kristen: thanks so much for joining us on this tonight, the big test across this country amid this delta variant and with america now back to school. the surge in child covid cases, 1 million children testing positive in the last month. more than 243,000 new child cases reported in just one week. in new york city tonight, 1 million public schoolchildren have now started the school year. required to wear masks. vaccinations required for teachers and staff. tonight, the fda warning for parents when it comes to vaccinating children under 12. and tonight, two fda reviewers who have joined an article on boosters, suggesting they might not be needed yet, that the vaccines are working. late today, the fda now weighing in. also tonight, parts of the u.s. now bracing for up to 20 inches of rain with a major

tropical storm that could become a hurricane, slamming into the u.s. authorities now warning of life-threatening flooding tonight. ginger zee in texas with the timing and the track affecting several states ahead. tonight, the arrest in washington, d.c. an armed suspect outside dnc headquarters. the suspect's truck painted with nazi symbols. capitol police allegedly finding a machete and a bayon net inside. and the arrest coming just as the fencing goes back up around the capital, ahead of a rally supporting the septembers in the janua january 6th attack. tonight, secretary of state antony blinken defending the operation in afghanistan, saying, quote, we inherited a deadline, we did not inherit a plan. will california's governor survive a recall on the eve of the high stakes recall election there? president biden campaigning for governor gavin newsom in these final hours. the leading republican candidate, conservative radio

host larry elder, railing against newsom's mask mandates. so tonight, what does early voting indicate so far? matt gutman in california. tonight, actor jeff bridges revealing his battle with both cancer and covid and how he compares the two. and america strong tonight. this evening, the story of a high school coach, his devoted players and the big surprise from the indianapolis colts. good evening and it's great to have you with us as we start another week together here. we are following several developing stories as we come on tonight. a major tropical storm, nicholas, and it cold become a hurricane, now bearing down on the gulf coast tonight. several states bracing for potential life-threatening flash flooding. ginger is live from the storm zone in just a moment here. but we are going to begin with the concern for so many parents across this country, as millions

of children head back to school, a certain amount of excitement in getting the kids back into the classm radio, but of course, a lot of anxiety of this delta variant, especially with children under 12 still not able to get a vaccine. tonight here, when that could change. and it comes as 1 million children head back to school here in new york. today, just one of the cities across the country facing this test. masks in new york for schoolchildren mandatory. teachers must also be vaccinated. in the last month alone, 1 million children across the country have tested positive for covid, prompting that warning from the fda urging parents to wait for the vaccine authorization process to finish. and amid the new mandate from president biden for health care workers, one hospital in upstate new york tonight suspending the delivery of babies after several workers resigned over those vaccine mandates. covid deaths averaging nearly 1,200 each day, that's six times higher than just two months ago. and tonight, the new opinion piece in a medical journal, two fda reviewers joining the

article, saying boosters for all might not be needed yet. the fda is responding on this tonight, and abc's stephanie ramos leading us off here in new york. >> 3, 2, 1 -- happy new year! >> reporter: in new york city today, nearly a million kids heading back to school for the first time in 18 months. >> this is the place for kids to be to be safe, to learn, to be together. it works. >> reporter: remote learning no longer an option. masks are mandatory, air purifiers in the classroom and vaccines are required for teachers and staff. but with the threat of a highly infectious delta variant, some parents don't want to take a chance. >> it's a shame that we're still back here and the situation is even worse. so as a parent, i'm actually keeping my kids home. >> reporter: in just the last month, a million children across the country have tested positive covid. as parents wait for the covid vaccine to be made available to younger children, the fda is

warning them not to seek out vaccinations ahead of fda authorization, saying in part, "children are not small adults." >> kids are, you know, a special group. they're not just little adults. and they require important long-term safety data to make sure we're giving the right vaccine to the right kids. >> reporter: the country now averaging 1,200 deaths a day. six times the death toll two months ago. one hospital in upstate new york will stop delivering babies after workers resigned over vaccine mandates. meaning women will need to travel farther away. all while the vie raus remains a serious threat to pregnant women. in california, nurse davey macias was seven months pregnant and unvaccinated, when she and her husband, daniel, were hospitalized with covid. doctors delivering the baby after davy was put on a ventilator. the couple passing away a few weks apart, leaving behind five children. daniel texting family before he died last week. >> he was trying to breathe and

