and good morning from utah. the beehive state is the next stop on our cross-country tour from the majestic mountains to the greatest snow on earth and the other worldly arches, how the state is racing back as we say -- >> good morning, america. ♪ >>> good morning, america. that was pretty amazing. want to thank you for joining us this thursday as we "rise & shine" and you can see in beautiful utah. >> very glad you guys didn't have me climb mountains in south dakota two days ago. look at that sunrise. always gorgeous, nothing quite beats a sunrise in utah. the state is so famous for its breathtaking parks and hidden gems you'll want to hear about. that's coming up. >>> we'll begin with the coronavirus pandemic. it's gaining new strength. driven mostly by the delta variant. health officials plead with those still unvaccinated to get the shot. abc's whit johnson has the latest. good morning, whit. >> reporter: george, good morning. during a town hall overnight president biden suggested that the cdc could soon up

central utah seeing three inches of rainfall and this is pretty much where it will remain, utah and new mexico and in arizona, so not really getting up into the fire zone where we really need it and unfortunately more flash flooding expected. maybe debris flows. active already between flagstaff and phoenix this morning so another active day in the southwest. that's a check on what's happening. >>> it is cool, it is calm, it is clear. just the way we like it when we launch some balloons and we're going to turn the camera around here in just a few minutes to show you what's happening in central new jersey. >> all right. >> back over to you. >> hey, rob, speaking of hot air, our friend matt barrie here tells us a story of how you first met and you thought he was your driver. >> this is true. this is a true story. >> it's not quite how it happened, but i will say this, he's a decent golfer but an excellent, excellent driver, matt. >> that's right. >> convinced he didn't think i was his uber. >> rob always needs a designated driver so thank you for taking the wheel, matt. >> i'm actually gla

a utah home destroyed in minutes by a grill left unattended. in massachusetts, a father's day cookout nearly turning into a disaster when a propane grill fire spread through this house. the family managing to get to safety before the deck burned away. >> grill fire extended to the second and third floor of the rear of the building, traveled throughout the attic. >> reporter: according to the national fire protection association, one of the leading causes of these fires, dirty grills. grease fires are unpredictable and can quickly burn out of control if you're not paying close attention. >> you're multitasking, may be watching children and other family members and enjoying the outside. people not being able to focus on that grill. >> reporter: chief scott goldstein heads the montgomery county fire and rescue in maryland, he demonstrates how it takes on a life of its own. if flames spark the chief says do not do this. >> applying water makes the fire grow. >> reporter: instead use baking soda or close the lid. chief goldsteen also showing us what

that's the hottest temperature the state of utah has ever seen. amy, each degree of heat makes evaporation even quicker. amy? >> we know you'll keep us to date on all of that. ginger, thank you. >>> now to the coronavirus emergency. the u.s. seeing an uptick in cases, as the delta variant spreads through areas with low vaccination rates. half the states now showing an increase in new cases. even new hospitalizations. kaylee hartung joins us from a hospital in burbank, california. good morning to you, kaylee. >> reporter: good morning, amy. the delta variant is the most identified variant here in california. officials say it's responsible for more than half of the new cases across the country. hospitals in l.a. county just last month hit a record low for covid patients during the pandemic, and now those numbers are climbing. pfizer planning to meet today with top u.s. health officials to discuss potential federal authorization for a third dose of its vaccine. the biotech company offering the highest levels of protection against all variants, includ

as you can see here, this is in utah. it's all because we get the shift of wind and the water comes down. the water very quickly filling those neighborhoods. you never know what happens underneath the roads either. they could quickly disintegrate. today, the flash flood watches, anywhere from las vegas to los angeles, san diego valley and mountains, apple valley, all could see flash flooding. you get dry lightning in new oregon and that starts new floods. unfortunately, the monsoon doing major damage. >>> we're going to go to washington now and the committee to investigate the january 6th insurrection. house speaker nancy pelosi under fire from the gop leadership, told me the process is fire. >> we have to, again, ignore the antics of those who do not want to find the truth. we will find the truth. that truth will have the confidence of the american people because it will be done patriotically and not in a partisan way. >> congressional correspondent is on capitol hill with the latest. good morning, rachel. >> reporter: g

obtained leads directly from sources and provided them to, among others, coaching sales floors operated in utah and nevada. >> it's like the chain of command. you're finding who is involved. you're always after the bigger and bigger fish. >> reporter: of the prosecutors breakdown, shah's attorney says the government lobs this absurd claim. this is their latest made up allegation, and like all others, totally unsupported by evidence. the reality is she's totally innocent. >> that hurt me. >> reporter: over the course of the show shah has flaunted her luxurious lifestyle. >> you might have a case of someone like her leveraging her fame and her wealth and her stardom and for a lot of people in the world that's very influential. >> reporter: in that new tier of defendants two people have been handed down prison sentences, one serving 8 months, the other 60 months. shah's trial is scheduled for october. matt? >> elwyn, thank you. >>> coming up on "good morning america," tips to cure your covid insomnia sleep issues. >>> matt, this one is for you. taylor swift surprising fans revealing an alternate v

