abc's andrew dymburt has those details. good morning, andrew. >> reporter: and good morning.k in 2018 the trump administration received international outcry for its zero tolerance policy on illegal immigration, and now some former top members of the department of justice are accused of being a driving force behind the policy that separated families at the border. overnight "the new york times" published a preliminary report from an inspector general who investigated the administration's policy. the report says during a phone call back in may 2018, then attorney general jeff sessions told federal prosecutors that, quote, we need to take away immigrants care about kids, don't bring them in. we won't give amnesty to people with kids. the inspector general's report also noted that sessions repeatedly distanced himself from the policy in public citing an interview from june 2018 when he told a canadian news station that, quote, we never really intended to separate children. now, the report also claims that sessions and former deputy attorney general rod rosenstein pushed to separa

here is abc news reporter andrew dymburt. >> reporter: despite is a small slip while coming off air force 2 and a covid outbreak in his inner circle this weekend, vice president mike pence shows no signs of slowing down, holding a rally in north carolina last night. >> we are all standing out here in the rain for one reason and one reason only, and that is that north carolina and america need four more years of president donald trump in the white house. >> reporter: at least five people close to the vice president recently tested positive for covid-19, pence aide marty obst testing positive wednesday, the white house revealing pence's chief of staff marc short tested positive. short was seen here with the vice president friday. the white house says the vice president and the second lady tested negative sunday and says pence will maintain his schedule in accordance with the cdc guidelines for essential personnel. democratic vice presidential nominee kamala harris who suspended campaigning when a member of her staff tested positive took aim at her opponent. >> i think we have modeled the ri

abc's andrew dymburt has all the big moments. andrew, >> reporter: it was coronavirus that dominated the night, make no mistake bit. senator kamala harris and vice president mike pence facing off in their first and only vice presidential debate. >> it's a privilege to be on the stage with you. >> reporter: they avoided personal attacks while being mostly cordial. >> he will not raise taxes on anybody that makes less than $400,000 a year. >> he said he will repeal -- >> mr. vice president, i'm speaking. >> reporter: harris and pence separated by plexiglass sparred over the trump administration's handling of the coronavirus. >> they knew and they covered it up. the president said it was a hoax. >> president trump did what no other american president has ever done, he suspended all travel from china, the second largest economy in the world. now, senator, joe biden opposed that decision. >> whatever the vice president is claiming the administration has done clearly it hasn't worked. when you're looking at over 210,000 dead bodies in o

reporting live in washington, ac., andrew dymburt for abc7 wsom statements about travel from china anddoor events at the white house. if you want to find out which claims did hold up, go to abc7news.com. >>> holiday hiring in the bay area. the open positions with u.p.s. as online shopping picks up. >>> and we'll take a live look at the big board at the new york stock exchange. we're up this morning. another update on how we're doing next. >>> and santa social distancing. what your family can expect if you're going to get holiday photos taken at the mall. >>> first we'll check in with mike to see what gift he has for us with our forecast today. >> you probably will regift the first one, i will talk about the hurricane. then i'll get to our autumn-like temperatures. yeah. let's start with the monster that's growing in the gulf of mexico. it's getting bigger. it's winds are still a category 2 level. we're talking about hurricane delta. it's got 100-mile-per-hour winds. you can see how big it's become. as we head into the forecast, you can see more than 8 inches of rain possible on top of

here's andrew dymburt. >> reporter: this morning final preparations are under way for the first and only debate between senator kamala harris and vice president mike pence. the biden campaign is making safety a top priority insisting that harris be more than 12 feet away from pence with a plexiglass barrier. but pence, the head of the white house coronavirus task force doesn't think it's necessary. his spokeswoman saying in a statement if senator harris wants to use a fortress around herself have at it. harris arrived in salt lake city on friday night. pete buttigieg was spotted in her hotel. he was playing the role of vp pence. harris telling hillary clinton on her podcast where her focus will be tonight. >> i guess, the biggest thing, just to be candid with you, is to be prepared for what i think is very likely to be a series of untruths. >> reporter: pence says he is ready and welcoming the challenge. >> we're looking very much forward to the vice presidential debate. stakes in this election have never been higher. >> reporter: harris and pence are expected to clash over the coronavir