he said, "if anyone is not vaccinated, i suggest you do now." >> reporter: and while some states are vowing to fight that new federal vaccine mandate for companies, new york city calling vaccination the key to its recovery. despite the protests from some city workers who went back to the office today, they will have to get vaccinated or face weekly testing. businesses like restaurants, gyms and museums now required to ask the public for proof of vaccination or face fines. >> some people like, well, it's my body, my choice, but we also have to think about other people. >> reporter: and with all eyes on possible vaccine booster shots, officials have said older americans and health care workers could be first in line if they are approved. but tonight, two top regulators joining international scientists in an op-ed in "the lancet," arguing it's too soon to recommend boosters for the general population. pointing to evidence the vaccines are still highly effective against severe disease.

>> stephanie ramos with us live in new york tonight. and steph, the fda this evening is responding to these two vaccine regulators who joined that op-ed, questioning whether boosters are, in fact, needed right now. >> reporter: right, david. an fda spokesperson tells abc news that though two of their vaccine regulators are arguing that widespread boosters are premature, those views do not reflect the views of the agency. an advisory committee is set to meet on friday to consider booster data for the pfizer vaccine. the white house says it will be ready to roll out these boosters a week from today if they are approv approved, david. >> stephanie ramos, thank you. and now to the other major headline this monday night. tropical storm nicholas beari 65-mile-an-hour winds already. it could become a hurricane. 0 potential five-foot storm surge, up to 20 inches of rain in some places. galveston, houston, even new orleans in the path of this. and as we head into the night, the national weather service now issuing a rare high risk, what

they call life-threatening flash floods. ginger will time this out. several states will feel this. and abc's marcus moore outside houston. >> reporter: torrential rain on the texas coast tonight, as tropical tomorrow nicholas moves ashore. >> there's going to be some tremendous rainfall rafts, between 1 to as much after 4 inches an hour. >> reporter: the national weather service issuing that rare high risk for life-threatening flash floods, including the city of houston schools closed tomorrow, and the port of houston ceasing operations. >> i'm encouraging people to be off the road by sundown, and stay off the roads through the night, going into tomorrow, as well. >> reporter: business owners in galveston boarding up and deploying sandbags. >> we never planned on ike and we had this much water in our shop, so -- we've learned the hard way. >> reporter: nicholas coming just two weeks after category 4 ida slammed ashore in louisiana. more than 100,000 customers in the state still without power. and nicholas could delay that

recovery even more. david, houston's mayor says he's concerned that because this is not a hurricane, people might not take it seriously, but as the water behind me continues to rise, he's urging residents to be off the streets by sundown. david? >> marcus, thank you. let's get right to chief meteorologist jiginger zee. hi, ginger. >> reporter: hey there, david. yes, tonight is the night where most of this area going to see the impacts into early tomorrow morning. you can see the gulf of mexico behind me. we're going to see storm surge up to five feet here in galveston. we're in a warning. gusts have been close to 50 miles per hour, but this storm is going to be about flash flooding, about the rain. and that's why that shield of moisture coming toward houston looks really scary to people that are so, you know, very tender down here after years and years of facing these things. here's what i can tell you and time it out for you. overnight tonight for houston through early tomorrow.

