>> elwyn lopez on the breaking news from alabama, where it all ended in indiana late today. thank you, elwyn. >>> in the meantime, we turn now to the pandemic and the alarming new numbers tonight on covid here in the u.s. new covid cases are up 20% across the country. in fact, cases rising now in at least 45 states. what they're now seeing already in new york city and boston. and these are just the cases being reported. what about the tests at home? there's also news on pediatric hospital admissions just coming in tonight. here's abc's eva pilgrim. >> reporter: tonight, the u.s. nearing a grim milestone -- 1 million covid deaths. the national cathedral tolling the funeral bell 1,001 times, to remember the lives lost. more than 997,000 people have died from covid in this country. experts expect we will cross the 1 million mark within the next week. and tonight, new covid cases climbing. nearly the entire country, 45 states and territories, are seeing at least a 10% increase in covid infections. the current hot spot, the northeast. boston officials recommending, but not yet ma

here's abc's elwyn lopez. >> reporter: tonight, the u.s. racing to put an end to the nationwide shortage of baby formula impacting millions of infants. >> i originally had tried to breastfeed, and i tried so hard, but i had a very hard time with production, and i tried all the things to make it work, and it just couldn't. this is my fourth store today. >> reporter: in alabama, first time mom carrie fleming drove for hours and searched through countless websites, unable to come up with formula for her daughter. >> this is my worst nightmare. how am i not able to provide my daughter's primary nutrition? >> reporter: 3-month-old lennix's last batch came from new york, 1,000 miles away. the cost, $245 for just 4 14-ounce cans. eight states including delaware and kansas are seeing half the usual stock on store shelves. and across the country, about 70% of babies are fed formula. >> the biggest thing that parents need to avoid doing right now is trying to make that homemade formula or watered down formula, both of which can be absolutely catastro

>> elwyn lopez. elwyn, thank you. >>> now to that deadly explosion in cuba. a landmark hotel in old havana destroyed. the walls of hotel saratoga blown away. the rest barely standing. crews searching for more possible victims. here's victor oquendo. >> reporter: tonight, the urgent search and rescue mission in cuba after this deadly blast that rocked old havana and killed at least eight people. the outer walls of the five-star hotel saratoga blown out, rooms visible from the street. the blast so big, smoke seen rising in the distance. rescue workers scaling piles of brick and twisted metal, searching for survivors. "it collapsed," this man says. "we have rescued three people, and there are still people missing." state media reporting at least 13 missing and at least 30 injured. according to the cuban president's twitter account, a gas leak led to the powerful explosion, shaking the heart of the capital. cuban officials telling the communist party newspaper there were no tourists inside the 96-room hotel because it was closed for renovations. a nearby school e

as abc's elwyn lopez reports, almost everything you do this memorial day weekend will cost you more. >> reporter: tonight, millions hits the roads and taking to the skies for the memorial day weekend in numbers not seen since before the pandemic. >> people just want to get out and go. >> reporter: the unofficial start to the summer in full swing despite skyrocketing prices. fuel hitting a 10-year high, averaging $4.60 a gallon. >> right now, over $100 to fill up the tank. obviously it's in the back of our head how much we're going to spend, but we've got to enjoy life. >> reporter: aaa estimates nearly 35 million are expected to get behind the wheel. airfares also soaring. up a whopping 33% in april from a year ago. calvin furrier says he spent 60% more for his plane ticket to atlanta than the last time he visited. over the past weeks i've been putting aside more money, and i've been looking online every day. hopefully you catch the best flight. >> reporter: on friday, tsa says it screened nearly 2.4 million passengers across the country. this year's inflation also an uninvited guest

here's abc's elwyn lopez now. >> reporter: tonight, an alabama sheriff announcing authorities have found the getaway car they believe was used by accused murderer casey white and the corrections officer, vicky white, who allegedly helped him escape. >> there had been an attempt to spray paint it. >> reporter: authorities had been searching for the car for days when they were alerted tennessee police had actually found it just hours after the alleged escape. it was abandoned in the woods off a tennessee country road one week ago and towed to a local impound lot. nobody realizing it had been allegedly used in the crime. only yesterday did authorities put two and two together. the sheriff asked today if has any idea where the cople may have gone. >> did they steal another car? hitch a ride with somebody or something? we don't know. >> reporter: what they say they do know -- the inmate and the corrections officer are on the run, quote, flush with cash, after vicky white drained her bank accounts of some $90,000. bulletins now out with pictures of the 6'9" inmate's distinctive tattoos, includ

abc's elwyn lopez joins us from atlanta with the latest. good morning, elwyn. >> reporter: hey, eva. good morning. all eyes are going to be on georgia this week where the former president and former vice president are in separate camps. voters here are turning out in record numbers ahead of tuesday's primary, through thursday. more than 700,000 people cast their ballots. that is a 149% increase from the same time in the 2020 primary election. now governor brian kemp is facing senator david perdue who was not only backed by former president trump but recruited by trump to enter the race. trump taking quite an active role in the governor's race, campaigning on perdue's behalf. and his vice president pence is here tomorrow for kemp. trump became the first gop presidential candidate to lose the peach state in 28 years by a narrow margin. now, the winner is likely to face democrat stacey abrams in the fall who's running unopposed in her party. janai. >> elwyn, thank you so much. >>> now to what could be the final week of the johnny depp/amber he

