morgan norwood, abc news, los angeles. >> now to that wildfire burning in yosemite national park. neighbors in the community who work under an evacuation order were able to return home today. the highway 41 entrance remains closed. crews have successfully kept flames away from ancient sequoia trees. the fire is now 51% contained. it has been burning since july 7 and has charted more than 7.5 square miles. no word on what specifically ignited the fire. a bay area beach mystery. where a rail washed up this weekend and a tragic scene at an airport near las vegas. these two small airports collided -- airplanes collided mid air. >> a reason to walk, we are looking at the return of aids walk san francisco. >> we have brisk breeze is blowing around the bay area right now but they have not managed to push out that in land heat. wanna help kids get their homework done? well, an internet connection's a good start. but kids also need computers. and sometimes the hardest thing about homework is finding a place to do it. so why not hook community centers up with wifi? for kids like us, and all

morgan norwood abc news los angeles. dion: new details on a fire burning in pittsburgh for more than six weeks. nearly 20,000 gallons of water are flowing on the fire. fire crews today said the owner is pumping water from the delta water district. smoke has turned into an air quality advisory for tomorrow. the fire is burning underground, which is fueled by heat is decomposing wetland vegetation. coming up, a bay area beach mystery. where a whale washed up this weekend. plus. >> that is why i am here, to support and defend people's right to whatever they choose to be. dion: a reason to walk. we will take a look at the return of aids walk san francisco at the golden gate arc. >> i'm spencer christian. we had a few more hotspots but look at this. it is cooler in most places than at this time yesterday. could this be the beginning of a trend? i will have the accuweather forecast hi, i'm eileen. i live in vancouver, washington and i write mystery novels. dogs have been such an important part of my life. i have flinn and a ne

here's abc's morgan norwood. >> reporter: a scathing new report on the massacre in uvalde, texas. its conclusions echoing what frustrated and heartbroken families have said all along. more should have been done to try to stop the deadly massacre inside robb elementary school. >> if there's only one thing that i can tell you is, there were multiple systemic failures. >> reporter: the 77-page preliminary report by a texas house special committee reveals 376 law enforcement officers responded to the scene, most from federal and state agencies. the report concluding there were multiple systemic failures at all levels, federal and state. among the report's findings, law enforcement responders failed to adhere to their active shooter training, and they failed to prioritize saving the lives of innocent victims over their own safety. surveillance video shows law enforcement positioning themselves outside of the classroom. the committee says given the information known about the victims who survived through the time of the breach and who later died on the way to the hospital, it is plausib

morgan norwood has more on one county taking action. >> with the ba-5 variant quickly spreading aroundountry, the nation's largest county is bringing back its mask mandate in two weeks. residence in los angeles county bracing for the change. >> the only way to combat these surges of what's going on is you have to be as prudent and careful as possible. >> the lady cdc data confirms that los angeles county, home to 10 million people, is sing hike over transmission, meaning this high potential for health care system strain and a high level of severe disease. the federal agency suggests wearing masks in indoor public spaces, including schools. hospitalizations in los angeles county up 80%. in new york city, where new cases are up 30% in the past two weeks, officials have done away with color-coded covid alert system but are now working on a new one, many not willing to take a step back. >>>> i don't feel like i need to wear a mask at this point. >> the latest spread fueled by the highly transmissible omicron subvariant, ba-5. it has experts on alert. >> the thing about ba-5 that is disconc

abc's morgan norwood has the very latest. >> reporter: with the ba.5 variant quickly spreading around the country, the nation's largest county is bringing back its mask mandate in two weeks. residents in los angeles county now bracing for the change. >> we have to be as prudent and careful as possible. >> reporter: the latest cdc data confirms that los angeles county, home to 10 million people, is seeing, quote, high covid transmission. the federal agency suggests wearing masks in indoor public places including schools. hospitalizations in los angeles county now up 88%. in new york city where new cases are up 30% in the past two weeks officials have done away with their color-coded covid alert system but are now working on a new one, many not willing to take a step back. >> i don't feel like i need to wear a mask at this point. >> reporter: the latest spread fueled by the highly transmissible omicron subvariant ba.5 that has health experts on alert. >> the thing about ba.5 that is disconcerting is that it is able to escape some of the immune protection that you get from prior infectio

