tonigh tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. the new covid concerns here in the u.s. they are raising the risk levels now in a third of the country. and what they're seeing in new york city. and breaking news right now from the white house on the baby formula shortage. first, covid hospitalizations up more than 60% in one month. much of the country now raising that risk level. we'll show you the map tonight. the high risk areas including new york city. and what new york's mayor said just today. there is also breaking news on the nationwide baby formula crisis. president biden will now invoke the defense production act to restock formula. so how will this work? cecilia vega standing by. new reporting in the racially motivated mass shooting in buffalo.

abc news learning tonight that some of the online posts allegedly made by the suspected gunman were shared with a private group online just 30 minutes before that attack. stephanie ramos in buffalo. the free fall on wall street today. the dow losing more than 1,100 point. what drove this today? and what ceos across this nation are now saying about the possibility of a recession. rebecca jarvis is live. overseas tonight, the war in ukraine. finland and sweden now officially applying to join nato. how will putin respond? and president biden set to meet with both leaders of those nations tomorrow. ian pannell in ukraine. back here at home tonight, one of the most closely watched primary battles here in the u.s. still too close to call nearly 24 hours later. dr. mehmet oz against david mccormick. who is slightly ahead at this hour? the red flag warnings from california to texas. evacuations in texas, and more than 100 million americans now expected to see temperatures above 90 degrees tomorrow.

this all moves into the northeast by week's end and rob marciano tracking it. a milestone victory off the field for the u.s. women's national soccer team. a first of its kind deal for equal pay. and the plane flying over this country, the flight attendant suddenly helping a passenger give birth. and now the baby's name tonight. good evening and it's great to have you with us here on a wednesday night. tonight, breaking news from the white house on the baby formula crisis and the major new covid concerns. we have it all covered. new cases of covid now rising to the highest point since mid-february in this country and daily hospital admissions are now projected to rise in nearly every corner of the nation over the next four weeks. we'll show you the map here tonight, a picture of the spread. a third of americans now live in areas where they are raising the risk level to medium or high

risk again. areas there in yellow and orange. orange, of course, the highest risk. the cdc again recommending wearing masks indoors. tonight, new york city at the highest risk level. the mayor saying, put on the masks indoors, but not requiring it yet. tonight, 48 states now are projected to see hospitalizations rise in the coming weeks, and raising these risk levels means they're already seeing hospitals and health care systems under increasing pressure and a rising death toll. the white house tonight warning that without additional funding from congress, not everyone will get new vaccines if a new surge strikes this fall, as they expect. and tonight here, the cdc could soon give the green light for pfizer booster shots for children 5 to 11 as soon as tomorrow. abc's whit johnson leading us off tonight. >> reporter: tonight, covid hospitalizations again on the rise, up more than 60% in the last month. and now, a new projection shows nearly every state will see more americans with covid going into hospitals in the next two weeks. and more patients will die.

>> in areas where community levels are high, everyone should be using prevention measures and wearing a mask in public indoor settings. >> reporter: 137 counties nationwide now in the high risk alert level, meaning there is increasing pressure on the health system. new york city also in that category. but for now, officials are resisting a mask mandate, instead only recommending them indoors. >> we are not allowing covid to outsmart us. we're staying prepared and not panicking. >> reporter: and tonight, the white house sounding the alarm about the need for congress to act on covid funding. >> we will find ourselves in the fall or winter with people getting infected and no treatments available for them, because we will have run out. >> reporter: it comes as the cdc is expected to recommend boosters for 5 to 11-year-olds as early as tomorrow. >> i started looking online right away to see about scheduling a shot for her. to have the booster is just an extra level of assurance. >> reporter: pfizer says its booster shot is safe and an

initial analysis found it increased antibodies against omicron 36-fold. >> a lot of parents are going to be asking, if i get my child this booster shot, will my child need another shot this fall? and the simple answer is we just don't know. but it's important that we focus on the ways to protect everyone right now while we're seeing cases rise all over the country. >> reporter: new child covid infections are at their highest point since february, and hospital admissions are now climbing too, up 70% in the last month. >> and whit johnson back with us live tonight. and whit, we know the second booster is now available for americans over 50. we also know more than half of eligible americans have not gotten even their first booster yet. and tonight, we took note that the cdc guidance on these boosters has shifted for people weighing when to get that second booster shot. they're essentially now saying, if i'm correct here, you'll let me know, if you want to wait because you suspect you might have a greater need for a booster in the fall if there is a surge, the cdc saying they're now okay with that?