>> elwyn lopez in atlanta for us, thank you. >>> here in new york city tonight, the nypd is looking to question a man after that deadly attack on the subway. authorities say a goldman sachs employee going to sunday brunch was suddenly shot and killed at random. tonight, what the surveillance shows and the gun. how quickly it was resold. that gun now recovered tonight. abc's janai norman here in new york. >> reporter: authorities tonight identifying a person they want to question in that random, unprovoked attack on the new york city subway. seen here in new surveillance images, say they is a 25-year-old brooklyn man with nearly 20 prior arrests. witnesses say the gunman was pacing in the last car of a manhattan-bound train sunday morning before suddenly opening fire, killing 48-year-old daniel enriquez, an analyst at goldman sachs, who was on his way to brunch. >> this could be anybody. that's the part that's horrific. at 11:30 in the morning, this man got on the train with the intent to kill somebody. >> reporter: other passengers ran for their lives. >> our car cleared out relatively

elwyn, good morning. >> reporter: hey, whit, good morning. covid-19 is still burning through parts of the country and while nearly every state is seeing a rise in cases, the northeast is feeling the brunt of it with hospital admissions there at their highest point since mid-february. counties in new york, new jersey, massachusetts and connecticut are among those now considered high risk. the cdc now recommending that in those areas people mask up es including schools. and now philadelphia school district is back to requiring masks starting monday for both staff and students. this as children 5 to 11 are now rolling up their sleeves for that third arm to needle. the cdc giving the go-ahead to boost those kids at least five months after their first two shots. now, that added dose of protection comes as the white house covid-19 response coordinator believes that the current number of infections is, quote, substantially undercounted due to home tests. and, guys, now officials are expected to roll out an updated vaccine in the fall and winter mont

elwyn, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, janai, good morning. nearly every state in the country is now seeing an uptick in covid-19 cases, and now some health experts are warning that the number of infections is likely undercounted and much higher. this morning, nearly half of the u.s. is living in a county with higher medium covid-19 risk levels. hospitalizations for those 17 and under now up more than 16% over the past week. this as children across the country roll up their sleeves once again. with boosters green-lighted this weekend for children 5 to 11, experts say the timing couldn't be better. >> with memorial day around the corner, being able to top out that immunity for our kids is super important. >> reporter: many parents feeling hopeful about vaccinating their children. >> my daughter, it's very important for her to be able to spend time with my own mother and, you know, even though children seem to be at lower risk of severe disease from covid, it was important for me to protect my family and my own mother. >> reporter: but not all p

abc's elwyn lopez joins us from atlanta with the latest. elwyn, good morning. >> reporter: hey, eva, good morning. baby formula is now about 40% out of stock sending millions of parents into a panic. many now asking family and friends to scour the shelves in other states and others relying on online groups and donated breast milk. this morning, members of congress are investigating why millions of americans can't find crucial baby formula for their children. >> it's awful. you can't, you know, something that is actually hitting very close to home, i've got a 4-month-old, and experiencing this first hand. >> reporter: lawmakers demanding answers from four different companies that produce baby formula after hearing stories like this one. >> this is my fourth store today. >> reporter: this first-time mom drove more than 50 miles in one day across alabama searching to no avail. >> every time i make her a bottle, it's, like, you know, i'm getting close to the bottom of this can. how many cans do i have left? how long do i have before we really r

elwyn, good morning. >> reporter: hey, whit. good morning. millions are already on the move kicking off the unofficial start to the summer. now, the busiest roads expected to be here in atlanta, chicago and boston. now, take a look at this. nationwide gas prices soaring to an average of $4.60 a gallon. but it's not keeping people from hitting the roads. aaa is predicting nearly 35 million people to travel by car this holiday weekend and as for the skies, tsa has already screened close to 2.4 million people in one day. that's about 25% more than this time last year, and that is just the beginning. the agency expects to see about 2.1 million passengers a day. those numbers could go up above what airports saw even before the pandemic. now, if you are taking to the skies, the best days to travel are today and tomorrow. as for the roads, experts say try to avoid the afternoon hours between 1:00 and 6:00 p.m. guys. >> all right. good information there, elwyn, thank you so much. >>> still coming up here on "good morning america," our "morning menu"