morgan norwood has more on one county taking action. >> with the ba-5 variant quickly spreading aroundhe country, the nation's largest county is bringing back its mask mandate in two weeks. >> only combaes angeles cnt ch. surges of what's going on is you have to be as prudent and careful as possible. >> the lady cdc data confirms that los angeles county, home to 10 million people, is sing hike over transmission, meaning this high potential for health care system strain and a high level of severe disease. the federal agency suggests wearing masks in indoor public spaces, including schools. hospitalizations in los angeles county up 80%. in new york city, where new cases are up 30% in the past two weeks, officials have done away with color-coded covid alert system but are now working on a new one, many not willing to take a step back. >>>> i don't feel like i need to wear a mask at this point. >> the latest spread fueled by the highly transmissible omicron subvariant, ba-5. it has experts on alert. >> the thing about ba-5 that is disconcerting is that it is able to escape some of the immu

morgan norwood has the latest. reporter: recording this video from the white house, president joe biden says he is doing great and keeping busy as he recovers from covid-19 in isolation. >> i'm doing well, getting a lot of work done. i will continue to get it done, in the meantime, thanks for your concern. keep the faith, it's going to be ok. reporter: testing positive for covid thursday morning after the administration said he went to bed feeling funny but did not sleep well. officials say he is experiencing fatigue, a runny nose and dried cough. >> our expectations are he is going to continue to have mild illness. he is going to be monitored for symptoms. reporter: the president is also receiving paxlovid. the 79-year-old is fully vaccinated and received two booster shots, the second of march 30. dr. said the biggest factor in his treatment is his age. he will be closely monitored. >> it is an easy decision to recommend on the part of a physician to take that drug. the president agreed to start it. reporter: cont

abc news reporter morgan norwood has more. administration is securing 171 million variant specific doses to help fight this threat. officials say the current vaccine was designed to work against the original strain of covid. while it continues to dramatically risk -- drop the risk of hospitalization and death, its effectiveness has slightly waned as the virus mutated. >> at the virus has continued to prove to be more than a formidable foe with variance of concerns emerging. it keeps bumping off the prior variance as we are starting to see now with the highly transmissible ba.5. >> ba.5 accounts for most of the new daily cases in the country with 80 8% of americans now living in a -- 88% of americans now living in a county with medium or high transmission levels. in los angeles county health officials are refusing to impose an indoor mask mandate. in milwaukee it is public -- it's public school system is updating guidance to require masks only when covid-19 levels are high. that is based on county cases and hospital stays. presi

morgan norwood, abc news, illinois. larry: to find continuous coverage of the shooting, look for the abc 7 bay area news app, we are 24/7. karina: firefighters are trying to put out the fire in the sierra foothills and are getting an assist from the weather. cooler conditions have slowed the progress of the fire, which has burned 4100 acres in amador county and calaveras county. contentment is up to 40%. evacuation orders in amador county have been downgraded to warnings. the fire started on monday and is threatening 1200 structures. you can see that wildfires in california at a glance by using our interactive wildfire tracker, on abc7news.com. larry: now to the pandemic. in california the number of covid cases has topped 9.5 million. the test positivity rate keeps climbing, now at 15%. and for the first time since february, more than 4000 patients are in the hospital. california students start going back to class next month, and the health department says masks will not be required in the classroom. the guidance is not

