gio benitez standing by. >>> the cyberattack forcing the shutdown of a major u.s. pipeline that supplies nearly half of all fuel to the east coast. operations halted on the 5,500-mile pipeline that runs from texas to new jersey. could it impact americans' wallets? >>> the shooting in times square as we come on the air. two adults and a child taken to the hospital. the gunman on the loose. parts of times square now shut down. >>> the pandemic tonight and the push to get americans vaccinated. average daily shots dropping significantly, falling under 2 million for the first time since march. the atlanta braves the latest pro team giving free tickets for those getting shots at the game. and the major american city paying residents for everyone they sign up and bring to an appointment. >>> the deadly school bombing in afghanistan. the blast outside a school killing dozens. the horror unfolding amid a rise in concern for women and girls in the country as u.s. troops begin heading home. >>> help wanted. the white house on defense after disappointing job numbers in april.

gio benitez live from atlanta tonight. and gio, the late news, the pipeline now back up and running but we know me your y'all day still a couple of weeks away. millions will hit the roads. and it could take that long to get back up to speed? >> reporter: yeah, that's right, david. we're talking about two weeks to get that gas all the way from texas to the northeast. and on that price gouging, remember, those state of emergency orders specifically mention price gouging, so, state officials say they will investigate any complaint and if they have to, they'll prosecute them. david? >> gio benitez leading us off tonight. gio, thank you. >>> we also have new reporting tonight amid the battle inside the republican party. representative liz cheney tonight ousted from her leadership position today for speaking out against president trump and about lies involving the election. it took just minutes, with reports of boos while cheney made a last-ditch argument to save her post and she argued the republican party. moments after the vo

>> gio benitez back with us tonight. gio, thank you. >>> as i mentioned just a moment ago, colonial pipeline, it's been reported, paying ransom to that hacking group believed to be based in russia, first reported bly bloomberg. i want to go to pierre thomas who has been following this. we saw that report from bloomberg today that a ransom was paid by colonial in the low millions? >> reporter: david, we're still sorting out how that ransom might have been paid. these ransomware attacks are complicated and can sometimes involve third parties. i've been told that the ransom demanded was in the low millions of dollars in the attack, launched by a gang using software developed by "darkside" in russia. the limitations of the federal government to control how companies maintain their security and respond to such attacks. we know the fbi's position was that the ransom should not be paid, david. >> opening up a new round of questions on this. pierre thomas tonight. pierre, thank you. >>> overseas tonight, the battle between israe

abc's transportation correspondent gio benitez leas us off from newark airport in new jersey. >> reporter: tonight, the country roaring back to life for the unofficial kickoff to summer. americans celebrating their first major holiday since the vaccine rollout. >> i'm feeling free! no masks! >> reporter: over the weekend, an estimated 34 million people hitting the roads, and air travel shattering expectations. more than 7 million people screened at airports between thursday and sunday. >> this is why this airport is open. this is why these new flights are happening. because people are traveling. they're able to travel. and it's because of the vaccine. >> reporter: from coast to coast, crowds gathering on beaches and at backyard barbecues, in parks and parades. americans coming together to honor the fallen. >> today is wonderful. we can finally shake hands, talk to each other, enter places without masks. this is the way it should be. >> reporter: with more than half of american adults now fully vaccinated, a return to memorial day traditions. >> the fans are back in the stands. >> reporter

this morning, i should say clara benitez from our sister station in san diego joining us live tonight with the very latest on this investigation. clerk. >> hey, guys. authorities have said that the migrants that were rescued were taken to a 2 different hospitals. crowned around san diego county. and while those nationalities of those migrants are currently unknown. the mexican consul and says that they are keeping communication with local authorities to try to reconnect families just in case those victims are from next. mexican national descent. >> our goal was just to rescue everyone. we can from the water and on the beach and get them of safety chance ported so hospitals could disease can border patrol agents say the boat breaking into pieces off of point, loma sunday morning was a human smuggling attempt from our perspective is that this was a smuggling vessel. >> he just mobileiron son to the united states legally. 3 people dead in 27 others injured the rays from this hypothermia. >> others. just injuries caused by the breaking of the vessel. how many people had serious injuries b

