kaylee hartung, abc news, los angeles. >> our thanks to caylee now for that very powerful story.he nfl for its part has invested millions in research and also changing helmet technology, changing some of the rules to kickoffs, for example, to just sort of reduce those number of collisions. but as another former nfl wide receiver, dez bryant put it, you know, cte, a lot of players have it. they're scared of it. the nfl knows it, as he said, and doesn't think enough is being done about it. >> this conversation is a recent conversation. it took a while for the nfl to even acknowledge cte, to acknowledge the impact it's had on players. as kaylee mentioned, they want to be more preventative and reactive. we think about junior seau, aaron hernandez, players that also had their brain donated to research and were diagnosed with cte. 33 years old. very, very young. >> this isn't something that only affects professional athletes. there are also younger people who play football as well. so hopefully this, you know, sheds some awareness on the dangers of cte. fair and honest bidding site. th

kaylee hartung is tracking the story. morning, kaylee. >> reporter: this is not the direction anyone wants to be heading. this morning, here in l.a. county, the nation's largest county, home to 10 million people, we could be two weeks away from reinstating an indoor mask mandate here and since april hospitalizations here are up 88% and they have doubled across the country. this latest wave being fueled by the highly transmissible subvariant ba.5 and this comes just as the number of americans dying of covid once again is on the rise too, up 10% in just the last week with nearly 350 deaths reported every day in this country. right now we have three-quarters of americans living in counties from medium to high risk for covid and the cdc urges if you're in a high risk area you should mask up indoors. if you're in a medium risk area consider it based on your individual risk. amy. >> all right, kaylee hartung. thank you. >>> now to the cleanup effort in virginia following those devastating floods. fortunately everyone who was un

now she tells abc's kaylee hartung she's ready for a comeback. >> reporter: actress hayden panettiereig screen and on your tv screen for decades. stealing our hearts as the daughter in "remember the titans." >> what are you doing? it was a hold! oh, come on! ♪ >> reporter: and portraying troubled country singer juliette barnes in the hit drama "nashville." >> help me get my life back. >> reporter: hayden panettiere pushed her career to the brink of ruin, battling real-life demons for a lot of that time. >> i'd been struggling for a long time. and i just needed a break. four years ended up being the amount of time. and i definitely, absolutely, did not expect it would be that long. >> reporter: pat 32, she's read for a comeback after healing and recovery. he perusing her role as kirby reid in the hit blockbuster franchise of "scream." >> look out! >> filming now, set for theaters next year. >> does kirby make it past the first kill? >> i don't think i can tell you. but i don't think anyone's going to be disappointd. >> the exciting new chapter is one she's fought for years to get to. a

parents donated his brain to science, and they're revealing what research has found to abc's kaylee hartung thomas against josh norman outside -- >> reporter: for they feel star demaryius thomas, winning the super bowl with the denver broncos in 2016 was the pinnacle of his career. >> super bowl 50, right? i ain't never going to forget it. >> reporter: but his parents say he couldn't enjoy the celebration. >> it was painful but joyful at the same time. because he had took a real bad hit from luke keyingly. he was dizzy, had a real bad headache. he was in pain. but he still wanted to play. >> demaryius thomas is shaken up. >> even hurt, he played. >> because when they won the super bowl and the game was over, he wasn't enjoying himself. he was holding his head down. you know, but he was in pain. >> the headache was already excruciating. >> demaryius thomas, nice move. >> reporter: known as d.t., thomas' death rocked the nfl when he died at 33 years old last december, less than six months after retiring. >> the denver broncos family lost one of the greatest and most beloved players in franchi

let's go back to kaylee hartung with more on all that. cause more ill it is better at spreading, and it comes out as just as health experts warn previous infections do not guarantee protection so we are faced with a bad combination, so much so that here in california we are nearing a positivity rate record and in new york city they are recommending people mask up indoors again with 67% of this country fully vaccinated, hospitalizations are at a fraction of the omicron peak but still there are more than 71 million americans who have not gotten their first shot. and right here i've got a big help in the fight at preventing severe covid. this is the antiviral drug paxlovid. the fda is increasing access to it. they're now allowing more than 300,000 pharmacists including this one here in l.a., not just doctors, to prescribe the pills. amy? >> kaylee hartung, thank you for that. >>> and now to some encouraging news for americans traveling this summer. gas prices are dropping at an historic pace in the united states, but will it last? let's go b