>> reporter: exactly, david. the cdc now says it's okay to consider waiting to get that second booster shot if you've specifically had covid within the past three months or if getting the shot now would discourage you from getting one in the fall. that's when health officials are hoping to roll out the next generation of improved vaccines that could help head off another winter surge. david? >> all right, whit johnson leading us off tonight. whit, thank you. and now to the other major headline i mentioned, the breaking news from the white house on the nationwide baby formula crisis. president biden will now invoke the defense production act to speed up restocking the shelves across this country. so, let's get right to our chief white house correspondent cecilia vega, who is with us here in new york tonight. and i know there are several steps to this. what have you learned tonight? >> reporter: well, david, these details are just coming in and we've been reporting on this, you know. president biden has been under growing pressure on this to act quickly, including from members of his own party, and we have heard that desperation, you've been reporting on it, from so many families across this country. so, here we go, just a few minutes ago, the president signing the paperwork invoking this defense production act.

this, of course, is that tool that we've seen used in the most desperate situations, like that need for critical protective gear during the pandemic. this move today is forcing suppliers to prioritize sending ingredients to these formula makers. the white house says this is going to ensure the factories have the ingredients they need to ramp up this production. also this -- they're looking at enlisting commercial planes that are already being used by the defense department to pick up infant formula from countries abroad and transport that back here. this is formula that meets american health requirements. but the bottom line right now, the fda says we could be looking at weeks, david, before these store shelves are back fully stocked. it's unclear tonight whether this changes that at all. >> so, still possibly delays and a lot of people are going to ask, why didn't we do this sooner, but at least major action on this front. cecilia, we'll be watching you on "gma" in the morning, thank you. to other news tonight, and to new reporting here on the investigation of that deadly mass shooting in buffalo authorities say fueled by racist hate. abc news learning tonight that

some of the alleged messages posted online by the suspect were actually shared with a private group online just 30 minutes before the attack. abc's stephanie ramos in buffalo again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, investigators building their case against the suspect accused of opening fire at a supermarket in buffalo. as abc news has learned, just minutes before the deadly rampage, some of the 18-year-old's alleged posts on discord were shared online with a small group. a spokesperson for the social media platform saying in a statement, "a private invite-only server was created by the suspect to serve as a personal diary chat log. approximately 30 minutes prior to the attack, however, a small group of people were invited to and joined the server. before that, our records indicate no other people saw the diary chat log in this private server." it remains unclear who exactly had access to the writings. tonight, new york's governor kathy hochul now calling on the attorney general to investigate the social media site used by

te alleged shooter. the suspect, payton gendron, now charged in what authorities are calling a racially motivated attack at the tops grocery store where ten were killed and three others injured. all of the dead black. investigators now combing through a nearly 600-page document they say contains those discord posts, which chronicle a deadly plot set in motion back in november. just months earlier, the suspect was investigated by state police for making disturbing comments about murder/suicide in an online class last june. tonight, the district attorney for broome county saying the suspect told authorities he was just joking, and that the school and police followed protocol. >> new york state police followed up appropriately on what the school district advised them of. they properly transported the individual to binghamton general hospital for a mental health evaluation. at that point in time, he was found not to be dangerous at

that time, and he was released to the custody of his family. >> reporter: according to the district attorney, the teenager made no direct threat to the school or any student, and firearms were not mentioned. state police and the school never filed a court petition that would have triggered the state's red flag law. this allowed the suspect to legally buy the assault-style rifle authorities say he used in the attack. >> stephanie, let's get back to that, because authorities say the suspect did threaten murder/suicide around graduation a year ago, told state police and the school that he was joking about it. so, if we're correct, you just reported neither law enforcement nor the school filed any petition with the court that would have set up a red flag warning? >> reporter: exactly, david. he was evaluated and then released to his parents. no red flag referral was ever made to the court. the governor's new executive order would now make it mandatory for state police to flag someone believed to be a

threat, like the suspect, and prevent them from possessing weapons. david? >> all right, stephanie ramos in buffalo again tonight for us. thank you, stephanie. now to the economy tonight and another steep plunge on wall street. the worst one-day drop now since june of last year. the dow losing more than 1,100 points, down more than 3.5%. abc's chief economics correspondent rebecca jarvis with us tonight. rebecca, what drove the plunge today? and i know you also have news tonight on what more than 100 ceos across the country are now signaling about whether or not there could be a possible recession ahead? >> reporter: that's right, david. the biggest driver of the american economy is the american consumer, and when we feel pinched by things like surging prices and cut back on spending, it starts showing up in bellwether like target, which today reported dismal earnings in the face of rising inflation. that stock down 25% today. the s&p 500 down 18% this year. that's in most 401(k)s. the s&p 500 is still up in the last five years about 65%, and still, that survey you mentioned, david, of the latest conference board survey, 133