here is abc news reporter gio benitez. >> reporter: making money from your backyard. it looks like a jungle paradise, the swinging bridges, outdoor bed and sounds of nature, but this is actually peter's backyard. >> i am booked as much as the days are available. >> reporter: in fact, the treehouse is booked almost it would through october of 2023. that is why airbnb is begging people to become people would come here? >> i didn't really think it. i could not imagine it. >> reporter: but they are, because as we reach ofar deerate stays that lookgreat in that have done it successfully? it is all coming up 7:00 a.m. i am gio benitez, abc news, atlanta. >>> lottery ticket worth $26 million may have gone down the drain, literally. we told you about this story yesterday morning. the ticket was sold in los angeles county back in november and the deadline for the winner to come forward was yesterday. well, yesterday a store employee say as woman came in and says she is the winner but she put the ticket in her pants and accidentally washed them. surveillance video does show the

with your "gma first look", i am gio benitez, abc news, new york. >> look out!> wait, now we just go on with the morning? >> just be on alert? >> and then what? >> run! you got options. >>> coming up, mixing vaccines, giving two people -- i am sorry, i am completely shocked by this giant rocket coming to earth and there is nothing we can do about it, we don't know where it is going or when. mixing vaccines. giving people two different doses could become a new strategy to fighting covid. >>> and the san francisco convention canceled. why organizers at the biggest event scheduled for this year have called it off even though things are opening back up. >> maybe a slice of the population out there will always be a little bit leary. >> are you ready or reluctant to getting back to being social after this all hoercomed cave after this all hoercomed cave tex-mex. tex-mex. ♪ termites. go back up! hang on! i am hanging on. don't mess up your deck with tex-mex. terminix. hi. the only way to nix it is to terminix it. ladies... check it out. hi. so strong. so... not ripped.

with your "gma first look", i am gio benitez, abc news, new york. >>> this is just me.on't trust it. >> until that check comes in. >> and that you can trust, right? [ laughing ] >> take it! [ laughing ] >>> if your next vacation involves a trip to disneyland, there will be a new adult- friendly edition. >>> and phone scams. what thieves are saying oh! don't burn down the duplex. terminix. ahhh! get out of here mouse. ahhh! ♪ don't flex your pecs. terminix. >>> a doubt emergency expands to 41 counties. the governor's plan to fight back. >>> plus, an adult-friendly edition to disneyland. what you will find at the park by the end of the month. >>> good morning, this is tuesday, may 11. >> good morning but first let's get to mike and the red flag >>everarni ylittt of changerineyeis bacoolg the ba whe the re the east bay hills the sun is coming out of the south- southwest. the strongest of the winds may be behind us. i wanted to say that to maybe take some of the stress off ow, but still know critical fire conditions will be out there through 6:00. that is why we have the re

here is gio benitez. >> reporter: in this morning's gma first look, in-flight chaos. with more than 37 million people expected to travel for memorial day, 2.5 million by air, all eyes are on those rising encounters. between passengers and airline workers. the numbers are concerning the faa receiving about 2500 reports of unruly passengers since the start of the year. 1900 for refusing to wear masks. >> let me be clear in underscoring something. we will not tolerate behavior that violates the law. >> reporter: and all this unruly behavior isn't just happening on planes. coming up at 7:00, we will tell you about the increasing number of assaults on tsa employees happening before flights even take off. with your gma first look, i'm gio benitez, abc news, new york. >>> all right. big air. big tricks are the theme of this event in south africa. a mountain biker from spain landed a 100 foot front flip on what is known as the dark fest course. this is a world record for that stunt and it smashed the previous mark by more than 30 feet. >> can we go back to the woman on that p

here is abc reporter gio benitez.ejeffezos announcing readr e it will launch its first crew into space on july 20 with one seat going to the highest bidder. >> we are auctioning off the first seat to benefit our foundation club for the future. >> reporter: we don't know who the other crew members will be, but the one civilian makes it the first time any private citizen launches into space from american soil. the flight will last minutes, enough to get a view of earth from almost no gravity. >> this will hopefully open the door for many more people, civilians, per se to experience what we get to experience. >> reporter: so will other billionaires like elon musk follow basis' lead? it is all coming up on "gma" at 7:00 a.m. i am gio benitez, abc news, pittsburg. >> there is something else i am irritated about. i wish this weren't up to the highest bidder. i wish it were a contest to have someone that always dreamed of going to space. a scientists that otherwise would not be able to get there. >> i wonder if someone wins

