victor oquendo, thank you. >>> now to america emerging from the pandemic in record numbers. nearly 50 million people driving or flying this holiday weekend. at the same time, the highly transmissible delta variant is spreading across the u.s. unvaccinated americans at the greatest risk of hospitalization and death. more than 64% of people 12 and older getting at least one dose of vaccine, but challenges remain. here's abc's stephanie ramos. >> reporter: across the country, a return to a traditna a record number of americans taking to the skies and hi rear iew mirror. >> we're closer than ever to declaring our independence from a deadly virus. that's not to say the battle against covid-19 is over. ♪ what so proudly we hailed ♪ >> reporter: at the white house, the president celebrating progress against the virus. but the country coming up 7 million shots short of the president's self-imposed july 4th goal. >> if i could send one message it would be, it's not too late. get vaccinated. >> reporter: the delta variant fueling regional surges in undervaccinated states. this springf

>> victor oquendo in south florida tonight. victor, thank you. >>> and overseas and in south africa tonight, the worst unrest in decades. the death toll rising to 72, more than 1,000 arrested in a wave of violence, sparked by the jailing of former president jacob zuma for corruption during his time in office. police firing rubber bullets at protesters. the tensions worsened by lockdowns and economic hardships during this pandemic. >>> back here at home tonight, and the new report from the faa, reporting an alarming rise in unruly passengers. nearly 150 incidents reported in just the last week. here's abc's gio benitez. >> reporter: tonight, as summer travel approaches pre-pandemic levels, the faa telling us the number of unruly passengers increased by almost 150 in just seven days. that's the worst weekly report of the summer so far. >> because you're not listening. >> reporter: like this florida woman on a delta flight last week, allegedly refusing to wear a mask. >> we're going to deplane the aircraft. >> reporter: police gett

victor oquendo once again joins us live from the scene. it must have been a relief to the families when they got word that the search and rescue was resuming. >> reporter: linsey, miami-dade fire rescue saying following the recommendation of structural engineers, search and rescue efforts have resumed, adding that finding missing loved ones continues to be at the forefront of our operations. linsey? >> victor, thank you. >>> next tonight, the growing alarm about the covid delta variant. the director of the cdc is now calling it hypertransmissible. in just one week, cases are up 10%. the white house is now preparing to deploy surge response teams to hot spots. in more than 1,000 counties across the country, less than 30% of people are vaccinated. and 99% of those who died of covid in the past six months were not vaccinated. 181 million people have now had at least one dose, that's nearly 64% of everyone 12 years and older. here's abc's marcus moore. >> reporter: facing what it calls a hypertransmissible delta variant, the white house tonigh

victor oquendo is back with us from surfside, where they are already feeling the impacts of elsa. and victor, how worried are officials there about weather conditions hampering the rescue efforts? >> reporter: whit, they are keeping a close eye on the storm. while we want be taking a direct hit here, lightning is a real concern when we have all of these teams and that equipment on top of the pile. this is the same kind of weather they've been battling all along and there's more on the way tomorrow. whit? >> victor, thank you. >>> now to america emerging from the pandemic in record numbers. nearly 50 million people driving or flying this holiday weekend. at the same time, the highly transmissible delta variant is spreading across the u.s. unvaccinated americans at the greatest risk of hospitalization and death. 64% of americans 12 and older getting one dose of vaccine, but challenges remain. here's abc's stephanie ramos. >> reporter: across the country, a return to a traditional july fourth. a record number of americans taking to the skies and hitting the road. for many, the corona

abc's victor oquendo leading us off. >> reporter: tonight, the delta surge is pushing some hospitals in hot zones to their limit. in the kansas city area, doctors say they're running out of beds, and kansas state health officials are bracing for it to get worse. >> everybody needs to think of this as a crisis. this is a crisis situation. >> reporter: with the rapid spread of the delta variant, st. louis county late today reinstating a mask mandate. and now a new national model predicts the surge in covid cases may not peak until mid-october, with daily deaths potentially more than tripling what they are now. 38 states and new york city are seeing daily case averages double, triple, or quadruple over the last two weeks. 1 in 5 new cases are in florida. >> when you see someone under 40 die because of covid, when there's a vaccine they could have gotten to prevent it, that breaks your heart. >> reporter: three states, florida, missouri, and texas, accounting for 40% of new cases. in alabama, the least vaccinated state, a frustrated governor kay ivey not hiding her anger with the unvacci