kennedy, california, 92 and sunny, and roosevelt, utah, a high temperature of 97 degrees. happy fourth, everybody. >>> od morning to you. it's gray start for most of us. temperatures are climb through the low 70s in emeryville. low to mid-80s for inland valleys, and looking at more fog tonight through tomorrow mornrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrnrn >> this weather report sponsored by embrill. happy birthday, america. fourth of july weekend. back to you guys. >> okay. thanks, rob. appreciate it. we'll talk to you a little bit later in the show. >>> coming up, the college athletes cashing in on the new opportunities thanks to ncaa rules changes. >>> and independence day looking a whole lot different than last year. how to celebrate safely. a whole lot different than last year. how to celebrate safely. differ year. how to celebrate safely. t we ar. we're team players and artists. designers and do-it-yourselfers. parents and friends. if joint pain is getting in the way of who you are, it's time to talk to your doctor about enbrel. enbrel helps relieve joint pain, and helps stop perm

here in utah the great salt lake is so low they had pulling their boats out of the water. overnight nearly 70 wildfires burning in the west, the behemoth bootleg fire charring 227,000 acres, larger than the area of new york city and just 5% contained. sending this cloud high into the sky. the red apple fire breaking out in washington threatening homes on this hillside. along with the fire danger water levels in reservoirs are dipping well below normal. in utah the great salt lake approaching historic lows. >> normally in a normal water year there is no beach. this is all water. >> reporter: the drought and excessive heat putting pressure on american agriculture communities. >> we're already low water now and i don't know if i'll make it to september, october. >> reporter: in montana ranchers and farmers fending off grasshoppers. the hot dry conditions are optimal for the insects who eat six times their body weight each day. the usda predicts nearly 35 million acres could be impacted by grasshoppers. so that means the devastation of this drought could be seen for years to c

it is a waterfall but looks like it's grabbing some red stone and that sand pushing it over in utah. probably like when you turn the water on for the first time getting that some of that monsoon floe for the first time in utah in two years. the flash flood watches are up. catalina mountains all the way up through parts of colorado. you will be getting rain, >>> good morning. i am >>> now the classic show "turner and hooch," the new version is a disney plus series starring josh peck. erielle reshef caught up with good morningerll >>r: hey, good morning to you, george. josh lit up talking about his new role based on that 1989 classic movie. it follows the unlikely partnership between a u.s. marshal and a pup that starts out a little rough and ends up just right. >> i see him. i'm in pursuit. >> the spin-off the iconic movie "turner and hooch." >> why is there a dog in the office? >> it's a long story, sir. >> it's a continuation of the 1989 film so not to worry, people. we're not messing with your memory. we're not doing a remake of your favorite '80s classic but we are sort of taking

that's why you have flash flooding through new mexico and parts of utah too. let's get the weekend forecast sponsored by target. >>> good morning. we made it to friday. lots of sunshine and surging warped today. as the weekend progresses, temperatures will drop and clouds increase. human next week with a slight chance of storm on tuesday. low 70s to low 80s around the bay. 80s inland until you get to the east bay. 90s there. my accuweather 7-day forecast, >>> we're glad you're with us on this friday morning. we'll be right back. dear stranger. you don't know me... and i don't know you. i don't know that you still dream of getting the band back together. or, that your first love was cricket. i don't know that you fought for your country. that you're going to name your child 'miracle' or, that despite them calling you “chicken legs”, you made it all the way to the top. what i do know? peloton, pick up your pace. breathe. is that in the 22nd minute, last set c'mon when i have nothing left to give. and i doubt. it's you. who shows up for me. give me a little m

gas stations in utah, indiana, oregon and washington saw the largest weekly increases in part because of demand and the lifting of travel restrictions. whit? >> elwyn, help us get through it. you have tips on the best and worst times to be on the road. >> reporter: yeah. so experts say the worst traffic is expected today between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. as for that drive back home on monday you might want to try to get a head start before 1:00 p.m. >> elwyn lopez, thank you so much. eva, over to you. >>> as millions prepare to drive and fly all eyes on the weather. wildfires forcing evacuations out west overnight. and tropical storm elsa is strengthening. ginger tracking it all. good morning, ginger. >> reporter: we have hurricane elsa now. the first hurricane in the atlantic. it's way early. the average is august 14th. we've seen 86 mile per hour winds. it's flying through the west/northwest. then it depends on how far west it goes and how far the bermuda high tries to pull it. we'll see the large cone become more narrow. just to let you know, while we're preparing for heavy rains during t

eagle mountain, utah, 97. time for a look at your local >>> good morning. it's the fourth of july and we started out with partly cloudy conditions. mid-80s this afternoon inland. >>> this weather report sponsored by macy's, which i think used to do a fireworks extravaganza. always a patriotic company. >> the fireworks shows are back this year better than ever. looking forward to that. rob, thank you very much. >>> coming up on "good morning america," we're sending you shopping. how to find the best deals. >>> j.lo ready to release some new music. details in "pop news" with janai. with voltaren arthritis pain gel my husband's got his moves back. an alternative to pain pills voltaren is the first full prescription strength gel for powerful arthritis pain relief... voltaren the joy of movement ♪ ♪ fight fleas and ticks with seresto. eight months continuous protection against fleas and ticks. it's effective, and vet-recommended. seresto. more on ♪ seresto.com ♪ oh, just one. jake from state farm, that "maya markdown” saved me so much on my insurance.