guys. >> gio benitez, always a font of practical wisdom.stage a comeback, cruise lines, norwegian, princess, carnival and holland america have all announced plans to resume service this summer starting with cruises to alaska so let's bring in gus antorcha, president of holland america line. gus, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> so, we all remember those really tough stories at the beginning of the pandemic like the odyssey of one of your liners, the "zandam" where passengers spent weeks stranded at sea quarantined in their rooms after that outbreak. so after all of that, how do you convince people to get back on board one of your ships? >> first let me say that we're very excited that we'll be returning to cruise in july from seattle to alaska. you know, a lot has changed since those early days during -- of the pandemic. we've learned a lot, and we've been working very closely with the cdc to make sure that the procedures and protocols we have in place make it very safe to cruise. with the work we're doing with the cdc, i argue it'l

for "this week," gio benitez, abc news, new york. >> thanks to gio for that.rts. we're joined by the former director of the advanced aerospace threat identification program at the department of defense, and colonel steven ganyard. mr. alessandro, let me begin with you. your program studied the national security implications of aerial phenomenon. based on what you know, do you believe these sightings are evidence of alien visitors? >> they're certainly evidence of something. we know that whatever it is in our skies is real. the question is, what is it? and of course, you can go down the rabbit hole or we can look at it from a foreign adversarial perspective. the bottom line is we simply don't know. what we know is that these -- whatever these aircraft are, are displaying next generation capabilities and what's concerning from a national security perspective, they can outperform anything that we have in our inventory. >> what do you say to those skeptics like mick west who post youtube videos that say there are more mundane explanations like balloons and drones

gio benitez with late reporting. >>> also tonight, republican congresswoman liz cheney ousted from her leadership position because she spoke out against former president trump and against repeated lies about the election. new details tonight from inside the secret vote, taking just minutes. reports of boos in the room as cheney made her

gio benitez, abc news, new york. >> thank you, love it. >> spacex is one of two commercial companiesn coming in the space world. thank you for watching. >>> you've been watching "world news now," informing insomniacs for nearly three decades. >>> breaking overnight on "world news now," destructive storms hitting the south right now. >>> plus, new details after a tragedy in the waters off san diego. a suspected smuggling boat packed with dozens of people overturning near a popular recreation area. the death toll rising overnight. >>> new protests as another black man killed by law enforcement will be laid to rest today. plus we hear from law enforcement leaders about ideas to reform their own profession. >>> the surprise arrival on board a flight to hawaii. a baby born over the pacific ocean. >>> and meet the high school valedictorian who's also getting an associate's degree at the same time. he's only 12. oh, and fashionable, too. it's monday, may 3rd. >>> from abc news, this is "world news now." ♪ he's a smart guy ♪ ♪ do, do, do ♪ >> anytime i hear about a kid genius, i'm going to s

gio benitez with late reporting. >>> also tonight, republican congresswoman liz cheney ousted from herpoke out against former president trump and against repeated lies about the election. new details tonight from inside the secret vote, taking just minutes. reports of boos in the room as cheney made her final plea to

our transportation correspondent gio benitez has all the latest from atlanta.d morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, michael, good morning. yeah, this gas station just got a delivery overnight and they're already running out. only regular is left here. across the street there is no gas at all. and then there's the price. aaa says that the national average is over $3 a gallon. this morning, states of emergency declared in georgia, florida, virginia and north carolina as pressure at the pump spreads up and down the east coast. >> we have sold 4,000 plus gallons within three hours. we're already out of unleaded regular. >> reporter: cars waiting to refill tanks as prices rise and pumps run dry at more than a thousand gas stations. >> everywhere i go bags over the gas pump. >> i don't want to hoard up anything. i'm just trying to make sure i get to my appointment. >> reporter: this man appeared to fill several cans at a gas station. the secretary of energy urging americans to be patient. >> as much as there was no cause for, say, hoarding toilet paper at the beginning of