morgan norwood says it is fueling efforts to get a second booster to all americans. morgan: as the subvariant continues to spread, the fda and cdc is considering widening eligibility for a second booster for all adults. protection against omicron variants increase with each booster shot. >> the good news is vaccinated and boosted people, particularly those in the full component of the boosting, are generally pretty well protected. morgan: the half million americans who are eligible for a second booster shot have not gotten one. >> it's very clear in my mind that the risk of ending up in the icu is dramatically higher if you have not gotten that third shot. >>>> for children under five, only 400,000 have received their third shot. overall, about 71 million americans remain unvaccinated, about 20% of the population. every region of the country is seeing a rise in hospitalizations, and in the past week, 2500 people have died. los angeles county is on course to reinstate indoor mask mandates by the end of july. >> this variant, as everybody has noted, highly infectious. >

they'll be change made morgan norwood abc news, los angeles.ges before and on the day of the capital insurrection will be handed over to the house committee investigating the january 6th attack by tuesday. south bay congresswoman zoe lofgren says investigators were poor over the text to see if there's anything of value. we need all the text from the fifth and the sixth of january. i was shocked to hear that they didn't back up their data before they reset their iphones. that's crazy. i don't know why that would be but we need to get this information to get the full picture. officials have sent mixed messages about the text saying they included no messages related to the attack but clarifying some might be pertinent the committee's eighth public hearing is scheduled for thursday. president biden is back home and facing the collapse of most of his domestic agenda. here's abc news, washington correspondent mary ellis parks. present biden returning to washington and news his legislative agenda has stalled out joe manchin of west virginia says he's

morgan norwood, abc news. larry: if you are looking for an ally or a way to take action when it comes to gun violence, we can help you get started. go to abc7news.com/takeaction. karina: the electra fire now. road closures have been lifted and evacuation orders downgraded. the fire has burned more than 4200 acres of amador and calaveras county's since it started monday, it is now 40% contained. no structures have been burned, although more than 1000 are still threatened. today at san francisco city hall, community advocates demanded accountability for pg&e, citing wildfires as one of the reasons why the utility company should be replaced. the group wants to see a public utility company designed and governed by the people of california. they say would make energy cleaner, more affordable, and more accessible. >> let's not forget it was pg&e's gross negligence of directing money that we pay in our bill to upgrade infrastructure, and actually moved it into bonuses for. >> lifesaving vertical equipment and if you

morgan norwood has the latest on this.porter: the biden administration securing 171 million variant specific doses to help fight the spread. officials say the current vaccine was designed to work against the original strain of covid. while it continues to reduce the risk of hospitalizations and deaths, its effectiveness has waned as a virus mutated. >> this virus has continued to prove more than a formidable foe, with varying concerns emerging, it keeps bumping up the prior variance as we see with the highly transmissible ba.5. reporter: ba.5 accounts for more of the new daily cases in the country with 80% of americans now living in a county with medium or high covid-19 risk level. in l.a. county, the nation's largest county, health officials declining to impose an indoor mask mandate, citing an increasing decrease in cases in hospitalizations. milwaukee's requiring masks only when covid-19 levels are high, based on county cases and hospital stays. president biden was just tested negative on friday morning after battling t

variant, but second boosters won't be going out for those under 50 quite yet abc news reporter morgan norwoodwith when the shots could become available. abide in the administration securing 171 million variant specific doses to help fight the spread officials say the current vaccine was designed to work against the original strain of covid and while it continues to dramatically reduce the risk of hospitalizations and deaths. it's effectiveness has slightly waned as the virus mutated is not done. this virus has continued to prove more than a formidable foe with variance of concerns emerging it keeps bumping. walk the prior variance as we're starting to see now with the highly transmissible va-5 ba-5 accounts for most of the new daily cases in the country with 88% of americans now living in a county with medium or high covid-19 risk level, but in los angeles county the nation's largest county health officials declining to impose an indoor mask mandate citing a decent decrease in cases and hospitalizations. meanwhile in milwaukee. it's public school system is updating its guidance to her mask on

