this is kenneth moton along with mona kosar abdi and a special edition of "world news now." we welcome our west coast stations to continuous coverage of hurricane laura hitting the gulf coast. >> the storm is one of the most powerful hurricanes to ever hit the united states with a storm surge of 20 feet expected along the louisiana coastline. >> abc's rob marciano joins us now from lake charles, louisiana. rob, good morning to you. >> good morning, guys. communications are hard. verizon wireless just went down. power obviously is out here in lake charles. i heard we've got verification of 130-mile-per-hour wind gusts. i believe it. we've got debris and glass breaking outside and all sorts of stuff flying around way too close. the wind -- this door we can't get open. i'm putting all my weight into it and it's not budging. we can't even get outside right now. there's a fire alarm in our building. for the most part, it's coming unglued, at least outside. other than that, it's a fortress. this town is taking it right now. we're about to get inside the eye itself where these wind

this is kenneth moton along with mona kosar abdi and a special edition of "world news now."ost powerful hurricanes to ever hit the united states with a storm surge of 20 feet expected along the louisiana coastline. >> abc's rob marciano joins us now from lake charles, louisiana. rob, good morning to you. >> good morning, guys. communications are hard. verizon wireless just went down. power obviously is out here in lake charles. i heard we've got verification of 130-mile-per-hour wind gusts. i believe it. we've got debris and glass breaking outside and all sorts of stuff

. >> and i'm will reeve in for kenneth moton. good to be with you, mona, but we begin with yet another grim milestone in the battle against the coronavirus, more than 170,000 american lives now lost to covid-19 and there are 5.4 million confirmed cases nationwide. >> college campuses across the country are having a tough time coping with new outbreaks as students ignore social distancing rules and attend jam packed parties and more grade schools are being forced to switch to remote learning with a growing number of children testing positive. abc's megan tevrizian starts us off. >> reporter: this morning a new warning for parents as students head back to class. the cdc now reporting coronavirus cases among children are steadily rising. >> it feels like they're waiting for people to get hurt, people who seem to think that covid is just a cold. >> reporter: just weeks after re-opening, a third high school in georgia's cherokee county school district is closing after 500 of its 1800 students are in quarantine. arizona is now logging

. >> i'm will reeve in for kenneth moton. we begin with a historic night at the democratic national convention. senator kamala harris officially accepting the vice presidential nomination. >> harris vowed that she and joe biden will deal with challenges honestly and fight for the ideals of the country. the democrats continue to highlight biden's empathy and lifetime of public service drawing a sharp contrast with president trump. ent back c'in de la cuetara joins us from washington with the highlights. good morning, ines. >> reporter: good morning, will and mona. a number of speeches last night seemed to focus on the notion democracy itself is on the line in this upcoming election. >> i accept your nomination for vice president of the united states of america. >> reporter: overnight, california senator kamala harris making history as the first black woman and asian-american to formally join a major party's presidential ticket. >> we must elect a president who something better and do the important work. we must elect joe biden

. >> i'm will reeve in for kenneth moton. we begin with the official nomination. joe biden for president. >>> night two of the democratic national convention featured former presidents, a diverse mash-up of rising political stars and everyday americans putting biden's character onisay g inen'sife ll sfuak din pellrsonal terms about his compassion and integrity casting her husband as a leader who will bring the country together.gt ws itc'abh th de in highlights. good morning, ines. >> reporter: good morning, will and mona. for the second night democrats once again trying to show that joe biden can also appeal to er vice president joe biden rm fo officially becoming the democratic nominee for president with his wife, dr. jill biden, by his side closing out the courage. biat's the soul of america joe isn deht f >> reporter: from former president bill clinton. >> the diffence is stark. you know what donald trump will do with four more years, blame, bully and belittle, and you know back better. >> reporter: to the 17 rising star demtsraoc s wpokeho in lew of a traditio

. >> and i'm will reeve in for kenneth moton. we begin with the democratic national convention unlike ever before. >> the convention kicked off last night going virtual for the first time with a diverse lineup of speakers rallying behind joe biden and taking direct aim at president trump. >> the democrats and some republicans taking turns painting biden and trump as polar opposites. former first lady michelle obama telling voters, the president is in over his head. >> abc's ines de la cuetara is live in washington with the details. good morning, ines. >> reporter: good morning, will and mona. democrats showing off their wide range of supporters last night from liberal bernie sanders to some former republicans. overnight, a democratic national convention like no other. former first lady michelle obama giving the keynote address like the rest of the dnc virtually. >> if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can and they will if we don't make a change in this election. >> reporter: the former first lady urgently