gio benitez is at one of them. good morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, george.ost wished for airbnbs in the world right now, and it's called the secluded in town house. we're actually in the heart of atlanta and this, well, it's somebody's backyard and it exactly is the type of place that is making big money right now. take a look. it looks like a jungle paradise. the swinging bridges, the outdoor bed and the sounds of nature. but this is actually peter's backyard. >> i'm booked as much as the days are available. >> reporter: in fact the tree house is booked almost solid through october 2023. that's why airbnb is now begging people to become hosts. you didn't even think people would come here. >> i didn't think anybody would come. i really didn't. i just couldn't imagine it. >> reporter: but they are because as we reach the end of the pandemic, people are desperate for unique outdoor stays that look great on instagram. searches for tree houses, tents, plastic igloos and barns are up triple digits on airbnb. in fact, tent searches are up 260%. >> is it the same a

gio benitez standing by. >>> the cyberattack forcing the shutdown of a major u.s.s nearly half of all fuel to the east coast. operations halted on the 5,500-mile pipeline that runs from texas to new jersey. could it impact americans' wallets? >>> the shooting in times square as we come on the air. two adults and a child taken to the hospital. the gunman on the loose. part t

secretary of homeland security with a new warning for passengers breaking the law, and abc's gio benitez covers aviation. >> reporter: tonight, with more and more americans taking to the skies, the faa says there's been an alarming increase in alleged unruly passenger incidents. >> if we don't stand up, it's only going to get worse. >> reporter: from refusing to wear masks, to attacking flight attendants. just this sunday, a troubling case on a southwest flight. a passenger allegedly assaulting a flight attendant, knocking out two of their teeth on a flightrom san ug wne to door>> the faa receivg about 2,500 reports of unruly passengers since the start of the year. the overwhelming majority, some 1,900, refusing to wear masks. now tonight, a stern warning from the nation's top homeland security official. >> it is a federal mandate that one must wear a mask in an a airpo airport, on the aircraft itself and we will not tolerate behavior that violates the law. >> reporter: and david, it's not just on planes. about 60 tsa employees have also been attacked. and now the faa has already issued

gio benitez spoke to one woman who tried it. >> and we found the car we wanted, and this guy came toneighbor and he pays his rent by turo'ing his car. memorial day was $1200 cheaper using one of these rental services than with your traditional national chain. >>> next a new chapter in tim tebow's career. >> so he appears to be ready to return to the nfl, but not as a quarterback.eawi h hoto jacksonvie to tht end. nfl in the 2015 preseason. since then he's been playing minor league baseball, mets, and doing some tv work. >>> next rescuers are calling this nautical nonsense off the coast of california. >> a homemade boat made from buckets, kiddie pools, plywood. two college kids launched this so-called boat into the pacific ocean. >> they had to be rescued when the tide pushed them out to sea farther than expected. believe it or not, alcohol was not a factor here. >>> well, next we take to you washington state to visit a tasty looking park. >> a bacon and eggs skate park that includes two eggs sunny side up with a piece of bacon to ride. all it's missing is hash browns. >>> and a four-

gio benitez is at atlanta's hartsfield airport, america's busiest. >> some airlines are already feeling the effects. american telling us it will have to make pit stops for fuel on some long haul flights to hawaii and europe and cancellations could be next. >> reporter: it's been more than four days since colonial revealed that its systems were compromised by what the fbi has identified as a gang of hackers based in russia known as "darkside," in a brazen scheme to extort money. >> cyber attacks in our nation's infrastructure are growing more sophisticated, frequent and aggressive. >> reporter: according to the department of homeland security, ransomware attacks targeting the u.s. are up nearly 300% this year, with hackers extorting roughly $350 million from u.s. companies and consumers. the fbi identified "darkside" last october and said the group has targeted a number of industries ranging from manufacturing to health care to insurance. "darkside" part of a larger trend where hackers are going after bigger and bigger targets. >> and pierre thomas back with us again tonight. pierre, thi