lake charles to new orleans, your day is tomorrow, tomorrow night, early wednesday. so, you really don't get most of it tonight. but i want to give you the indication of how much rain. there reason some spots right here through galveston that have that life-threatening 10 to 20 inches. 6 to 10 inches all the way throughal sand dree ya, louisiana, and just north of new orleans. david? >> i know you'll have the latest onginger, thank you. to the arrest in washington, d.c. today. the armed suspect outside dnc headquarters. capitol police allegedly finding a machete and other weapons inside. and this arrest comes just as the fencing goes back up ahead of that rally supporting the suspects in the january 6th attack. rachel scott on the hill tonight. >> reporter: tonight, capitol police on high alert, arresting a suspected white supremacist. authorities say they found a machete and bayonet inside his pickup truck near the democratic national committee headquarters. police say that truck was plastered with a swastika and other racist symbols.

an american flag covering the license plate. officers arresting the driver, 44-year-old donald craighead, who allegedly told police he was "on patrol" and began talking about white supremacist ideology. and now several months after the january 6th insurrection, police are preparing for another rally in support of the rioters who stormed the capitol that day. capitol police chief tom manger telling us the fencing around the capitol will temporarily go back up, already installing new sir say lens cameras. >> the fence will go up a day or two before and if everything goes well, it will come down very soon after. >> reporter: chief manger briefing congressional leaders today. >> i think they're much better prepared than they were before january 6th. >> reporter: david, we're told d.c. police will be fully activated this weekend. organizers of saturday's rally are encouraging demonstrators to remain peaceful, but police are not taking any chances, david. >> all right, rachel scott

tonight, thank you. and rachel, as you know, a tense hearing on capitol hill today. the secretary of state defending the u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. blinken saying of the previous administration, "we inherited a deadline, we did not inherit a plan." but the tough questions kept coming. here's terry moran. >> reporter: secretary of state anon theny blinken facing congress for the first time since the chaotic american retreat from kabul, and facing fierce criticism. >> our enemies no longer fear us, and our allies no longer trust us. >> you should resign. >> reporter: secretary blinken rejected the criticism completely, defending president biden's decision to pull out of afghanistan, arguing that decades of u.s. led nation building there had failed. >> if 20 years and hundreds of billions of dollars in support, equipment and training did not suffice, why would another year, another five, another ten? >> reporter: but the real issue at this hearing -- how did it come to this?

the chaos, the 13 u.s. service members killed, the americans left behind? blinken blamed the trump administration. >> how meticulous was the planning for the trump administration declared may 1st withdrawal? >> thank you congressman, we inherited a deadline, we did not inherit a plan. >> reporter: representative adam kinzinger of illinois noting that the biden administration had months to prepare for their own decision, wasn't buying it. >> the trump administration failed in the setup and i think the biden administration absolutely failed in the execution of this. >> reporter: secretary blinken did admit that the crisis in after gan stan unfolded, quote, more quickly than we had anticipated. he'll face more tough questions in the senate tomorrow. david? >> terry, thank you. and the question tonight in california, will governor gavin newsom survive a recall vote? president biden in california tonight in these final hours. and matt gutman is there, too. >> reporter: as he fights to keep his job, governor gavin newsom welcoming president biden to california tonight.

and warning voters the stakes could not be any higher. >> this election is a matter of life and death. public health is on the ballot. >> reporter: the recall effort, widely seen as a response to the governor's handling of covid. the governor making california the first state to go into lockdown back in march 2020. then in november, this image went viral. >> we've obtained this photo of governor gavin newsom dining at the luxurious french laundry restaurant. >> reporter: the governor violating his own covid restrictions to attend a birthday dinner at one of the country's most expensive restaurants. he apologized, but his opponents pounced, gathering enough signatures to put a recall on the ballot. californians are voting on two questions. the first, should newsom be recalled and who should replace him? the list of candidates is long -- 46 total. including tv personality caitlyn jenner and businessman john cox, who has been campaigning with a live kodiak bear.

today, i caught up with the man who has been leading that pack, conservative radio host larry elder. he opposes the minimum wage, has called climate change a myth, and wants to roll back many of the state's covid restrictions. as governor, what would be your first action? >> repeal the mandate that state workers who have been vaccinated be tested once a week, and wear face masks at work. >> reporter: but right now, with the delta variant surging in parts of the country with low vaccination rates and few mandates, here in california, polls give newsom a wide advantage. the next governor of the state could be elected by a small fraction of the voters, but so far, democratic turnout has been high and it's one reason that the governor's team tells me they are feeling confident tonight. david? >> all right, we'll see. matt gutman, thank you. when we come back, the news out of north korea. and the famous actor, his battle with both cancer and covid. regina approaches the all-electric cadillac lyriq. it's a sunny day.