ceos -- 133 ceos -- 68% believe a recession is looming. david? >> rebecca jarvis back with us tonight. rebecca, thank you. next here, abc news and our local stations across the country preparing for the midterm elections, shaping up. one of the most closely watched primary battles still too close to call nearly 24 hours later. dr. mehmet oz against david mccormick. so, tonight, who is slightly ahead at this hour? abc's rachel scott back in pennsylvania tonight. >> reporter: in pennsylvania tonight, election workers counting the mail-in ballots that could decide their squeaker of a republican senate primary. fewer than 2,000 votes now separating tv doctor mehmet oz, who has a slight lead, and former hedge fund executive david mccormick. >> when all the votes are tallied, i am confident we will

win. >> reporter: on election night, oz paying special tribute to former president donald trump, whose endorsement lit a fire under his campaign. >> god bless you, sir, for putting so much effort into this race. i will make you proud. >> reporter: but today, trump urged oz not to wait for all the votes to be counted. "dr. oz should declare victory," the former president said. "it makes it much harder for them to cheat with the ballots that they just happened to find." there is no evidence whatsoever of cheating in the republican primary. and neither of the leading candidates has challenged its legitimacy. >> now we have tens of thousands of mail-in ballots that have not been counted, that are going to need to be counted, but we can see the path ahead. we can see victory ahead. >> reporter: the winner will go head-to-head with lieutenant governor john fetterman, who scored a decisive win in the democratic senate primary after suffering a stroke just days earlier. he filled out his absentee ballot from his hospital room. his wife gisele filling in for

him at his party. >> you may have noticed i am not john fetterman. the next senator of our great state. >> reporter: fetterman implanted with a pacemaker just hours earlier. his wife calling it all a, quote, hiccup on the road. >> and john is going to be back on his feet in no time. >> reporter: pennsylvania still needs to count tens of thousands of mail-in ballots, but once that count is over, if the candidates are separated by less than a half a point, it will trigger an automatic recount, and that will likely take weeks, david. >> we've seen this before. rachel scott in pennsylvania. rachel, our thanks to you. overseas tonight and to the war in ukraine. finland and sweden now officially applying to join nato. president biden is now set to meet with leaders of both countries tomorrow. and of course this all comes after vladimir putin threatened retaliation if these countries move forward with their plans. ian pannell in ukraine again tonight.

>> reporter: tonight, as the war in ukraine rages, president biden welcoming finland and sweden as they made their bids to join nato official today. biden will meet with the leaders of both countries tomorrow at the white house. and the ground, russia claiming almost 1,000 fighters have surrendered at the azovstal steel plant in mariupol. the fate of the fighters remains uncertain, with moscow signaling it may try them as war criminals. and in kyiv, the first war crimes trial of a captured russian soldier resumed. the defendant pleading guilty to shooting a 62-year-old civilian. the man's grieving widow in court. the soldier now facing life in prison. it's just the first of many alleged war crimes cases in ukraine. i mean, i'm sure you can hear that. we've come out to one of the liberated villages, but the road is testament to the battles that are being fought here. this is a russian tank that's been totally destroyed, now rusting. but down there is pretty much where the front lines are. we're not going to go much closer down there, but you can

hear the sound of the battles being fought all around here. ruska lozova was liberated from russian occupation just three weeks ago. but that doesn't mean it's safe for the residents to return home. now less than 200 remain in a village where 5,000 used to live. although putin's troops have withdrawn back towards their own border, they still indiscriminately shell the town. i was going to ask you how the battle is going, i can hear how it's going. deputy commander roman says active combat is still going on. he expects the russians to counter at any time, but says his forces are trying to teach them a lesson they'll never forget. in a nearby village, another russian attack. our escorts get nervous. sending up too many signals. they think the russians could track everyone's phones and target the area. they advise us to leave the village, but these are the

dangers too many ukrainians must now live with every day. david, in a further sign that the russians are having problems here, the pentagon saying that moscow's main offensive in the donbas, that's in the east of the country, is shrinking in size and scale, and that after all this time, the russians are still making little progress. david? >> ian pannell in kharkiv for us tonight. ian, thank you. and back here at home now, and to the severe weather threat tonight. the red flag warnings, as well, from california to texas. the soaring heat in the south fueling this wildfire in central texas near abilene. that system now spreading east. more than 100 million americans will see temperatures above 90 degrees tomorrow and then this all moves into the northeast by the weekend. senior meteorologist rob marciano tracking it all for us tonight. hey, rob. >> reporter: hi, david. this sort of heat and dry air is certainly a product of our warming climate. a lot of red on the map tonight. check out the red flag warnings that you mentioned from colorado all the way to kansas and back through california, and severe thunderstorm watches up for colorado, wisconsin, and kentucky. and those watches will remain up in those same spots tomorrow,