taking it -- benitez taking it.: new jersey governor phil murphy speaking with david westin. don't miss our chat with the boston fed president happening tomorrow 8:00 at 10:00 a.m. if you are watching in sydney. this is bloomberg. ♪ shery: here's a quick check of the latest headlines. crystal mania sends altar coins soaring. does going surged as much as 50% once again. other tokens jumped 14%. classic surged more than 30% tier the recent rally has seen the rally of all digital token search past 2.25 trillion dollars with doged becoming -- with doge becoming a new poster child. goldman sachs is planning to tell u.s. employees they should prepared to work from officers again the middle of next month. citigroup's australia retail operations are said to be drawing interest from several local lenders as the bank looks to offload the entire unit in one piece. sources say anz and knab are in talks to buy the assets with several other offices showing interest. we are minutes away from the open in south korea. let's turn to

abc's gio benitez is at newark airport with the latest. yeah, the sunday numbers are just in, and they have just shattered pandemic records. take a look at this right now because between thursday and sunday, more than 7 million people were screened at u.s. airports. friday was the busiest, nearly 2 million people screened. tsa telling us today could be even busier than that, but it is the roads that were the most packed. an estimated 34 million people driving to their destinations. now in most major cities, that means this afternoon will likely be the busiest with people heading back home, so if you can get on the road a little earlier, you probably should, and we have been showing you that video of a flight attendant attacked last week. the faa investigating about 2,500 cases of unruly passengers. southwest and american now saying over the weekend they will not be selling alcohol. again, today could end up being the busiest travel day, so be ready for that. whit. >> at least the weather getting a little bit better to help people out. all

gio benitez has the latest for us. good morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, robin, good morning. yeah, all eyes were on that 23-ton rocket over the weekend. take a look at this because we now have some new photos and videos of that rocket orbiting the earth and re-entering the atmosphere. now china says it re-entered near the maldives, disintegrating in the sky with debris landing in the indian ocean, but the u.s. believes it happened over the arabian peninsula. nasa administrator bill nelson saying in a statement, it is clear that china is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris. now, robin, i got to tell you this was so dangerous because it was just so big. this was one of the largest pieces of space debris ever to come crashing down to earth. >> yeah. there was so much concern about that, and thankfully it didn't -- it was in the ocean, and not on land, and that's what it appears to be, but we're hearing that china is expected to launch more of these rockets in the coming months? >> reporter: yeah, that's right. china is expected to launch at least 1

we have team coverage for you this morning starting with gio benitez there in georgia.morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, robin. good morning. yeah, we are still seeing stations in the region with no gas at all. this station just got some more overnight so the cars are really starting to pile in. but this morning, there is hope on the horizon. this morning, the restart, colonial pipeline announcing it has restarted operations five days after that russian linked hack shut down the massive 5,500-mile pipeline. the company reportedly recovering its most important data to get back to work, restarting it without paying that ransom. but the ordeal isn't over yet. overnight, people driving from station to station just looking for gas. >> how many gas stations have you tried? >> eight. >> this is my sixth. >> everythinis like out of gas. >> reporter: in richmond, virginia, this man filling up water bottles with extra gas. >> this man just pumping gas into that little water bottle. >> reporter: in atlanta drivers taking the out of service bags off the pump to try and squeeze out the

let's go to gio benitez live at newark airport with what travelers can expect this weekend.n right now. nearly 1.9 million people were screened at u.s. airports just yesterday alone. that number is almost certainly going to go up this weekend, and we potentially may hit a pandemi milestone. this morning, the busiest holiday travel period since the pandemic began is officially under way. as americans take to the roads and skies, we're expecting to see more travelers this holiday weekend than we've seen in over a year. and for many people, it's a welcome return to the sky. >> this is our first time traveling since february of last year going to fork for a wedding and excited about it. >> reporter: more than 37 million people expected to take a trip, that's 60% more than last year when 23 million traveled. michael spoke to secretary of homeland security alejandro mayorkas earlier this morning about those rising cases of in-flight aggression. >> we've seen a dramatic spike of violence on planes with 2500 cases of allegedly unruly passengers so far this year. many of these passen