you can see in cedar city, utah, heavy rain caused flash flooding and drivers had issues driving around that. that tropical moisture continues to surge to the north prompting scattered showers and some storms, some of that rain is heavy which is why we have a flash flood watch. hoping the drought in the four corners region, but that drought continues to worsen across california and nevada. heavier rain expected across the rockies. that's what's going on across >>> good morning to you. a cooldown is underway in the inland valleys due to the robust marine layer with temperatures coming down six or 7 degrees east of the caldecott tunnel, but in the meantime fog and drizzle at the shoreline but august will pick up where july left off with seasonal numbers, 79 in fremont as a report of alejo, 81 up around napa and 82 around san >>> now to "deals & steals" home edition. tory johnson is here with huge savings on everything you need to make your home as cozy and convenient as can be. and, of course, you can get all the deals by pointing your camera at the qr code. bottom of the screen. tory, go

monsoon and some flash flood and debris flow may have caused this train derailment in iron county, utah. also lightning. we talked about the flooding rains, 5, 6 inches. this lightning strike pretty vivid stuff, boom. 50,000 degrees fahrenheit, five times hotter than the surface of the sun, dangerous stuff, and it will definitely toast your bagel. 94 in philadelphia today but cooling down to at least a little bit more palatable, seasonable stuff as we g good morning to you. a sunny start in san jose, about 80 today. clouds peeling back to the coast and a bit warm erin land with highs near 90 and the e e >>> this weather report has been sponsored by boar's head. a little boar's head, swiss on a toasted bagel. >> i was going to say like, did you say we'll toast your bagel? >> i couldn't think of any other analogy. >> weather terminology. >> tried to soften the blow. >>> breakfast weather. >> exactly. appreciate that. >>> still ahead here on "good morning america," stepping up and cashing in. teens benefiting from a hot jobs market but is there a downside. >>> and only on "gma," our interv

utah, arizona, new brush fire there burning and in washington state, a new fire as well. this is east of the cascades where we have a really high fire danger today. and you say, okay, is it the heat? the heat is subsiding to what is more normal hot july, but, yes, the all-time heat exponentially took out -- zapped the water out of anything. the water vapor. you can see it there, from spokane down to los angeles, we have red flag warnings, george, all the way back to wyoming. >> and ginger, is there any connection between the drought in the west and the flooding in the east? >> absolutely a connection. that ridge that's been in place and so stubborn out in the west, what goes up must come down. it dips and it brings us the rain showers, the thunderstorms, the damaging winds, and that's exactly what we saw yesterday again in pennsylvania. so this is just outside of philadelphia. bucks county, 6 to 10 inches in just a couple of hours. you know what that does to the roads? fills them with water. people had high water rescues. we got a lot of people out of the water. if it fee

i wanted to share because we are seeing an increase in heat not just from utah but back up in the pacific northwest and also dry lightning and really dry vegetation going to make fire danger high clicking up toward 100 and excessive heat warnings from the gulf coast from mobile over to apalachicola all the way up into iowa. >>> good morning. i am mike nicco. a mix of clouds today but the big story is the inland heat as >>> and now to a surprising >>> and now to a surprising statistic. only 2% of charitable giving goes to women and girls. that's inspiring melinda gates and other female philanthropists to join the equality can't wait challenge making a $40 million donation to women-led organizations and my friend here, eva pilgrim, back with a broadcast exclusive announcement of the winners of this challenge. eva, good morning. >> very exciting announcement. gender inequality is a big issue in this country but this powerhouse group of women is hoping to change that. >> oh, my god. i'm so excited. this is amazing. >> reporter: cheers of elation and hope. >> going to mean a lot to a lot of gi

health officials in utah, where there are no mandatory covid protocols in place, say they investigated outbreaks at ten different summer camps in one week. >> this is perhaps a glimpse of what's to come for the school year which, if that's the case, it's quite concerning. >> reporter: seven children in mississippi are being treated in icus including one younger than a year old. two of the children on ventilators. health experts say they are seeing more severe symptoms in children who test positive for the delta variant. >> i suspect that's probably because this delta variant is imparting a little more severe illness in the pediatric population than those earlier strains that were circulating. >> reporter: for one family in arkansas, a hopeful development. 13-year-old kaia hospitalized with covid is getting taken off a ventilator. >> i had not heard my baby's voice since july 3rd so i'm excited to hear her say hi, mom. >> reporter: and back here in new york city, health officials say more than 98% of those who were hospitalized or died from covid this year were not fully vaccinated. mic