From the queen of country. Dolly parton gives us all a sneak peek of her first christmas album in 30 years. The new track she just released. Well have a sample in the skinny. It is monday, august 24th. Good morning, everyone. Dolly parton bringing it. She is. Shes had quite a year. She has. Shes reading us bedtime stories, coming out with a new christmas album, and theres more, i just cant remember it right now. Helping us get through the ndic. Great to be back with all of you this morning. We missed you. What did i miss last week . So there was this event, it lasted four days, there was a lot of people, there was a lot of zoom, just more zoom meetings. I hear its take two this week, except for different policies, different platforms, different color, blue versus red, left versus right. Well get into that. So yes, i am back. We begin this half hour with the spotlight turning to the gop as day one of the Republican National convention gets under way. The event is opening amid word of a highprofile departure, white house adviser Kellyanne Conway exiting the white house. President trump is touting a possible breakthrough treatment in the f coronavirus with the number of americans testing positive now topping 5. 7 million, the death toll approaching 177,000. And well be hearing from the president in some form or fashion every night this week. Abcs andrea fujii has the latest. Reporter this morning, a major shakeup in the trump administration. Hours before the Republican NationalConvention Kicks off, Kellyanne Conway, one of the longestlasting advisers to the president , is leaving the white house at the end of the month. The announcement coming hours after conways 15yearold daughter posted on social media that shes, quote, pushing for emancipation from her family. In a statement, conway saying shes deeply grateful to the president , saying, for now and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama. Conways husband, george, an outspoken critic of the president , also saying he is withdrawing from the antitrump group, the lincoln project. It comes while President Trump is promising less drama at the rnc in a new interview. Were going to see something that is going to be very uplifting and positive. Reporter after blistering attacks from democrats at their Convention Last week i know a predator when i see one. Reporter President Trump says americans can expect a positive vision this week. I think the overall is going to be a very positive as opposed to a dark. A very, very positive message. Positive on the economy. Reporter as the president prepares to make his pitch for four more years, hes also making a push for a potential coronavirus treatment, announcing the fda is giving emergency use authorization to use convalescent plasma. This is a powerful therapy that transfuses very, very strong antibodies from the blood of recovered patients to help treat patients battling a current infection. Reporter the president has been pushing for its approval. Many Covid Patients credit convalescent plasma with their recoveries. Some experts warn definitive, randomized control studies on blood plasma havent been completed. The president s announcement came one day after he accused what he called the deep state, or whoever at the fda, of trying to delay vaccines and therapeutics until after the election. The fda commissioner was at sundays announcement. The president denying there was political pressure on the agency. This has nothing to do with politics, this has to do with life or death. Reporter in the meantime, the president dismissing comments made by his eldest sister, allegedly heard on a series of recordings sharply criticizing him. The change of stories, the lack of preparation, the lying, the holy [ bleep ]. I mean, what theyre doing with the kids at the border. Reporter the audio, first obtained by the washington post, is reportedly of maryanne trump barry, a former federal judge who has never spoken out publicly against her brother. Donalds out for donald, period. Reporter the reported 15 hours of conversation had not been verified by abc news. In a statement, the white house calling the audio absurd, saying, every day its something else, who cares . A small number of Republican Leaders will be physically present at the convention this week in charlotte, north carolina, but most of the convention will be virtual. Tonight, speakers include South Carolina senator tim scott and donald trump jr. President trump is expected to make an appearance each night of the convention. Mona, kenneth . All right, andrea, thank you. Abc news will be covering the convention tonight through thursday beginning at 7 00 eastern on our streaming channel, abc news live. George stephanopoulos and the Powerhouse Political Team pick things up at 10 00 p. M. On abc. The gulf coast is preparing for an unprecedented double threat from two powerful storms. Marco is forecast to strike first. It could bring heavy rain, strong winds, and dangerous storm surge to parts of louisiana, mississippi, and alabama. Tropical storm laura arrives later this week as a category 2 hurricane. The new Orleans Metro area could take the first hit, and residents are bracing for the worst. This is drone footage from the dominican republic. Lauras blamed for at least three deaths there. We know that marco is weakening, but laura is getting stnder threat. Lets get the latest from accuweathers chris nallan. Mona, kenneth, we are talking about a storm that is bringing with it the potential for quite a bit of storm surge across the gulf coast, and thats where were watching very closely. That is marco, even though a tropical storm, it could still pack a punch. Were also watching laura very closely. That could turn into a hurricane across the gulf as we head into your tuesday and wednesday. Mona, kenneth . Back to you. Chris, thank you. Now to the california wildfires. Two of the largest in state history have destroyed