>> gio benitez, thanks very much. >>> a lot more coming up here on "gma" including the doomsday couplevallow and chad daybell now charged with murder of her children and his wife. >>> why john cena is apologizing this morning. >>> but first, we say good morning to ginger. good morning, ginger. >> reporter: robin, big-time severe weather setup from the plain, nebraska, going to see damaging winds and look at the northeast, new england, yes, you get tornadoes and could later this afternoon and tonight. i'll tell you more in a bit. first the stormy cities sponsored by walmart. >>> "rise & shine," we're live from chicago this morning. e liv from chicago this morning. ♪ oh, just one. jake from state farm, it's the least i can do. you really did me a solid with that “maya markdown” on my insurance. here's the deal maya, state farm offers everyone surprisingly great rates. right. no really. there's no markdowns, just great rates. pull around back in 20 minutes. i'll hook you up with the good parts. when you want the real deal... like a good neighbor. state farm is there. why hide your skin if

edgar benitez, thank you for your time. .. >> jason riley is a pleasure to be with you. on my radio show and on a number of videos and in the wall street journal you are pretty ubiquitous in my line of

flights to be 80 to 90% full and united ceo scott kirby touting a stunning travel rebound to our gio benitez: do you think you may see more legal travelers than ever before? >> we already are and leisure travel domestically for united airlines is higher than it was pre-pandemic. >> reporter: but also on the rise are acts of in-flight violence. this passenger knocking out the teeth of a flight attendant last sunday, on top of potential felony charges southwest has banned that passenger from flying with them ever again and the airline is now postponing the return of alcohol on board flights citing the recent uptick in industrywide incidents of passenger disruptions in flight. the homeland security secretary vowing to crack down. >> violence against a flight attendant on a flight is a federal offense. and those cases are going to be prosecuted. we will not tolerate that. >> reporter: we never thought it would feel like good news to say this but so many people are traveling that in many airports there are now lines occasionally lengthy lines so if you are traveling this weekend it's a good idea

our transportation correspondent gio benitez spoke to buttigieg, and he's here now with much more on this. gio, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, dan, good morning. the secretary is going around the country pushing for that massive infrastructure plan, and it was on one of those trips where we met him for this one-on-one interview. this is one of america's busiest on it to meet exclusively with transportation secretary pete buttigieg. he's here to see the aging river systems that freight workers rely on. >> and if one of these systems fails, what could happen here? >> the impact could be catastrophic on the local economy. so the impact on jobs, the impact on economic well-being, not to mention the impact on things like traffic, could be nor mouse. >> reporter: pennsylvania ranks second in the country for structurally deficient bridges. look closely at this one. there's netting to catch any falling pieces. at another bridge nearby, chunks were falling on a playground. >> these bridges for example, unlocked economic opportunity over the course of the last century, but they're the

abc's gio benitez joins us with the latest on that. good morning to you, gio. >> reporter: hey, eva, good morning. yes, this was the first nighttime splashdown nor nasa in more than 50 years. these astronauts making history in the middle of the night. overnight, splashdown in the gulf of mexico. >> we welcome you back to planet earth and thanks for flying spacex. for those of you enrolled in our frequent flier program, you've earned 68 million miles on this voyage. >> reporter: infrared cameras capturing the daring nighttime water landing of the spacex dragon resilience. four astronauts on board, ending that historic nearly six-month mission to the international space station. recovery ships meeting the capsule at sea. this was the first nighttime splashdown for nasa since 1968 when the apollo 8 mission returned after being the first crewed mission to orbit the moon. with last night's go ahead -- >> take one last look out the window. >> reporter: the crew climbing into resilience, separating from the iss, enjoying one final meal in spa

out of storage and flying this weekend while ceo scott rbtoed's stunning travel rebound to our gio benitez. >> do you think that you may see more leisure travelers than perhaps ever before? >> yeah, we already are. reporty on the rise are acts of in-flight violence. this passenger knocking out the teeth of a flight attendant last sunday. on top of potential felony charges, southwest has banned that passenger from flying with them ever again, and the airlines now postponing the return of alcohol on board their flights citing the recent uptick in industrywide incidents of passenger disruptions in flight. the homeland security secretary vowing to crack down. >> violence against a flight attendant on a flight is a federal offense, and those cases are going to be prosecuted. we will not tolerate that. >> reporter: and we never thought it would be good news to say this, but so many people are now traveling that many airports are seeing lines, sometimes lengthy ones, so it's a good idea to give yourself some extra time. eva, i got to tell you, i've seen some passengers across the country complain