andrew dymburt, abc news, washington. >>> house speaker nancy pelosi says she is not being briefed onsident's condition. after the vice president, pelosi is next in line to take over presidential duties if needed. >> we're getting our information the way everyone else is, in the media. but in terms of the succession, that's an ongoing process. sadly at this time, it comes to the forefront. >> speaker pelosi says she is praying for the president and for the first lady and hoping for their speedy recoveries. she also said she is being regularly tested under the attending physician of the house. her last test on friday came back negative. >>> in the coronavirus pandemic, at least 21 states have seen a week to week increase in new covid-19 cases. here in california, cases those are holding steady. cnn correspondent polo sandoval has a look now at what the nation can expect in the coming months. >> reporter: only three u.s. states are reporting a decline in new covid-19 cases compared to last week. as of saturday night, new cases were down in texas, missouri, and south carolina while 21 st

andrew dymburt, abc news, washington. >>> and also in washington, nancy pelosi will introduce a bill to create a panel to make sure the president is fit for office. pelosi questioned if the treatment including the use of a steroid impaired his judgment. the legislation would establish a process to give congress the say to remove a president from office under the 25th amendment. >>> new developments in a vacaville barbershop's ability to stay open during the pandemic. the man reopened his shop in may in defiance of local health orders. on monday the state sent him a cease and desist order with photos documenting his defiance. >> i'm not trying to make money by staying open. i'm trying to provide for my family. allow my barbers to provide for their families. show the american people an example of how not to live in fear and to stand your ground. >> he will go to court to contest the order and he says if he loses he'll go to his customers homes to cut hair. >>> we made it easy for you to keep tabs on what's open where you live. this reopening tracker is on our website, abc7news.com. >>>

abc's andrew dymburt joins us from washington with more on that part of the story. drew, good morning. >> reporter: and good morning, whit. the timing of the president's situation here really affecting both campaigns down the final stretch here. after the president tested positive for covid-19, shortly after his debate with joe biden, now for the upcoming vice presidential debates there's a trp nos itized himornafety.heca while joe biden has pulled all negative ads. both candidates now forced to re-imagine their campaigns and reach out to voters virtually. while trump delivered this message from walter reed hospital, biden back in delaware for a digital town hall with union workers over the weekend. >> i'm in a little bit of a spot here because i don't want to be attacking the president and the first lady. >> reporter: as he was leaving evening mass in wilmington, the former vp telling reporters that he was not tested saturday for the coronavirus, but that he will be sometime today. >> you were not tested today? >> i was yesterday. >> and you'll be tomorrow? >> and t

abc's andrew dymburt is here with all the developments. good morning, andrew. >> reporter: good morning, kenneth and mona. tens of thousands of airline industry workers woke up this morning without a job as leaders are waiting for congress to act. it could be the long end. in morning, more than 40,000 workers out of a job after federal funding ran out at midnight. >>> my work as a flight attendant for united airlines for the last seven years and worked her last flight one week ago. >> i dreamed of being a flight attendant when i was a little girl. so my dreams came true. i have my dream job so i have been asking myself what do you do when you lose your dream job? where do you go from there? >> reporter: back in march the airlines rocked by the pandemic received $25 billion from the u.s. government. now they're asking congress for $25 billion move. >> at delta we're looking at potentially 2,000 furloughs in our pilot ranks if we don't get the grant from the government or indeed if we don't find a solution with our union. >> reporter: now con

abc's andrew dymburt has the latest.s morning, a texas police officer is charged with murder in the shooting death of a black man. >> what do we want? [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: the small town outside dallas monday night showing unity before the charges were announced demanding justice for jonathan price. >> no justice. [ crowd chanting ] >> what's his name? >> reporter: according to witnesses a man and woman got into a heated argument inside a gas station saturday. they say price tried to break up the fight. police showed up after the indianapolis depth had moved outside.at's when shots rang ou >> three gunshots ntffnd turned and looked at them and i said a cop just shot somebody. >> reporter: members of price's own family rushed to the scene including his father who said he spoke to the officer who pulled the trigger. >> what did he tell you? >> i shot your son. i shot him. i said, who shot jonathan? he said, i did. my son was laying down. >> what did he say? >> he said, get back. >> reporter: the wolfe city polic

