more on this story. responding to a body shaming comment she received. she said this post affected her. the criticism has followed. actress valerie bertinelli has taken to instagram with a powerful response to a follower who told her she needed to lose weight. >> if i could lose the weight and keep it off, i would. since i haven't been successful with that, my whole entire life at 61 i'm still dealing with this. where's the compassion? >> reporter: bertinelli captioning the video, aren't we tired of body shaming yet? i was going to delete my stories. we all could use more kindness, compassion and grace, because we just never know what someone else is going through. here it is. not deleting, owning it. celebrities coming to her defense. singer demi lovato posting i love you. you said it yourself, you're already enough, and whoever said that is hurting. and not being shown enough compassion in their lives. i'm sorry you had to deal with this. here for you always. actress haylie duff writing, you are gorgeo

way >>weurto consumesupermartsckli l items working to stay ahead of big price increases and our stephanie ramoseckout. during the peak of the pandemic, shoppers struggle to find the groceries or household products they wanted because people were stockpiling items like toilet paper and hand soap. and other household goods. now, store shelves are filled and it's the grocery stores that are stockpiling, but why? >> it's called hedging. retailers are trying to protect their margins and that's why they're bringing in extra inventory but it's 20% to 25% some are bringing in. >> reporter: brands like campbell's soup, general mills, j.m. smucker have announced they're raising prices. due to supply chain and transportation issues. a sign other companies may follow suit. >> people are buying more and then your restaurants are opening up. it again caused this demand that we haven't seen before in the past. >> reporter: according to usda data, the consumer price index for grocery store food purchases last year was up 3.5%. well above the 20-year annual average of 2% and the highest annual increase since 20