elwyn, good morning to you. >> reporter: hey, janai, good morning. that urgent search now going into a second day, teams scouring the waters, racing to find those three passengers who are still missing. >> we're going to need an additional ambulance, probably a third. >> reporter: this morning, at least two people dead. and an intense search for three more after boats collide on a georgia river. >> we're in a recovery mode. >> reporter: the coast guard swooping in, making the daring rescue. seen here water. officials say the two boats were traveling in opposite directions saturday morning when they crashed on the wilmington river. one of the boats carrying six passengers, the other three. >> we got someone on a paddleboard who's waving us down. >> reporter: authorities say four boaters with minor injuries were rushed to a nearby hospital. overnight we spoke to witnesses who say they looked on as teams searched the waters for those missing. >> we watched the search and rescue team and the helicopter and the various boats look for the victims. >> it wa

good morning, elwyn. >> reporter: hey, eva, good morning. the two have managed to evade capture for more than a week and now officials say they've tracked down their getaway car about two hours away from this detention center. this morning officials say they are back to square one in their search for accused murderer casey white and corrections officer vicky white after finding the pair's getaway car. >> it's a botched up job but they did attempt to try to paint it a little bit. >> reporter: authorities say they had been searching for this suv for days when they were alerted tennessee police had actually found it just hours after the escape last friday. but it took a week for them to realize it was tied to this case. the car found abandoned in the woods off a tennessee country road seemingly spray painted and was towed to a local impound lot. >> did they steal another car? did they hitch a ride with somebody or something? you know, we don't know. >> reporter: officials believe the two whites, who are not related, are on the run, quote, flush

abc's elwyn lopez is in atlanta with the latest. elwyn, good morning. >> reporter: yeah, whit, good morning. it's a nightmare for millions of parents just trying to get ryin enough formula to feed their infants, and now the u.s. government is stepping in to take action. this morning, a nationwide baby formula shortage crippling families from coast to coast. the president overnight promising swift action. >> there's nothing more urgent we're working on than that right now. >> reporter: the white house saying it is working to increase supply and make it readily available, rolling out new measures that give families on government assistance the ability to buy other brands of formula. cracking down on price gouging and hoarding as well as importing more supply. >> i think we're going to be making some significant progress very shortly. >> reporter: but makers of store brand formulas for walmart and amazon say those heightened demands and shortages may last throughout the rest of the year. about 40% of formula is out of stock leaving emp

abc's elwyn lopez joins us from atlanta with more. good morning to you, elwyn. >> reporter: hey, eva, good morning. the unofficial start to the summer is in full swing. the travel rush already picking up, and while here in atlanta we're averaging just over $4 a gallon, the nationwide average is at $4.60, but the pain at the pump is not enough to stop travelers from hitting the roads. aaa is predicting 35 million people will travel by car this holiday weekend. and atlanta once again one of the busiest joining chicago and boston. now, guys, if you're looking for the lowest gas prices, apps like gas buddy can help you out. other apps like waze and google maps can help you find the fastest and most efficient ways to get to where you're going. as for when to head out, experts say the best time is now, any time before 10:00 a.m. the worst time afternoon hours between 1:00 and 6:00 p.m. >> get out the door quickly. all right, elwyn, thank you. >>> some travelers already running into turbulence this weekend with hundreds of flights canceled t

abc's elwyn lopez has more. >> reporter: this morning, an urgent manhunt under way in alabama. authorities combing the region, looking for corrections officer vickie white and capital murder suspect casey white. >> we're using every resource available to us to ascertain where they may be. >> reporter: 9:40 friday morning lauderdale county sheriff rick singleton says the two, who are not related, were last seen when officer white said she was taking the inmate to court, breaking protocol by going without a second officer. as early as 11:00 a.m. the patrol car the two took from the detention center was spotted in a parking lot at a nearby shopping center but no sign of the two. >> all the evidence at this point leads to the fact that she assisted with escape, would not have been able to determine if she did that willingly or was she somehow coerced or forced into assisting with it. >> reporter: and it wasn't until six hours later, 3:30 friday afternoon, that an alarm was raised. officials say the officer told someone she wasn't feeling well and was going to the doctor after dropp