victor oquendo on the unfolding scene. >>> and in haiti tonight, after the president was assassinated, the arrests. and now a doctor who had been living in florida under arrest, accused of playing a key role in the plot. marcus moore from haiti tonight. >>> back here at home, news this evening from the scene of that recovery mission in surfside, florida. >>> the deadly lightning strike at a popular tourist site oversees. more than a dozen people killed. many as they were taking selfies. >>> and space and back. our interview tonight with richard branson. and the unopened nintendo game selling for $1.5 million. >>> good evening and it's zbraet to have with us here and we begin tonight with news on two of the vaccines in this country and on this troubling delta variant. we're going to break down where it's spreading. first, though, the new fda warning about the johnson & johnson single shot vaccine, warning of a very rare nerve condition. the cdc reporting about 100 cases under investigation. that's out of about 13 million johnson & johnson shots. tonight, pfizer is meeting with federal

>> victor oquendo, thank you. >>> we are also following breaking news coming in from overseas tonight from iraq at this hour. reports of a missile attack at the erbil international airport. sirens sounding at the u.s. consulate nearby. the missile was fired from a small drone. so far, no reports of injuries or damage. >>> and the major news coming in from afghanistan tonight. more than 90% of american troops now out of afghanistan. hundreds of afghan fighters now abandoning their posts. and tonight here, the alarming images. their american-made weapons ending up in the hands of taliban fighters. our chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz just back from afghanistan and what she's learned tonight. >> reporter: the american military has now left bagram airfield, and will soon be officially out of afghanistan altogether. u.s. central command saying today the withdrawal is now "more than 90%" complete. >> our presence is small, both materially and physically in terms of people. >> reporter: we saw for ourselves the u.s. military headquarters in kabul, once thriving, now a ghost

>> victor oquendo, thank you. >>> now to the coronavirus here in the u.s. and health officials tonight are sounding the alarm over how quickly this delta variant is spreading. the numbers tonight. cases up more than 10% now in at re iew yor cess in just the past doubling in a week. more than 184 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine. 65% now of everyone 12 years and older. but in areas where vaccination rates remain low, cases are spiking. and in mississippi, for one, reports of children on ventilators. here's abc's whit johnson. >> reporter: tonight, the highly contagious delta variant taking hold across the country, now estimated to account for close to 58% of all new covid cases. at least 44 states and territories reporting a weekly increase. >> we can expect to see hospitalizations rise. we'll probably see deaths go up. >> reporter: cases in new york city more than doubling in just one week, from 182 on july 6th to 429 on july 12th, fueled by the delta variant. los angeles county seeing a 500% jump in covid cases over the past mo

abc's victor oquendo with late reporting. >> reporter: demands for freedom echoing across cuba. from one end of the island nation to the other. an unprecedented series of anti-government demonstrations on sunday, the likes of which have not been seen throughout the country in the 62 years of communist party control. though mostly peaceful -- there were clashes with police and cuban special forces. conditions for many cubans are dire. food and medicine are in short supply, as covid cases climb. >> cuba is in the midst of its worst economic crisis in 30 years. that's a crisis that's been aggravated in a very, very big way by covid. >> reporter: the calls for change resonating a little more than 90 miles away. streets were shut down in south florida as the cuban exile community showed their support for the protesters in their homeland. tonight, the streets are calmer in cuba amid an increased police presence. in an address to the nation, cuba's leader blamed u.s. policies like the embargo for the current state of affairs and said a social media campaign was fueling the protests. pr