abc news reporter morgan norwood has more on what that means for you.ermined to tamp down inflation, the federal reserve once again and for the fourth time this year raising interest rates three quarters of a point. >> we are trying to do the right amount. we are not trying to have a recession. we don't think we have to. we think there's a path for us to be able to bring inflation down while sustaining a strong labor market. reporter: americans feeling the strain of inflation. the cost of everything consistently getting more expensive. tracy wetherbee in san jose california sees the impact every day. they are now serving about 450,000 people each month. 50,000 more than in january. >> this kind of inflation is really impacting people's budgets. 60% of the people that we serve has -- have less than $100 in savings. reporter: there's hope that prices will come down. it means the cost of borrowing is going up. take credit cards. if you carry a balance of $5,000 making minimum monthly payments, the rate hike will cost you nearly $300 in additional interest

abc's morgan norwood has the details. >> reporter: as the epidemic of gun violence continues to languish across america, the ceos of major gun manufacturers facing tough questions about how they market their weapons that have been used in deadly massacres. >> how many more american children need to die before your company will stop selling assault weapons to civilians? >> reporter: lawmakers wasting no time in their search for answers. congresswoman carolyn maloney opening the hearing calling out smith & wesson whose high-powered rifles were used in highland park and parkland, florida, shootings. >> i'm announcing my intent to issue a subpoena for documents from smith & wesson's ceo and other top executives so that we can finally get answers. >> reporter: families sharing how the recent mass shootings have shattered their lives. >> my fiance was shot and killed on may 14th by a white supremacist. >> daddy. >> when he went to tops to buy our son a birthday cake. what are you going to do? >> it's okay. >> to make sure that your products don't get into the hands of a white supremacist mass

morgan norwood with more on the aggressive fight to contain the fire. >> fueled by extreme drought conditionsshburn fire near yosemite national park continues to grow. more than 1600 people are being ordered to leave the area as hundreds of firefighters have fought the blaze on air and on the ground. >> we have seen fire crews attacking this area. this brushes bone dry, perfect fuel for this fire, and you can feel the heat coming off the flames. >> the fire tearing through more than 2000 acres, exploding over the past 24 hours. >> i'm just hoping the firefighters, they know what they are doing, i'm just hoping they keep it that way as much as possible. >> some flames are closing in on the iconic sequoias of the mariposa grove. firefighters working to protect the thousand-year-old trees. sprinklers set up to increase the humidity and soak up the base of the trees. >> the fire is on the outer skirts of the mariposa grove and it has backed into that, but it has not backed intensely into the grove. >> the biggest concern is we still have active fire outside the grove and that fire is a concern fo

abc news reporter morgan norwood has more on what that means for you.ter: determined to tamp down inflation, the federal reserve once again and for the fourth time this year raising interest rates three quarters of a point. >> we are trying to do the right amount. we are not trying to have a recession. we don't think we have to. we think there's a path for us to be able to bring inflation down while sustaining a strong labor market. reporter: americans feeling the strain of inflation. the cost of everything consistently getting more expensive. tracy wetherbee in san jose california sees the impact every day. they are now serving about 450,000 people each month. 50,000 more than in january. >> this kind of inflation is really impacting people's budgets. 60% of the people that we serve has -- have less than $100 in savings. reporter: there's hope that prices will come down. it means the cost of borrowing is going up. take credit cards. if you carry a balancef o $5,000 making minimum monthly payments, the rate hike will cost you nearly $300 in additional i

morgan norwood with more on the aggressive fight to contain the fire. >> fueled by extreme drought conditionse washburn fire near yosemite national park continues to grow. more than 1600 people are being ordered to leave the area as hundreds of firefighters have fought the blaze on air and on the ground. >> we have seen fire crews attacking this area. this brushes bone dry, perfect fuel for this fire, and you can feel the heat coming off the flames. >> the fire tearing through more than 2000 acres, exploding over the past 24 hours. >> i'm just hoping the firefighters, they know what they are doing, i'm just hoping they keep it that way as much as possible. >> some flames are closing in on the iconic sequoias of the mariposa grove. firefighters working to protect the thousand-year-old trees. sprinklers set up to increase the humidity and soak up the base of the trees. >> the fire is on the outer skirts of the mariposa grove and it has backed into that, but it has not backed intensely into the grove. >> the biggest concern is we still have active fire outside the grove and that fire is a concer