stretch, all the way to south carolina for damaging winds, scattered hail, maybe a tornado or two. here's that record heat. san antonio hitting 100 degrees for the fourth time already this season. the 90s spreading from texas across the south and will get up here into the northeast for a hot weekend. david? >> yeah, extreme heat and early this year. rob, thank you. when we come back here, that milestone victory off the field for u.s. women's national soccer team. a first for equal pay. and then the flight over this country and the attendant suddenly helping a passenger give birth. and now tonight, the baby's name. who are positive for acetylcholine receptor antibodies, it may feel like the world is moving without you. but the picture is changing, with vyvgart. in a clinical trial, participants achieved improved daily abilities with vyvgart added to their current treatment. and vyvgart helped clinical trial participants achieve reduced muscle weakness. vyvgart may increase the risk of infection.

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tonight here, a landmark victory for equal pay. beginning june 1st, the u.s. men's and women's soccer teams will receive the same pay and the same share of prize money, including the world cup. this comes after several of the women players settled their discrimination lawsuit against u.s. soccer earlier this year. when we come back here tonight, the remarkable scene playing out on a flight over this country. the flight attendant who was suddenly called into action. hi, i'm steve and i live in austin, texas. i work as a pers assistant to the owner of a large manufacturing firm. i've got anywhere from 10 to 50 projects going at any given time. i absolutely have to be sharp. let me tell ya, i was struggling with my memory. it was going downhill. my friend recommended that i try prevagen and over time, it made a very significant difference in my memory and in my cognitive ability. i started to feel a much better sense of well-being. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. better skin from your body wash?

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amidates next at six only the i-team has the story of two firefighters one in the hospital and the other under arrest plus seven on your side helps make a $4,000 difference. abc 7 news is next. finally, the little girl who started the race and then lost her shoe, but not her spirit. just watch this 7-year-old who loses her shoe. talaya crawford goes back for that shoe, puts it on, and keeps running. >> she ran out of her shoe. go talaya! go lay lay! >> go lay lay! >> go lay lay. let's go lay lay! >> let's go lay lay! good job, lay lay. >> let's go lay lay! let's go lay lay! let's go lay lay! let's go lay lay! lay lay! let's go talaya!

let's go talaya! let's go talaya! let's go talaya! let's go talaya! >> you could hear her family, her loved ones, amazed. not only did she keep going, she won the race. talaya's father, terence, a professional boxer, writing -- "i just can't stop thinking about my daughter's track meet. she just doesn't have a clue how much she just motivated me. this is the definition of not giving up, heart, and grit." and tonight -- >> hi everybody. >> talaya with this message of thanks. >> i just wanted to thank y'all for supporti ing me and sharingy video. >> talaya's family tonight telling us they hope this inspires others to work hard and to get to the finish line. because their talaya never gave up. that is just incredible. talaya the fighter. i'll see you right back here tomorrow. good night.

shots and screams at a park just 24 ago the victim the cousin of raiders wide receiver tovonte adams plus i think we're all trusted with property crime here in san francisco or frustrated with seeing brazen retail theft obviously asian. times and watching them become unprosecuted. it is frustrating for san francisco. i'm frustration to action. san francisco voters could take an unprecedented step. i'm meteorologist sandia patel increasing fire danger ahead. i'll show you where red flag warnings. going up abc 7 news at 6:00 starts right now. building a better bay area moving forward finding solutions. this is abc 7 news. be done. good evening. i'm amidates and i'm dan ashley. thanks for joining us. the tents are bad enough. so is the drug dealing done openly in many places and of

course we have to talk to talk about the high cost of living. their chronic issues here, but they are not the top concerned right now. it's crime. at least that's what san francisco's voted in. this year's city beat survey which tracks issues and opinions annually and now city voters could take an unprecedented step to make change and that's why we have team coverage on this topic for you tonight to talk about what's new and to put things in perspective. we'll be joined by abc 7 news insider film material, but first, let's hear from abc 7 news. anchor liz. kreutz liz. hi. dananama the san francisco chamber of commerce conducts this poll every year and it shows that is concerns around crime and public safety in the city are only getting worse more than of voters see those as a major issue the poll also shows a majority of san francisco's are unhappy with the district attorney and they want to see him recalled. san francisco is heading in the wrong direction. that's according to the results of an annual poll released by the city's chamber of commerce

the