>> victor oquendo leading us off. we know many of you at home have questions with this newest surge, so let's get right to dr. ashish jha, dean of the brown university school of public health. dr. jha, always great to have you with us. and i wanted to get back to alabama there. governor kay ivey, her comments that made national news, saying it's time to start essentially blaming the unvaccinated folks, were her words. we know that alabama has the lowest vaccination rate in the country. she essentially said, i've done what i can. i have had mask mandates here in the state. it's now up to people who haven't been vaccinated to get the shot. but how do you get the word out? how do we encourage more people to hear that message? >> david, thanks for having me back. i don't know if it's useful to blame people. i will tell you, at this point, across the country we're seeing a lot of unvaccinated people getting very sick and dying. and so my message to people is, it's about protecting yourself, your family. these vaccines make

victor oquendo in florida. >>> the extraordinary rise in covid cases in this country fueled by the deltaiant. cases now on the rise in at least 42 states. in new york city alone, cases doubling in a week. doctors in miami seeing more covid patients in their 20s and 30s. cases in missouri up 181% in a month. in

. >> and i'm victor oquendo. andrew is off. we begin with those severe storms spawning tornadoes in at least three states, ohio, new jersey and pennsylvania. >> a neighborhood outside philadelphia looked more like kansas after a tornado tore through the area. the twister trashed homes and businesses, knocked out power and forced people to find el slamming pennsylvania leaving a devastating trail of destruction. middle of the parking lot. my mom got under the table, and i kind of just like held her in my arms. >> it looked like a tv show. it just looked like a bomb went off. it's gone. >> reporter: this twister touching down north of philadelphia leveling homes, ng owerndripp the they lost their whole entire insides. >> i've been doing this for 34 years. i never saw that kind of devastation, you know, from a storm. >> reporter: that twister, one of three reported in the area thursday. two others reported within minutes of each other. >> this is actually insane. >> reporter: at least five people were hurt amid the storms but offi

here's abc's victor oquendo. >> i really don't know what we're going to do.terrible situation for me, for everybody. i mean, it's 156 families. it's very sad. >> reporter: sonia bortolen is e miami beach condo owner can look at her highrise complex, but she can't go in. >> i own two units and that was my main residence, that was my home. >> reporter: she's lived in crestview towers since 1994. friday she, her husband, and nearly 300 residents were ordered to evacuate the building. sonia, who's undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, was given just a few hours to take only what they could carry. >> i talked to -- i believe it was somebody from the city, a young man. and he said, yeah, you've got a couple of hours to get out, just grab what you can and get out. the building is shut down. my neighbor has a 6-month-old baby. another one had a practically newborn baby. i saw a police officer helping her carry her baby's car seat. broke my heart. those things broke my heart. when i see people going through stuff like that. >> reporter: crestview is six miles fro

our victor oquendo is there. this is for testing. >> reporter: kay cobbs in miami just got out of the hospital after a battle with covid. the 48-year-old mother avoided the vaccine because she was worried about side effects, but wound up with covid, fighting for her life. she's now pushing her whole family to get the shot. do you regret waiting? >> yeah, i do regret waiting. and i had several conversations with several people and i was like, you know, i just need to see how this thing is going to turn out, like, you know, you guys going? s ttg >> reporter: in missouri, wheres county today putting a new indoor mask mandate in place. >> these numbers are too alarming to ignore. we as health care professionals and as elected officials can't stand idly by while this delta variant takes more and more victims. >> reporter: the missouri attorney general planning a lawsuit to block it. and tonight, growing questions about the true number of breakthrough cases in this country among those who are fully vaccinated. while au

here's abc's victor oquendo. >> reporter: tonight, chilling new video shot just seven minutes before deadly condo collapse in surfside, florida. adriana saramiento shot the video. in it, you can see water falling into the garage below the building, as well as debris on the ground. she says she tried to alert the residents about the danger. >> weight builds up as you come down the tower, so those columns on the first floor are essentially supporting the entire tower. >> reporter: and if they're unstable -- >> if there's an issue with the columns, with the foundations, those are all very critical elements to stability of the building. >> reporter: six more bodies were recovered from the rubble today, including two children. 18 people are now confirmed dead. the family of hilda noriega was holding onto hope after finding family photos in the debris. her grandson michael speaking to david shortly after the collapse. >> she was the most loving person i've ever seen in my entire life. she lived for her family. >> reporter: hilda among the latest victims to be identified. she was 92. and to