morgan norwood with the latest. >> from above and on the ground, crews battling the washburn fire asparts of yosemite national park. fire created a firenado -- debris shooting into the air, causing a close call for one plane fight -- flying over the

morgan norwood is here with when shots could become available.he biden administration securing 171 million doses to fight the spread. the current vaccine wases to work agai it continuetoede e risk of deaths, its effectiveness has slightly waned. >> this virus has contue foe with variance of concern emerging that keeps bumping off the prior variants as we are seeing with ba.5. reporter: ba.5 accounts for most of the new daily cases in the country with 88% of americans living in a county with medium or high covid risk. in los angeles, health officials declining to impose an indoor mask mandate, citing a decrease in hospitalizations. in milwaukee, its public school system is updating guidance to require masks when covid-19 levels are high based on county cases. president biden says he tested negative friday morning after battling the virus urging americans to take the necessary precautions to protect thse covid is still with us. what is different is our ability to protect ourselves from serious illness. reporter: the biden administration has decided

morgan norwood, abc news, highland park illinois. >> alex padilla held a virtual town hall to look atlocal communities are doing to address gun violence. padilla heard from community groups, researchers, even a high school student who detailed how gun violence has influenced her. >> there were days i had the choice to sit at home and ponder whether i would go to school so i had the choice, my education or my life. >> castillo said lockdowns are common at her school because of shootings. padilla said more needs to be done besides the gun safety law passed last month. community groups talked about mental health programs at local measures they are taking to reduce gun violence. >> the federal aviation administration is providing the san jose airport with $10 million to make its terminals more accessible to people with disabilities. the money comes from the bipartisan infrastructure package. airport officials say they have been proactive at promoting accessibility inside and outside the airport. the funding will largely support products -- projects indoors. >> everything from lowering fli

morgan norwood with the latest. >> a suspected gunman who police say unleashed nearly 70 rounds on julyarade goers in illinois now being held in jail without bond. it comes as police begin clearing the parade real of strollers, wagons, personal belongings of those forced to run for their lives turned the chaos. the state attorney saying today the alleged gunman's rampage could have been worse. >> it appears when he drove to madison, he was driving around. he did see a celebration occurring and he seriously contemplated using the firearm he had in his vehicle to commit and other shooting should >> he faces seven counts of first-degree murder. officials say dozens more charges are likely. >> for each individual who was hurt, people can anticipate an attempted murder charge as well as an aggravated battery with a firearm charge should >> growing questions about miss red flags and whether the suspected gunman should have access to a firearm. illinois police have a suspect past four background checks in 2020 and 2021 despite prior incidents like in 2019 when he threatened to take his own lif

morgan norwood has the latest. >> what we have seen is explosive behavior. >> the oak fire, now the largest this season torching 21 structures jeopardizing thousands more and forcing 6000 people to a thank you eight. ginger is there. >> that whole hillside. there are tree stumps and that is it. >> more than 2500 firefighters working around the clock to control the blaze battling the intense heat and steep terrain. planes dropping retardant trying to stop the spread. the extreme drought making it easy for fires to rip through. >> you take the moisture out of the vegetation, you have these volatile conditions. >> in texas, a huge grass fire destroying at least two dozen homes in a dallas suburb. conditions are extremely dry. >> from what we understand, there was a spark that started the whole thing from the mowers and it spread to the houses. >> in missouri, summer storms dumping more than 12 inches of rain in five hours on st. louis causing widespread flash flooding. this train station nearly swallowed the floodwaters and crews rescuing multiple people by after several cars were trapped in h