kaylee hartung in los angeles with that.ubscribers for the first time in years. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, amy. netflix has taken a big hit in recent months even if one of the benefits of a subscription plan on the services is you get to skip ads no fast forwarding required but now we're looking at the future of streaming supported by commercials. netflix is weathering one of the roughest periods in its 25-year history. >> yes, horrible idea. >> i will am suffering. >> reporter: losing 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 and bracing to lose another 2 million blaming competition in the market, inflation, pandemic disruption, and wide share password sharing for its problems. >> chrissy, wake up. i don't like this. chrissy, wake up. >> reporter: claiming in addition to its 221.6 million subscribers, accounts are being shared with over 100 million nonpaying households. >> you are the bane of my existence and the object of all my desires. >> reporter: but this morning, they are preparing to change the game for

kaylee hartung has the story. good morning, kaylee. >> reporter: good morning, george., hayden panettiere is ready to jump back into the spotlight for the first time in four years. >> these four years have been difficult. >> yes, they've been difficult. the years before were very difficult for me too. i had been struggling for a long time. >> reporter: the movie and tv star -- >> help me get my life back. >> reporter: -- battled postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter in 2014. now sharing how deep her challenges really were. >> where did you turn to for support? >> the bottle. the bottom of a bottle. i didn't have any negative feelings towards my child. i just knew i was deeply depressed and i didn't know where, you know, the alcoholism was ending and the postpartum was beginning and i ran myself pretty ragged. >> reporter: hayden opening up about her struggle with alcoholism in the latest cover story for "people" magazine. >> i felt like i was walking blind and there was nobody there able to support me in the way i needed to be supported, and i don't

kaylee hartung has the latest. good morning, kaylee. >> reporter: good morning, george.d more than 150 clients build their families, but others say that frost mismanaged hundreds of thousands of dollars, wasted their invaluable time and never delivered on her promises. >> to just leave us standing at the last minute like that with a lot of uncertainties and a lot of concerns about being able to bring our children home. that was a big betrayal by her. >> reporter: this morning, families left reeling after they say they were taken advantage of in a surrogcy scandal. the fbi is now investigating surrogacy beyond borders founded by lily frost, a program claiming to connect prospective parents to surrogates in mexico while saving over 60% compared to u.s. options. the "l.a. times" reports that it spoke with some of frost's former clients who say they paid her thousands of dollars that she mishandled as her business failed. >> as a result of her not being able to keep up with some of the promises she made, many of the families didn't have any child or even healthy embryos to s

kaylee hartung joins us with that story for us. dium and had a smile that could light up any room. but in the last year of his life, his family say they saw that light within him dimming. now, seven months after his shocking death, they're finally getting answers. >> demaryius thomas, nice move. >> reporter: at just 33 years old, super bowl champion demaryius thomas' death rocked the nfl. >> you're going to see a tribute right now for the broncos. >> fans now realize with a occurred. >> reporter: found unresponsive in a shower in december 2021, the mysterious circumstances of his death are now coming to light. >> cardiac arrest, you know, is the way they're trying to say what happened to him. suffocated. he died. >> reporter: in an exclusive interview with abc news, his parents now sharing what they've learned since donating his brain to research. >> he suffered from cte stage 2. >> reporter: the first cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease known as cte were found in the brains of former nfl player

our kaylee hartung has more on what this is and how it's treated. ink he's snubbing them when really he believes he's struggling with this rare condition. this morning, brad pitt opening up about a condition he says leaves him unable to recognize people's faces. >> i don't know your name but i remember that hair. and i remember your little face. >> reporter: the star telling "gq" magazine he believes he has prosopagnosia or face blindness preventing him from recognizing faces in social settings. saying, nobody believes me. >> i don't know what else to say. >> reporter: in prosopagnosia experienced by about 2% of americans, one's memory and sight are fine, but areas of the brain that process faces may not work properly. >> for some people it may be minor difficult in remembering people's names and keeping strangers straight and for other people it may be more severe such that they have issues with recognizing their own friends and family or even issues recognizing their own reflection. >> reporter: "gq" writing pitt fears it's led to a certain impress

to "maverick" still on top, some other franchises are giving theaters reason to celebrate and kaylee hartungtan theater in hollywood. hey, kaylee, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, gio. "maverick" is still flying high and "elvis" has not left the building, but it's those lovable "minions" who will steal our hearts. this fourth of july weekend hollywood wants to see fireworks at the box office. just as "top gun: maverick" is soaring above $1 billion, and "elvis" is proving he's still the king of rock 'n' roll. tough competition is on the way. >> hello. >> reporter: "minions: the rise of gru" hoping to bring families back to theaters. the yellow creatures looking to rake in $150 million worldwide ahead of opening weekend. >> hello. >> reporter: the best movie season in years will be supercharged next week when "thor: love and thunder" throws a bolt of lightning into the box office. but even as audiences see the return of maverick, minions, and the god of thunder, one of the big characters is about to undergo big changes. >> bond, james bond. >> reporter: rumors swirling over which