abc's victor oquendo from surfside again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the search at the collapsed condo building in surfside moving to a recovery mission. >> at this point, we have truly exhausted every option available to us in the search and rescue mission. >> reporter: officials notifying families as the death toll jumped to at least 54. today teams largely spared from the brunt of elsa as they looked for more than 80 still unaccounted for. crews digging through the rubble by, separating residents' personal items and storing them in buckets. >> our first responders have truly searched that pile every single day since the collapse as if they're searching for their own loved ones. >> reporter: the mayor overcome with emotion when translating her remarks in spanish. late tuesday, officials let journalists view the massive pile. this is the closest we have been able to get to the collapse site. they've removed 5 million pounds of concrete and debris, you can see, they have a lot of work ahead. those who barely made it out of the tower now starting from scratch. so, this is -- >> this is

victor oquendo is live at a vaccination site in miami. morning, victor. >> reporter: good morning, george. five new popup vaccination sites were set up over the weekend, this as the delta variant makes up nearly half of all cases in miami-dade county, 49%. that number just two months ago, 2%. >> if you can hear me, make some noise. >> reporter: this morning, the show goes on amid the spread of the delta variant. officials warning those who attended this hip-hop festival in south florida about the rising number of coronavirus cases in the state. florida recording 73,000 new cases last week, an average of 10,000 per day. now accounting for 1 in 5 cases in the u.s. new popup vaccination sites set up with demand ramping up. the white house and cdc reporting about 790,000 vaccinations nationwide over the weekend, possibly the biggest 24-hour period since july. nearly 60% of u.s. adults are fully vaccinated, but cases have skyrocketed, 314% since mid june and hospitalizations are up 40%. the south is struggling. florida, arkansas and louisiana

victor oquendo is in florida with the latest. tems in the state, now treating five times as many covid patients compared to this time last month and more than 90% of them have not been vaccinated. florida experiencing the nation's most significant increase in new cases and hospitalizations. new cases are up by 490% over the last month. daily hospital admissions up by nearly 55% in just the last week. some cities are now tightening restrictions. new orleans and philadelphia joining los angeles now recommending that vaccinated people wear masks indoors although the cdc is sticking to their mask guidelines for now and as far as those booster shots, the cdc says the data so far indicates that an extra covid vaccine protects immunocompromised people as it enhances the antibody response but it is not an official recommendation yet and will continue to review the data, guys. >> okay, victor, thanks so much. >>> coming up, with gun violence surging, our look at just one week in america. how towns and cities are grappling and how it's affe

victor oquendo is in florida with the latest. ctor. >> reporter: good morning, michael. with the rest of the building demolished crews can now access every section of the collapse but now another challenge in their way, the weather. overnight, rescue crews in surfside pummeled by tropical storm elsa's outer bands amid thunderstorms and strong winds kicking up dust and debris. they continue their search for survivors in a newly expanded area. discovering four more bodies hours after demolishing the part of the champlain towers left standing. clearing the way to safely reach spots that were previously inaccessible. >> the dangerous situation where debris could fall down is now eliminated. so we're operating at 100% capacity. >> reporter: it's a race against time to find the 117 still unaccounted for and the work is round the clock. these new images of teams meeting in their control room. more than 4.8 million pounds of concrete removed so far. remnants of the lives shattered by the collapse. for those who made it out alive some now

victor oquendo is on the scene in surfside. orning, victor. >> reporter: good morning, george. we were here as that difficult decision was announced. this was expected eventually but for anyone who was holding out hope and for the community here in surfside, this news is heartbreaking. overnight, the surfside rescue mission officially becoming a recovery operation. rescuers and officials notifying the families of the missing before making the official announcement. the mayor overcome with emotion when translating her remarks in spanish. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: it's been 14 days around the clock searching in grueling conditions fighting fires, storms and intense heat, but now authorities determining there is no chance of life in the rubble mainly because of the lack of voids or spaces where someone may have survived. with the remaining portion of the tower demolished crews have been able to reach previously inaccessible areas, on wednesday alone 18 victims were found. the death toll now at 54 with more than 80