. >> and i'm will reeve in for kenneth moton. we begin with the fourth and final night of the virtual democratic national convention. joe biden officially accepting his party's nomination for president. >> biden, vice president nominee kamala harris and their spouses viewing a fireworks show after biden's speech with supporters watching from their cars. in his speech biden pointed out his stark differences with president trump and urged the country to choose unity over division. >> he vowed to represent all americans pledging to bring back jobs, protect social security and get a handle on the coronavirus. abc's ines de la cuetara has more highlights from washington. good morning, ines. >> reporter: good morning, will and mona. democrats focusing on the pandemic as joe biden closed out the fourth and final night of the dnc. overnight, former vice president biden officially accepting his party's nomination for president. >> this is a life-changing election. this will determine what america is going to look like for a long, long tim

. >> i'm will reeve in for kenneth moton. here are some of the top headlines we're following this morning on "world news now." >>> the mayor of portland, >>> good morning. i'm mona kosar abdi. >> i'm will reeve in for kenneth moton. here are some of the top headlines we're following this morning on "world news now." >>> the mayor of portland, oregon, is blaming president trump for creating hate and division after a right-wing supporte of the shooting shows trump supporters driving into protesters and spraying them with an unknown substance. >>> historic flight. after a visit to jerusalem, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, jared kushner, is joining the israeli delegation today for the first commercial flight from israel to the united arab emirates. >>> hundreds gathered outside the massachusetts statehouse to protest a new law. anyone 6 months or older must get a flu vaccination before attending school or day care. it's believed to be the first such law in the nation. >>> and the 140th edition of the u.s. open beg

i'm kenneth moton. >> and i'm mona kosar abdi. here's some of the top headlines we're following this morning on "world news now." >> breaking overnight, a strong tropical storm is heading up the southeast coast. right now it's about 50 miles off the coast of florida, and it's expected to make landfall in the carolinas. then its winds and rains will head into the northeast. >>> a new milestone this morning. 18 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus across the globe as the u.s. deaths approach 155,000 and professional sports struggling to get back on track. the philadelphia eagles announced head coach doug pederson has tested positive for the virus. >>> southern california firefighters are battling a wildfire about 80 miles east of los angeles. the apple fire has destroyed at least one home and burned more than 20,000 acres. officials say it may be the result of arson fires. >>> and coronavirus takes out the country's oldest department store chain. liquidation sale signs could be seen on lord & taylor locations yesterday. the ne

here kenneth moton. >> the topics of faith and race are dominating. joe biden is clarifying his thursday comments when he seemed to suggest the black community lack bes diversity of thought. >> what you all know but most people don't know, unlike the african-american community with notable exceptions, the latino community is incredibly dire verse community. with incredibly different attitudes with b. different things. >> biden says he in no way meant to say that the african-american community is a monolith, adding that he was referring to a die investigationi diversity of and you hads by at. >> what he said is insultsultin. >> second time that biden is mole gui apologizing about race. >> there is a lot of people of color who say this is not someone who has evolvedoff times. >> president trump recently labeled "black lives matter" a hate group. and now trump is attacking biden's faith climbing that he is against god. >> he is following the radical left agenda. no religion, no anything. hurt the bible, hurt god. he is against god, he is against guns. >>

here is kenneth moton. >>> social distancing on the school bus. >> every student that rides the bus must wear a mask. >> for many, this new school routine will start when they board. >> and load from the back to the front. >> this video from kentucky shows what that might look like. parents asked to check their kid's temperatures before they board and children asked to use hand sanitizer as they head to their seats. once they leave, a team fully disinfects the bus. the cdc recommending students wear face coverings and sit one child per row, skipping rows per possible. to achieve that, the national association for pupil transparency says there should be fewer kids on board. and coming up at 7:00, we'll show you what other school districts across the country are doing. plus why a walking school bus could be the safest solution people are looking for change, for answers. one answer is at your fingertips, the 2020 census. census takers will be visiting households to make sure we are counted. because an undercounted community could miss out on billions of funding for schools, healthcare and j

i'm kenneth moton. >> i'm mona kosar abdi. here's some of the top headlines we're following this morning on "world news now." >>> a staggering new milestone for the coronavirus now infecting more than 5 million americans as schools scramble to cope with new outbreaks. college sports are in jeopardy, and president trump is under fire for bypassing congress and its stalled relief bill. >>> likely democratic presidential candidate joe biden is expected to announce his choice for running mate this week. the democratic party convention starts next week. >>> president trump's national security adviser says hackers linked to china are targeting u.s. elections both national and state. robert o'brien says the chinese would like to see president trump lose. >>> and tv host rachael ray's upstate new york home was damaged by a huge fire overnight. ray, her husband, and dog are all safe. those are some of our top stories on this monday, august 10th. >>> thank you for starting your week with us. and we do begin with schools ng a as coraviru