transportation correspondent gio benitez is at jfk airport with more.d morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, robin, good morning. yeah, this vaccination site here at jfk opened just moments ago as we come on the air, and lue vaccinate airport employees, an ahead and donate it to the state so that they can go ahead and vaccinate any u.s. resident who is flying into or out of jfk. they're giving that single-dose johnson & johnson vaccine, and i got to tell you, robin, this is 1 of 7 airports across the state of new york that are going to be going ahead and giving that vaccine, again, to any u.s. resident. >> and, gio, we know more than 37 million people are expected to travel this week? >> reporter: a lot of people, robin. that is up 60% over last year. 2.5 million of those are going to be flying, okay? so when you're looking at that, that is six times more than 2020. 34 million people, they're going to be going ahead and driving more than 50 miles from home. in fact, trip it tells us that car rental books up are 220% over last year. that is one reason we're se

" star billy porter breaki a 14-year-long silence revealing he's been living with hiv since g gio benitezks like today. >> put a little twist on it. >> reporter: after 14 years billy porter star of the hit fx series "pose" and award winning broadway star now breaking his silence about something he kept hidden for so long. >> february of 2007 i was diagnosed diabetic, type 2 hereditary. march i was signing bankruptcy papers. and by june i was hiv positive. >> reporter: billy telling "the hollywood reporter" that shame was his silencer keeping the secret from his beloved mother. >> the category is -- >> reporter: then came "pose" and the iconic character of pray tell. he used pray tell as a proxy speaking about it on "gma." >> i am old enough to have lived through the aids crisis and, you know, i always thought in a survivor's guilt kind of way like why did i survive? why? and when "pose" came around and the character of pray tell presented itself in my life, i understood why. >> reporter: after shooting the final episode of "pose," he had a change of heart and called his mom. >> i ripped t

gio benitez has more. good morning, gio. >> reporter: good morning, cecelia.s giant rocket behind me. the chinese rocket, it's even bigger than that weighing 23 tons. take a look at this map right now because we're told this could land anywhere from the u.s. to europe, china, even to new zealand, and they won't get a sense of where it's going until a few hours before it happens this weekend. now the department of defense is tracking it, and they're sending a message to china saying countries operating in the space domain should be required to do so in a safe and thoughtful way. now we should tell you there is no plan to shoot this down right now. they're just hoping, guys, that it lands somewhere in the water. >> that would be a good goal. all right, gio, thanks. >>> a lot more coming up including a "gma" exclusive live in his first interview since the recall of the company's treadmills. after a surge of reported injuries and the death of a child. >>> plus, the the colorado husband charged with murdering his wife in court for the first time, and her sister is

abc's transportation correspondent gio benitez is at chicago o'hare airport with the very latest. >> reporter: hey, michael, good morning to you. yeah, we're here -- thank you. it's nice. we're on the ramp here at o'hare. so many flights here, they are already sold out. in fact, united airlines' ceo tells me that for this weekend they have 1.3 million bookings already. let's look at what tsa is telling us, they say they could screen more than 2 million people in a single day at u.s. airports this weekend. at least 6 million estimated for the whole holiday. that would be the first time we're seeing numbers that high since the start of the pandemic. and where are people going? hopper tells us that the top domestic destinations right now are vegas, miami and orlando. for international we're looking at cancun, cabo and montego bay. now, for the busiest airports, atlanta takes the top spot and then you're looking at number two right here, chicago's o'hare. l.a.x. is number three. the busiest time for that travel, hopper says it's looking like friday morning, and if you want to be reall

our transportation correspondent gio benitez is tracking it all.d morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, george, good morning. yeah, here on the ramp here in laguardia airport we are just seeing plane after plane take off. delta air lines actually tells us that this weekend they already have more than 3 million bookings between today and sunday. last year that was 300,000. let's take a look at this right now, because more than 37 million people are expected to travel starting today. that's 60% more than last year when 23 million traveled and in just four days delta says domestic leisure travel returns to 100% of pre-pandemic levels. sun and mountain destinations seeing the most activity. for airlines. places like jackson hole, sun valley, vail along with vegas, miami and orlando. in fact, florida is such a big destination right now. there are so many people flying in and out of the region that air traffic controllers there in the region, they are seeing more planes in the sky than they did in 2019 before the pandemic even started, george. >> what about th