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it's our time. for more time. we asked for kisqali. ask your doctor about living longer with kisqali. finally tonight here, america strong. all month long, across all of abc news, tonight, the high school coach, the devoted students and the surprise from the colts. tonight, the young faces who want you to know about their coach, paul logan, who wanted every child to have a chance on the team. at north central high school for 30 years. when students learned he had covid, they did what coach had done so many times for them. those pep talks. >> hello, mr. logan. >> hi, mr. logan.

>> sending videos to his hospital room. >> we wanted to thank you so much. >> we're thankful for you always. >> praying for a speedy recovery. >> after 12 days in the hospital, coach logan did not survive. his wife, kathy, on the students who never gave up on him. they were really hoping that the power of their words -- >> yes. >> would keep him alive. >> yes, absolutely. absolutely. and we had the nurses playing that for him over and over. and i thought it would work. i really did. >> his son, michael. >> at the end of the day, he knew we loved him and he we knew he loved us. >> within hours of learning the news, the school parking lot full. then, they would set a time. 7:00 p.m., high school football stadiums across indiana. when the sun set, the clouds rolled in, those lights came on. one stadium after another, all to honor coach loggan. a lot of good has happened. >> yes. >> in something so difficult.

>> yes. >> because those stadium lights were just the beginning. they started the paul loggan foundation. money for student athletes to pay for sports, uniforms. paul strong, america strong. you see the impact he had and this foundation has had by just looking at your teammates. >> it means a lot to me that i know that my teammates who are financially unstable have financial support. >> $35,000 and counting. can you still hear his voice? >> yeah, all the time. oh, paul's watching me today. >> we have been following coach loggan's story for more than a year now. he died before vaccines were available. now, his son, will. >> our family misses him and lots of other families out there are missing those we've lost. that's why my family is asking you to get the covid-19 vaccine. >> now, with his son's brave message, and all the help from those students, america strong -- what do you think he'd make of what you've done now?

>> he would be so excited, but he would kind of laugh and -- yeah. i know exactly what he would say. i can't say it on the air, so yeah. >> and this morning, the indianapolis colts with a surprise on "gma." >> our friends from the colts are here with a $10,000 donation to the paul loggan foundation. >> wow! thank you so very much! >> thank you. >> that is amazing. >> kathy and michael, it's david here. i told you your story would touch the country. we're so praud and just give every one of those young athletes a big bear hug from us. >> thank you, we will. >> absolutely. >> so proud of you guys. >> thanks, david. >> what a family. coach loggan is proud. good night. >> building a better bay area.

this is abc 7 news. >> the reality is, we have a global warming problem. a serious global warming problem. it is consequential. >> the president visiting two states, touring the wildfire ravaged west. >> it is not just about the fires. he throws his support hind governor newsom as he faces tomorrow recall -- tomorrow's recall. >> recall election. polls open in 15 hours. the governor got a big push from the president. >> the president arrived two hours ago. he went to see the devastation from the caldor fire. he will be in southern california where the campaigning will pick up speed.

it begin with liz, live for us in sacramento. liz: yes, we are here and a hanger in sacramento where the president and the governor are expected any minute to deliver remarks on the wildfire spirit they have just taken and ariel torres were there reviewing damage from the fire. the president arrived here around 2:10 this afternoon, first visit as president. it is no constant that he is here for the recall election. he is here to show he is supporting governor newsom in this fight. the president was greeted on the tarmac by the governor and they met with cal oes leaders to discuss combating wildfires. he thanked the firefighters for the hard work and talk climate crisis. >> if we don't stay below 1.537