more than 1 million acres. At least seven deaths are blamed on the fires. The latest announced yesterday after a mans body was found in santa cruz. Abcs Kaylee Hartung has more on the growing danger. Reporter california still battling two of the largest fires ever recorded in the state. Littering dry landscapes with burnedout homes and cars. New lightning storms are forecast to make a dire situation even worse. Youre going to see some abundant lightning, gusty outflow winds up to 50 or 60 ho direct hit. Reporter many homeowners dangerously taking matters into their own hands. Im going down with the ship. Im staying. I have sprinklers on the roof of both my house and my barn. We saved a lodge and about 20 cabins below. One house just burnt down. Reporter officials warning residents not to be heroes. This is the Mission Today as theyre trying to get containment lines. Theyre fighting fire with fire. With resources stretched thin, crews doing all they can. How do you keep going . A lot of adrenaline and a lot of passion, a lot of love for the job. Knowing that if you sit down and you rest, someone might not have a house. Reporter more than 14,000 of those firefighters are tackling the hundreds of fires now burning throughout california. Some of the states heralded redwoods falling victim. Over 1 million acres have been scorched, an area larger than the state of rhode island. This is the mission, they are fighting fire with fire. Crews like this are trying to get containment lines. These conditions are quickly worsening, visibility is low, the winds are picking up, and there is still a threat of more lightning strikes. Kaylee hartung, abc news in dalton, california. All right, kaylee, thank you. Now to a 9yearold boy from georgia who knows how to rise above all others. On july 10th, j. T. Hadd became the youngest person to solo pilot a hot air balloon. He was still 8 when he made the historic trip, soaring 400 feet into the air. The fourth grader traveled about a mile and a half in 20 minutes on that solo flight. The interest in flying comes naturally j. T. s dad has been piloting balloons for 45 years and owns a hot air balloon company. When he landed, ask me who was the first person he called. Who did he call . He called bobby bradley, who broke the record at 9 years old in 2011 in new mexico. And apparently j. T. Vowed, at 4 years old, that he was going to beat that record. And look at that, hard work, determination. He called at 8, hes now 18, guess what i did, broke your record. Click, ouch. Coming up, why the nfl is now putting some teams on hold. Plus if youre sick of working from home, why not work from paradise . The enticing deals that are now being offered by tourism starred resorts in the caribbean. And the surprise sneak peek at the new batman movie. The new depths of darkness that Robert Pattinson is taking the caped crusader. Its batman, mona. Thats later in the skinny. The nfl may have a glitch in its coronavirus testing. The league is looking into 77 positive tests from one lab in new jersey which later came up negative in an additional round of testing. 11 teams were affected. The positives led to some revamp of their sunday practice plans. The season begins in 18 days. For so many americans, working from home felt like a great idea back in april, now beginning to really lose its appeal. Now a growing number of hotel chains and resorts are enticing stircrazy professionals to pack up their laptops and work from paradise. Heres abcs eva pilgrim. Reporter as millions of children and parents get ready for Remote Learning and Remote Working this fall, a new trend is emerging. Doing it all from paradise during the pandemic. I went to jamaica on the very first day that it opened to anyone outside of the nationals. It just seemed like a nobrainer. They thrive off tourism, im a tourist. It was just the perfect alignment for working from home. Reporter and shes not the only one. High School Teacher lamine gobe is going to work from barbados for a full year. It looked like a great opportunity. Reporter barbados is touting its socalled welcome stamp plan, an offer to work from paradise for 12 months. Lamine saw a post on social media and is heading there in october. I think more people should be interested in going abroad to work remotely. If you can, why not . Right . You get to sina paradise. Bermuda is offering a residential certificate plan. A 263 application fee could land you flexibility to travel there for a year. For many, its a onceinalifetime opportunity. If you can figure out a way to get there in a manner you feel safe with, it may be that perfect balance of getting a bit of travel and adventure while still maintaining the safety and routine that you need for your family to get through the year. Reporter summer hull is a mom on a mission, showing families how they can do this affordably right here in the u. S. She writes for the popular travel site, the points guy, and is planning to relocate her family for fall on a budget. Theres also opportunity to use your credit card points, your hotel points. Reporter hull says, now that kids are learning from home, take advantage of offseason pricing. Our thanks to our friend eva. My staycation last week seems wasted now. When we come back, what taylor swift just did for a fourth week in a row. And a prechristmas sneak peek from the queen of country herself. The skinny live from the caribbean is next. Skinny just gimme the skinny skinny time on this monday, starting with taylor swift breaking records. Her album folklore is spending its fourth consecutive week at number one on the billboard 200. Taylor is the first woman to achieve this since 2015. The last female to chart for four weeks at number one was adele with her at bum 25. You better do it, taylor. Next to an early Holiday Preview from dolly parton. Earlier this month, the queen of country revealed shes releasing her first christmas album in 30 years. Ov tndhe aa uerath e gi wrape ngle, mary, did you know . Take a listen. Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod and when you kissed your little baby youve kissed the face of god oh mary did you know wow. I like it. A Holly Dolly Christmas will be released in its entirety on october 2nd, just in time for us to have some fresh holiday tunes while we get a head start on our christmas baking. I love some dolly parton. Some of these songs, its like shes talking to some girlfriends. Mary, did you know . Jolene, please dont take my man. Right. Shes always just talking to people. Islands in a stream that is what you are la la la look at that, mona kenny 58yearold tom cruise was spotted leaping from a speeding motorbike off a ramp 50 stories high. Roll the video oh, no, wait. We cant show it to you because we dont have the money, we dont have the budget here at world news now. What we can say is we can describe it for you. It looked pretty awesome. Dont worry, he was wearing a harness secured by a giant safety cable. Who needs video when youve got that description . Cruise is reportedly filling the as yet unnamed eighth and final Mission Impossible movie, but the clock is reportedly winding down on all those doityourself stunts that tom cruise loves so much. Look at him running. Tom cruise has that same run in everything. The jack reacher movies, Mission Impossible. Dont get used to it. Because apparently an insider tells the daily mail hes going to stop doing his own stunts once he turns 60, so that runs going to look a little different in Mission Impossible 9. Ith my i need a cane for u kn getti ouont do your own snt r me. N ey paye to dtunts next, the surprise sneak peek at the new batman with kendis gibson. Oh, yeah. Kendis gibson is my doppelganger stuntman, hes shorter. He runs straight. Okay, look. Its batman, everybody. The first trailer for the upcoming reboot the batman was leaked online ahead of its premiere at the dc Fandom Convention on saturday. From the looks of it, Robert Pattinson is taking the caped crusader to a whole new level. If you are justice, please do not lie. What is the price for your blind eye . Wow. So good. The batman is set to hit theaters on october 21st next year, 2021. When everything, all of our problems, will be solved. 2021, we cant wait for you. Finally, a juicy bit of hollywood folklore now confirmed. Remember the 80s classic weekend at bernies . Now were hearing the flick about the guys who pretend their murdered employee is still alive, maybe based on a true story. Drew barrymore says this happened to her grandfather, who was dug up and brought to a poker game. Welcome back. In the universe of world records, no feat seems to have been beaten so many times and so often as the socalled cannonball run record. Now its happened again. Call it the pandemic record. Our own speed demon, will ganss, is here with more on that. Will, is it you . I wish it was me. I dont even have a car, though, and my bicycle definitely wasnt going to break the record. This past may, a solo driver broke doug and arnies previously held cannonball run record, making from it new york city to l. A. In 25 55. But this duo wasnt about to let their reign of the roads come to an end. Arnie toman and doug tabbutt have a serious need for speed, the guys hitting the road to reclaim their cannonball run record. Because of the lack of traffic, we were able to make it out of manhattan in 4 30 and got stuck at one red light, and that annoyed us. Reporter the duo leaving manhattan at 6 00 p. M. During lockdown to cross the midwest under cover of darkness. We had an Incredible Team of scouts lined up that had our backs, that wanted to see us get the record. Reporter those scouts taking one for the team when necessary, speeding past state troopers and exiting to get a ticket, clearing the way for arnie and doug to keep pace. Across the midwest, we were hauling. That was where we had a couple of 125mileanhour averages across multiple states. Reporter by the time they reached denver, their average speed, a casual 120 miles per hour. At no point did we exceed 175 miles an hour. Reporter something the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration points out is incredibly dangerous. In 2018, speeding made up 26 of total traffic fatalities. But the guys maintain they never put anyone in danger thanks to trafficfree roads during quarantine. Only once did someone figure out their car wasnt actually a police car. He knew it was an audi dressed up to look like a patrol car, and thats what came over the scanners. Reporter once again, they were too quick to be taught. 25 39 after leaving manhattan, arnie and doug pulled into a parking lot in redondo beach, california, beating all previous records. In all, the guys drove 2,816 miles in 25 39. Their overall average speed, 110 miles per hour. The only time doug said he was worried was when he thought he was having tire troubles. Turns out their audis lane aist s tued oand coti each time doug made a maneuver, he felt the car go like this. They said they turned it off, and they were good to go. That will always get you. Im always trying to figure out how to turn these things off. Thats when i had a car. Right now on america this morning, double threat. Were going to get basically a right hook from marco and then a left hook from laura. Two storms making history barreling toward the coast expected to hit within two days of each other. Residents of new orleans marking 15 years since katrina on alert. The new warning to peep outside of the evacuation zone as we get new glimpses of the deadly aftermath in the caribbean. Breaking right now, anger growing after the Police Shooting of a black man in wisconsin. Protests erupting. Fires set. Police imposing a curfew overwhat the governor is sayings morning. Bowing out. The shakeup at the white house. Kellyanne conway stepping down. What led to the sudden