let's go to gio benitez at newark airport with more on all of this.n, good morning. we should start out by saying the boy is okay this morning. but for his parents this was quite a scare. it happened in the blink of an eye. a 9-year-old boy climbing onto this airport luggage belt getting pulled inside seen in surveillance video obtained by npr news. the boy had wandered away from his family at the minneapolis airport on saturday afternoon and onto the baggage conveyer system. delta airlines staff immediately stopping the belt but the boy escaping onto another one. that eventually brought him to the screening area. he's then seen crawling out and jumping down. officials telling abc news airport police found the child who was uninjured in less than four minutes and returned him to his parents. an investigation is now under way. it's not the first time a child has gotten carried away at the airport. in 2019, this toddler went for a scary ride through the spirit airlines baggage system in atlanta. >> i just went blank, i wanted to jump in and try to get h

transportation correspondent gio benitez joins us with more on all that.re turning to new platforms that could also help you make some money. this morning, call it the airbnb of car rentals as millions start to travel, car rental prices are soaring in vacation hot spots. hopper telling us a four-day rental is now at $400. that's double the average price that you would have paid just this january. >> on the hopper app alone we've seen a 500% increase in demand for short rental car trips since the beginning of this year. >> reporter: and some top destinations are seeing extreme shortages and price spikes like california, nevada, hawaii and florida. >> i looked at miami. i looked at ft. lauderdale. i looked at west palm beach. no cars. >> they're one of the states to seeing the fastest resurgence of tourists coming back. >> reporter: car manufacturers are facing a chip shortage and many rental car comes sold off their fleet during the pandemic and many are turning to peer-to-peer car sharing services like turo, getaround and avail and you rent someone's perso

gio benitez in pittsburgh with more. good morning, gio. >> reporter: good morning, george.t launch will make history as the first space tourism flight to launch from the u.s. and it sets into motion an entirely new industry. this morning, the beginning of space tourism is just months away. blue origin created by amazon founder jeff bezos announcing it will launch its first crew into space on july 20th with one seat going to the highest bidder. >> we're auctioning off the first seat to benefit our foundation for the future. so that future generations can do something extraordinary up there. >> reporter: now, we don't know who the other crew members will be, but that one civilian will make it the first time any private citizen launches into space from american soil. the flight will last just enough minutes, long enough to get a view of earth, with almost no gravity. some astronauts aboard the international space station right now tell me it's a good idea. >> this will hopefully open the door for many more people, civilians per se, to be able to come up and experience what we

gio benitez has all the latest. good morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, michael, good morning.s was incredibly daring because it happened in the middle of the night. the first nighttime splashdown for nasa in more than 50 years. over the weekend, dramatic images like we've never seen before. >> and there you can see it. in the entry of earth's atmosphere, crew dragon continuing its journey home. >> reporter: that fireball is the spacex crew resilience, surviving 3,500 degrees of fiery heat as it brings four astronauts home. >> le resill yans, welcome aboard the recovery vessel. >> reporter: mike hopkins exits with a happy dance. >> he's really excited. >> feeling pretty good after six months in space. >> reporter: and victor glover with a thumb's up after making history as the first black astronaut to live on the iss for a long-term mission. >> i looked out the window and saw the earth from 250 miles up. i will never forget that moment. it wasn't about the view. it was how the view made me feel and earth is amazing. >> reporter: infrared cameras capturing the parachutes and the

transportation correspondent gio benitez, he's all over this for us and has more.hey, robin, good morning to you. overnight, we spoke with the head of the faa and he says he's seeing a dramatic increase in these cabin confrontations and that these fines are among the strongest actions they've ever taken. this morning, from the friendly skies to the unruly ones passengers facing big fines over in-flight fights. now this week the faa proposing its biggest fine yet this year, more than $52,000 for a passenger who officials say tried to open the cockpit door on a delta flight from honolulu to seattle before allegedly striking a flight attendant in the face. faa administrator steve dixon saying it's unacceptable. are you seeing a dramatic increase in passengers just behaving erratically? commercial airline captain for more than 27 years, unruly passenger incidents themselves are nothing new, but as i said we have seen an alarming increase in the rate over the last few months and it's something that we need to get under control. >> reporter: a similar incident was caught