. >> i'm andrew dymburt.begin with the final debate showdown in the race for president with just 11 days until election day. >> the two made their closing arguments to voters, but nearly 48 million americans have already cast their ballots. that's a 700% increase over this time in 2016. >> and it all comes against the backdrop of the pandemic with new cases up 32% in the last two weeks. the final presidential debate kicking off without interruption, the candidates feisty but focused. president trump with the first question defending his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has now killed more than 220,000 americans. >> we closed up the greatest economy in the world in order to fight this horrible disease that came from china. it's a worldwide pandemic. >> reporter: joe biden with a strong rebuke of trump promising if elected his administration will do things differently. >> if you hear nothing else i say tonight, hear this, i will take care of this. i will end this. i will make sure we

abc's andrew dymburt has more. >> reporter: this morning, new fallout after the chilling alleged plot to storm the michigan statehouse then kidnap and possibly kill michigan governor gretchen whitmer. >> we have to call it out for what it is. it is domestic terrorism. >> reporter: charges have been brought against 13 members of two militia groups. one of the suspects is seen in a social media post which has since been removed. >> not get robbed by the state. >> reporter: the fbi says the men were angry at governor whitmer for imposing restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. some of the men allegedly traveled to the governor's vacation home to conduct surveillance even discussing the use of explosives as a diversion tactic. tensions have been high in michigan for months with armed militia members descending on the statehouse. >> i had two legitimate threats on my life that we had to have the police called in both of those cases. >> reporter: governor whitmer who was on joe biden's short list as a potential running mate has been a frequent target of president trump saying this whi

. >> aim andrew dymburt. kenneth is off. we begin with the historic white house event last night to swear in the new supreme court justice, amy coney barrett. a large crowd gathered but this time most people were wearing a mask and were socially distanced. >> it comes as the presidential campaign enters the final stretch. both candidates announcing more trips to swing states. joe biden is defending his smaller events saying he's being responsible in the age of covid. but the trump campaign claims biden could never get the crowds the president gets. >> a record shattering 64 million votes have been cast and melania trump hits the campaign trail today. >> we begin with history at the white house last night. this morning, a political win for president trump one week before the election. judge amy coney barrett will replace ruth bader ginsburg on the supreme court after taking the constitutional oath from justice clarence thomas during a rare evening ceremony at the white house. >> so help me god. [ applause ] >> reporter: with

. >> and i'm andrew dymburt. kenneth is off. election day is two weeks from today, and we learned overnight that the final presidential debate will be different than the first. >> the candidates' microphones will be regulated to prevent interruptions. also this morning, the supreme court has handed down a decision regarding how votes will be counted in pennsylvania. >> meanwhile, dr. anthony fauci is responding to the latest attack from president trump, who called fauci a disaster and called his fellow scientists idiots. >>> also overnight a new endorsement. retired navy admiral william mcraven who led the raid that killed osama bin laden and describes himself as a pro-life pro-second amendment conservative has announced he voted for joe biden. >> but we begin with that big rule change for the next debate. this morning the trump campaign says the president will attend thursday night's debate despite a rule change that aims to avoiding all those interruptions we saw in the first debate. >> the question is -- >> you put a lot -- >

. >> i'm andrew dymburt. kenneth is off. we begin with new allegations that iran and russia are working to interfere in the u.s. election. >> in a surprise news conference, u.s. officials claimed iran and russia have obtained u.s. voting data and they claim that iran is behind a video that falsely suggests fraudulent ballots can be sent from overseas. >> this comes ahead of a critical day in the race for the white house with 12 days left in the campaign, president trump and joe biden are preparing for tonight's final debate. we have new reporting on the strategies of both sides. >> but first abc's faith abubey begins our coverage with those new claims about election interference. faith, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, mona and andrew. federal authorities say iran and russia are both actively interfering with the u.s. election, but democrats are questioning the timing of this new warning. this morning, new concerns that foreign governments are trying to meddle in the upcoming election. director of national intelligen

here's andrew dymburt. >> reporter: tonight, the biden campaign wishing the president a speedy recovery and hoping the second showdown between the candidates goes on as scheduled. >> we hope that he is well and able to debate. if he is, joe biden will certainly be there. >> reporter: with just 30 days to go until election day, the president's diagnosis has thrust the campaign into turmoil. joe biden and his wife jill were both tested today after reporting negative tests friday. bide ctact with the president, tuesday's debate stage in cleveland. and now it's time for their running mates to face off. ahead of wednesday's vice presidential debate, senator kamala harris says she's prepared for a barrage of lies. >> i guess the biggest thing, just to be candid with you, is to be prepared for what is, i think, very likely to be a series of untruths. >> reporter: and vice president mike pence has said he's ready to take on the former prosecutor. >> i think she is a skilled debater. but i can't wait to get to salt lake city and be on the stage with her. >> reporter: sources tell abc news they w