morgan norwood has the latest. >> driven by the highly transmissible ba.5 variant, new covid cases continuee across the country. the variant now makes up within 70% of all cases and is said to be more resistant to prior vaccinations and immunities. it is why health experts are pleading with americans to get their boosters. >> having 67% of the population in rich developed country like the united states is unacceptable. >> according to the latest cdc data, most of the u.s. is living in a county with high or medium risk level of covid yet some cities and agencies are rolling back restrictions and mandates. in san francisco, the mask requirement for bart now expired. >> this is not the time to do it. >> with so many lives lost to covid, the other toll has thrown under the radar. workers lost due to long covid. freddie fernandez spent months in the hospital. his family still deals with the effects. >> to value life because from one day to another, it can be gone. >> in hearing tuesday, when advocate estimating americans with long covid lost about $230 billion a year in earnings. a number she be

morgan norwood has a look. >> we can now see in high definition what was happening in the universe millions of years ago. nasa releasing more images from the james webb have also -- james webb telescope showing a gaseous planet outside of our solar system and two images of dying stars. also a cluster of thousands of galaxies dancing around each other. >> we might be seeing some of the first to form this image. we need to start doing the precise measurements. that is what we are all eager to do. >> the nearly $10 billion telescope peering into the universe deeper than humanity has ever seen. the use of the infrared light spectrum allows the telescope to see through cosmic dust. >> today for the first time we are seeing brand-new stars that were previously completely hidden from our view. you sort of get the sense of depth and texture from this new data. >> as marvelous as the discovery is, it is just the beginning. the webb telescope help scientists study the earliest yelich sees, how our solar system formed and if there is light -- if there is life on other planets. >> this telescope embodi

morgan norwood with the latest. >> from above and on the ground, crews battling the washburn fire as the blaze scorches parts of yosemite national park. fire created a firenado -- debris shooting into the air, causing a close call for one plane fight -- flying over the area. the fire tearing through 2000 acres since igniting last week. the flames threatening the giant grove of yosemite, some trees thousands of years old. >> the crews are doing everything they can to protect the sequoias, including fighting fire with fire. this is a backfire. they are hoping these flames cut off the fires path. >> crews deploying sprinklers to protect the giant, the second-largest sequoia, well over 200 feet tall. >> we are watering the tree in case the fire comes to it. so the fire behavior will drop down in the tree will be ok. >> they say the aggressive firefighting tactics are working. with the fire still burning, there still cause for concern. >> the biggest concern is we still have active fire outside the grove. at heart is a concern coming into this area. also the communities in the area as wel

morgan norwood has more on that. >> flames from the oak fire once again to exploded overnight. smoke billowing into the skies, it could be seen from the international space station. this time lapse showing the growing plume. the fire tearing through nearly 17,000 acres since friday come of forcing more than 3800 to evacuate their homes. >> the fire was coming quickly. i have two children. >> their cat went missing and they finally got the call they were missing -- there waiting for. linda and aubrey brown scrambling to safely -- to safety as the flames moved in. >> it was just blooming up over. >> the fire swallowing everything in its path. firefighters attacking the flames by air and on the ground. but despite the wind, firefighters have been able to make some progress. still, the ways has taken out several buildings and threatens several more. >> the growth of this fire is amazing, given how quickly we had resources there. >> nearly 60% of california is in the second-highest level of drought but the oak fire is in the highest level. >> how much does climate change have to do

morgan norwood joins us and griner saying it wasn't her intent to break the law. >> reporter: right,ou, janai. brittney griner's wife says the president's response to griner's letter gave her hope, and now she's pleading with the russian government for mercy. >> it has just been overwhelming for my entire family. >> reporter: this morning, brittney griner's wife cherelle speaking out for the first time since her wife pleaded guilty to drug charges in russia. cherelle griner embracing the wave of support from around the world and thanking the biden administration for their work to help bring brittney home. just this week the president responding to griner's handwritten plea to intervene. >> i want to make it very clear that our next move as supporters for bg is to make sure that the administration understands that they have our full support. >> reporter: griner joined by al sharpton during a chicago press conference urging leniency for the wnba star who faces ten years in a russian prison. >> there ought to be a place where conflicts stop and where the politics stop. >> reporter: gras