the sights and sounds of fire danger in the bay area are all around us, including >> dry elwyn with grass. but fortunately the goat patrols out to help. this video was shot earlier yesterday in the sleepy hollow neighborhood in central marin county kron four's justin campbell has that story. >> this week firefighters have been training for fire season. these 2 are practicing a hose lay where they land connect hoses for sometimes for miles to reach a remote fire. another practicing putting on his self-contained breathing apparatus within 2 minutes. one, 32. friday on these firefighters will need to be ready to go. currently is going to staff for additional engines tomorrow. >> because right now we are in a red flag warning that's supposed to last another few days. >> battalion chief carlos out into our with cal fire says this year alone, there have already been over 1700 fires in california, burning 7500 acres? the temperatures, climate change. >> and we you know, i mean, we're in a drought. we've been in a drought for years and unfortunately doesn't look like we're going to get significan

elwyn lopez is with the cdc with more, including new comments by the president. good morning, elwyn. >> reporter: yeah, michael, good morning. this isn't the first time the u.s. has been hit with a flurry of monkeypox cases. the last time was nearly 20 years ago and this morning the president says he believes the u.s. has enough resources to deal with the outbreak. this morning, florida becoming the third state to detect a potential case of monkeypox as cases continue to spread across the globe. president biden saying he doesn't foresee the country enacting the same 21-day quarantine rules implemented in belgium for people who contract the virus. >> we have vaccines to care for it, to take care of it. >> reporter: the president clarifying statements made yesterday calling the virus a major concern. >> i just don't think it rises to the level of the kind of concern that existed with covid-19, but i think people should be careful. >> reporter: this morning, there are reportedly more than 190 confirmed or suspected cases in at least 16 countries. the white house cov

>> okay, elwyn, thanks. >>> to a new apple airtag alert. a family says someone used it to track them at disney world. erielle reshef has the story. good morning, erielle. >> reporter: good morning, george. that tennessee family enjoying their vacation until 17-year-old madison realized that she had gotten a ping to her iphone to let her know that she was carrying an apple airtag, the device monitoring her movements without her consent. this morning, a family believes someone used an electronic device to track them at disney world. >> it's one of those things you never think it's going to happen to you until it actually does. >> reporter: after a busy day at the magic kingdom, 17-year-old madison says she received a notification that an apple airtag device was moving with her. >> stated that it was first detected with her around 7:09 p.m. and we got the notification at about 11:33 p.m. >> reporter: she clicked on the notification and saw a map outlining everywhere they had walked in the previous four hours. >> it showed the first destination

elwyn lopez is live there in atlanta with more on this. good morning, elwyn. >> reporter: hey, cecilia, good morning. the national average, once again hitting a new all-time high, climbing to $4.43 a allon. and while here in georgia we are not yet topping the $4 mark, the soaring cost of gas is slamming other parts of the country. take a look at this. the worst states, california at a whopping $5.87, hawaii $5.31, and nevada at $5.13, and this all comes as the nation continues to grapple with high inflation rates and many are gearing up to hit the roads. the upcoming peak driving season just around the corner with memorial day weekend historically a time when gas prices go up even higher. >> thank you so much. michael. >>> now to the deadly storms in the heartland. winds topping 100 miles per hour creating a massive wall of dust. ginger is tracking it all for us. hey, ginger. >> michael, the scene behind me is something i usually show you from texas or arizona but, nope, that's sioux falls, south dakota. that huge wall of dust, it's called

and that was elwyn lopez reporting the memorial day weekend kicks off summer travel season for most americans overseas more tourism options are beginning to open up. japan is ready to welcome back american tourists after being shut down for two years during the pandemic. so starting on june 10th people who book guided package tours will be allowed to travel into the country visitors from the us will not have to show a proof of vaccination or need to isolate or test upon arrival. pride month is taking shape on twin peaks in san francisco. we have video from last year's triangle. the annual giant pink triangle is being worked on today with volunteers working on the streamers and the borders of the triangle. the pink triangle was a symbol to identify homosexual prisoners in nazi germany. the triangles founder calls it a giant in your face educational tool. it's going to be on display for the entire month of june and abc 7 is proud to be a sponsor of the san francisco. just go pride parade and you'll be able to watch it live right here this year. the parade is scheduled for sunday, june 26th. you

was elwyn lopez reporting the memorial day weekend kicks off summer travel season for most americans overseas more tourism options are opening up. japan is ready to welcome back american tourists after being shut down for two years due to the pandemic starting june 10th people who booked guided package tours will be allowed to travel in the country visitors from the us will not have to show proof of vaccination or need to isolate or test upon arrival. pride month is taking shape on twin peaks in san francisco. we have video from last year's triangle. the annual giant pink triangle is being worked on today with volunteers working on the streamers and borders of the triangle. the pink triangle was a symbol to identify homosexual prisoners and nazi germany. the triangles founder calls it a giant in your face educational tool. it's going to be on display for the entire month of june nabc 7 is a proud sponsor of the san francisco pride parade. will be able to watch it live right here this year on abc 7. the parade is scheduled for sunday, june 26th. you can check out all of our coverage d