. >> i'm andrew dymburt. kenneth is off. >>> we begin with the race for the white house just eight days before election day. >> a new covid outbreak has hit the white house. at least five people in mike pence's circle have tested positive. >> with polls showing a tight race, we learned that kamala harris will travel to texas this week. >>> some ugly moments in new york as people threw objects and hurled insults at a group called jew j jews for trump. >>> we begin with the vice president on the campaign trail. despite a small slip while coming off air force two, and a covid outbreak in his inner circle, vice president mike pence shows no signs of slowing down holding a rally in north carolina last night. >> we're all standing out here in the rain for one reason only. that is that north carolina and america need four more years of president donald trump in the white house. >> reporter: at least five people close to the vice president tested positive for covid-19. marty obst testing positive wednesday. the white

. >> i'm andrew dymburt. kenneth is off. we begin with the surge in coronavirus cases. >>> hospitals in several states are reporting a shortage of icu beds, and as states try to plan for a vaccine, pfizer says its vaccine will be delayed until at least the end of november. >> all of this coming as the race for the white house enters the home stretch. president trump last night said if he had listened to scientists, the economy would be in a depression right now. >> but we begin our coverage with the latest from the front lines and more hospitals saying they're overwhelmed. this morning, scientists warning that the u.s. is bracing for a dangerous winter. >> the next 6 to 12 weeks are going to be the darkest of the entire pandemic. >> with hospitalizations climbing in 41 states and deaths rising in 14, experts say the country could be barreling toward a so-called twindemic. >> we don't want a lot of flu and covid happening at the same time. >> reporter: the time line still unclear. pfizer revealing sunday it's already churning

. >> i'm andrew dymburt. kenneth is off. we begin with the race for the white house one day before the final crucial debate. >> president trump is on the attack calling on the attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the bidens. the president also taking aim at "60 minutes" anchor lesley stahl after cutting their interview short. >> all of this coming as the pandemic rages across the country. more than 20,000 people have died in the last month. new york is now urging residents to avoid nonessential travel to neighboring states. meanwhile, the white house says these 31 states are now in the so-called red zone due to their infection rates. >> let's begin our coverage with abc's faith abubey. she has the latest from the campaign trail. faith, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, mona and andrew. the biden campaign is hoping for a big boost in pennsylvania, so later on today former president obama will hit the campaign trail and bring their message there. meanwhile, president trump is stepping up

andrew dymburt joins us live from washington, d.c. with more on this. >> reporter: mike pence and kamala harris offer opposing realities to the response to covid-19. mike pence's performance was a strike contrast to president trump's last week. pence showed >> reporter: senator kamala harris and vice president mike pence squaring off in the one and only presidential debate with the covid outbreak shadowing the west wing, the coronavirus pandemic was front and center. the running mates separated by plexiglass, sparring over the handling of the pandemic. >> the american people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country. they knew and they covered it up. the president said it was a hoax. >> president trump did what no other american president had done. he suspended all travel from china. senator joe biden opposed that decision. >> reporter: on the question of a vaccine, senator harris casting doubt on the current administration's ability to get one to the american people s

andrew dymburt for abc 7 news. >> we spoke with one bay area woman who was standing just feet away from the president after the debate earlier this week, a woman who lost her father to covid-19. abc 7 news report stephanie sierras shares her first-hand account of the lack of safety precautions taken inside the debate hall. >> proud boys, stand back. >> he yelled a lot and can't help but imagine people were exposed to the virus. >> reporter: san francisco native kristen ortizza was sitting a mere 15 away from president trump during the debate on tuesday night. >> we have no idea how much virus he put out into the air with his performance, and that is what scares me the most. >> reporter: the risk of exposure hits home for her. she just lost her father, mark, to covid-19. >> i have seen first-hand through the loss of my dad the darkest results of covid. >> reporter: she says holding his picture that night was difficult as nearly the entire republican side of the debate hall wasn't wearing face masks. >> trump children, melania trump who we know is positive, i saw them all, they were all w

debates overnight the president's son saying the future of those debates will be left up to medical andrew dymburts. >>> new video shows white house chief of staff mark meadows coming out to greet the white house supporters who had gathered outside walter reed medical center. this is few hours after the president had been transferred. in the video president trump saw the group outside and saw meadows to come out. the man was handing out boxes of m&ms to the group with the presidential seal on them. and called on the senate to pasds a revised shoaven ecomal devastated during the pandemic. >> with so many lives on the line, so many americans who are now unemployed, struggling to put food on the table and keep shelter over their heads, we have to provide this relief. >> meantime east bay congressman mark desaulnier wished the president and first lady well. but he said for months the president mock and played fast and loose during a real and deadly pandemic. although the president's campaign is being scaled back republican strategists say it's too early to tell how much of an effect this will have in