victor oquendo has the latest.many there are saying they've never seen anything like this. >> reporter: the word you hear is unprecedented. the demands for change resonating loud and clear in south florida too, especially where we are in little havana. let's begin in ce a.reting a e can. worsenineconic crisi a cubans are coping with severe medicine food shortages. cuba's leader blaming tight u.s. sanctions and calling on those loyal to the regime to confront the protesters. the u.s. national security adviser tweeted in part that the u.s. would strongly condemn any violence of peaceful protesters. they are exercising their universal rights. the cuban exiled community hitting the streets in miami as well, voicing their support for the protesters. many calling on the u.s. to intervene. even miami's mayor said the federal government should do everything possible. and not waste this moment. cecelia? >> victor, thank you. amy? >>> now to haiti in turmoil. after the assassination of its president, a new arrest made overni

our victor oquendo has more. >> reporter: this morning, turbulence in the friendly skies.s cell phone video capturing a heated argument between two men turning violent as passengers were de-boarding a frontier airlines flight in miami. >> get out. get out. >> reporter: the number of disruptive passengers across the country skyrocketing. the federal aviation administration announcing nearly 100 more incidents with unruly passengers in just the last week. this year alone airlines reporting more than 3,000 incidents of bad behavior on board flights, more than 2,000 of those incidents involving passengers refusing to comply with federal mask mandates and before takeoff, tsa officers at security lines also seeing an alarming uptick in assaults. the number of attacks up by 40% since may. 85 attacks happening this year including reports of passengers pushing and even biting officers. >> with anything, you know, when everybody is forced into one small area and short-staffed, it's going to cause chaos everywhere. >> reporter: and the faa continues to enforce its zero tolerance poli

our victor oquendo is in surfside, florida, with the very latest. or, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, t.j. the work here is still round the clock. crews only taking brief pauses when lightning would strike nearby as elsa passes here in south florida. this as we got our closest look at the collapse site and seeing that debris up close is devastating. we saw crews using heavy machinery, even drones in their search and rescue efforts, but 14 days in miami-dade fire rescue chief saying they're not seeing any positive signs for potentially livable spaces in the rubble. this morning, more than 100 people are still unaccounted for. 36 are confirmed dead and we are now learning that just three days before the fatal collapse, champlain towers south manager emailed town officials to approve a satellite parking locations so repairs could begin. two officials responding on june 22nd and 23rd, the eve of the collapse saying that more issues needed to be addressed. in a statement to abc the town manager said in part, there was no indication during

victor oquendo is on the scene in surfside. >> what is your emergency?> yes, i'm in champlain towers. something is going on here. you have to get us out of here. >> reporter: the distressed calls for help made just moments after the surfside condo's sudden collapse. >> you're in your apartment. >> yes, but half the building is gone! >> reporter: 911 calls coming in the middle of the night from inside part of the tower still standing. >> we think the roof collapsed in the building. a bunch of us are in the garage but we cannot get out. >> reporter: desperately attempting to escape through the garage. >> we're going back up the stairwell. the garage is inundated with water. we don't know where the water is coming from. >> reporter: outside, a chaotic scene as first responders rushed in. >> half of the building collapsed. i was able to escape, but i'm out in the parking lot. >> reporter: in the three weeks since the building's collapse the search transitioning into a recovery mission, family of the victims struggling to come to terms. bernardo and maria who

victor oquendo has the latest. >> reporter: his company marketed as a game changer. >> we've built somethingt no one else thought was possible. >> reporter: cleaner vehicles powered by hydrogen and electricity. >> for every doubter that said that there is no way this is true, how can that be possible? we've done it. >> reporter: now the founder of nikola motor company, trevor milton is being charged with securities fraud. >> do you have anything to say? >> we have a statement. check it out. >> reporter: milton seen leaving a manhattan courthouse thursday charged by federal prosecutors who say he lied about every aspect of his truck of the future. >> milton claimed that the nikola one could be driven when, in fact, the closest it ever came to driving was when a group of nikola engineers took it to the top of the hill and rolled it down so it could be filmed for a commercial. >> reporter: prosecutors claiming the truck's door even had to be taped up for the video so it wouldn't fall off. the indictment saying that early prototype was missing sgnificant parts like gears, motors and a control sy