One of the biggest cruise lines now selling ships and canceling trips. Country homecoming. Taylor swifts return to her roots. The musical moment seven years in the making. And swing and a miss. The mistake by this lumberjack leaving one unlucky homeowner with an axe to grind. Good thursday morning, everyone. We begin with the wrath of hurricane sally. The storm now turning deadly. And its not over. Millions of people from alabama to the carolinas are on alert for dangerous flooding. Areas around atlanta could see 8 inches of rain. Or flooding in the florida view panhandle. Two feet of rain fell in pensacola. More than 500,000 Power Outages are reported as the region begins to pick up the pieces. Overnight sally turning deadly. At least one person found dead after the powerful storm swept through the gulf coast leaving a trail of destruction. The sheer damage of this building. The whole second half ripped to the ground. Reporter docks turned into driftwood. Trees and power lines snapped like twigs. Winds topped 100 miles an hour shearing off the steep of this church. Evacuations could be in the thousands, so its going to be a long time, folks, you know, for us to come out of this thing. Reporter officials throughout the region race to help hundreds of people trapped by the rising floodwaters. We were in chest deep water. Reporter firefighters have been going house by damaged house cutting through trees to reach those trapped. We just did not expect that. I think a lot of the people didnt realize what this w ski. Use was shaking. It really was. The water just rose. It was coming straight down our street. The rain was pouring through the cracks of the door. At a point it was jaws throwing in. Reporter abcs senior meteorologist rob marciano was in florida as sally made landfall as a category 2 hurricane. The wind has just been relentless here in downtown pensacola. This is main street, and its just nuking white caps with this storm surge. Debris, traffic lights littering this street. Reporter from pensacola to panama city, dozens of roads washed out. One car even swept away when the road collapsed beneath it. A huge section of a major bridge swept away after a construction barge slammed into it. It busted loose. Reporter another barge forced into this familys backyard by the storm surge. The wind was furious. The waves were crashing and water was coming in all of their windows and doors, and im thinking, you know, we could end up out there in the water. We could drown. Reporter in alabama counties under curfew overnight as officials try to assess the damage. Its bad. I mean, we have mass destruction. It looks like a war zone. Reporter buildings along the coast stripped bare. Marinas and docks now in shambles while boats are beached hundreds of feet from the water. If this doesnt show you the power of water, nothing will. This boat was ripped from where it was tied down. Reporter and now oh, my god, this is outside our window. Reporter residents have live more than the rain and wind to worry about. This massive alligator was seen slinking through a neighborhood in alabama. This is why we dont want to go outside out here. Now the big concern is flash flooding today across atlanta and into the carolinas. A closer look at the forecast in just a few moments. Now to President Trump contradicting his own Health Officials saying Robert Redfield the director of the cdc was wrong when he told congress that a vaccine wont be widely available until next year. Trump suggested that redfield misspoke when he said wearing a mask is currently the most effective way to fight the virus. Abcs Andrew Dymburt has the latest from washington. Reporter this morning, President Trump muddying his administrations message on masks and a vaccine time line. The confusion starting wednesday on capitol hill when cdc director Robert Redfield told lawmakers not to expect widespread distribution of a vaccine until next spring. Redfield testifying under oath that limited quantities of vaccinations are likely to begin for the most vulnerable this fall and that two doses will be required. If youre asking me when is it going to be generally available to the American Public to begin to take advantage of the vaccine to get back to our regular life, i think were probably looking at late second quarter, Third Quarter 2021. Reporter hours later the president said redfield was mistaken and claimed the government could start distributing a Coronavirus Vaccine as early as october. I dont think he when he said it, i believe he was confused. Reporter during his testimony, redfield also emphasized the importance of wearing a mask. I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against covid than when i take a covid vaccine. Reporter but the president contradicted redfield on that subject as well. Number one, its not more effective by any means than a vaccine and i called him about that. Those were the two things i discussed with him, and i believe that if you ask him, he would probably say that he didnt understand the question, because i said to him, i asked him those two questions, the one question which we covered and the mask question. Reporter less than an hour after the president s briefing last night, even more confusion. The cdc sending a statement to abc news on both masks and redfields comments on a vaccine time line saying, dr. Redfield was answering a question he thought was in regard to the time period in which all americans would have completed their covid vaccination. He was not referring to the time period when covid19 vaccine doses would be made available to all americans. The statement also saying that with no vaccine, the best defense we currently have against the virus are the important mitigation efforts of wearing a mask, washing your hands and social distancing, but one hour later redfields office then retracted that and tried to clarify his vaccine time line. It was not immediately clear if redfield was standing by his original testimony at odds with the president or if hed be issuing a whole new statement. Youre twice contradicting the director of your own cdc on the science who testified before congress today. No, hes correcting himself. Why should the American People i think he misunderstood the questions. Heres the bottom line, distribution will be very rapid. He may not know that, maybe hes not aware of that and maybe hes not dealing with the military, et cetera, like i do. Distribution is going to be very rapid. Why should the American People trust you on the pandemic when youre contradicting the head of the cdc and youre because of the great job weve done. Reporter when asked about a comment about the confusion, joe biden replied, he, quote, trusts scientists and not donald trump. Andrew, thank you. New details this morning about attempts to control federal officials considered using a socalled heat ray against the crowd in Lafayette Square emitting a beam that feels like fire on the skin. That was about the use of force against protesters. One of the Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies shot during an ambush has been released from the hospital. His partner still in intensive care. The deputies were in their squad car when a gunman opened fire. A 300,000 reward is being offered in the search for that gunman. Security concerns at Wrigley Field in chicago. A drone flying above the field last night forced the cubs indians game to be delayed. Umpires cleared the field. Seven minutes later the game resumed. Fenway park had a similar drone delay last month. The long awaited memorial to dwight d. Eisenhower will be dedicated today featuring statues depicting him speaking to his troops before dday and later as president. The 100 million project was started in 2017 after years of disputes. Eisenhower is only the seventh president to get a landmark tribute near the national mall. Time now for a look at your thursday morning weather. Good morning. Sally is working its way through georgia and the carolinas out to the atlantic as a heavy rainmaker. Already some very heavy rain throughout the Morning Hours into georgia and the carolinas which, by the way, do not need more rain this year, and some of this rain will make it as far north as virginia and the delmarva as well as washington, d. C. Before it moves offshore into friday morning. Another 2 to 4 inches in some locations. Then were watching this. Showers, thunderstorms in the gulf. Could be something next week for texas. For accuweather im meteorologist melissa constanzer. Coming up, an easy way to save money on your cell phone data plan. How one worker took cover for days as a Massive Wildfire was raging around him. Plus, the american propit provides property tax mostfairnessble. For disabled homeowners like cynde, stuck living with a broken elevator. Nineteen helps wildfire victims, like ellie, one of 24,000 whove lost their homes to fire. And seniors like pam who need to move closer to family or medical care, without a tax penalty. Prop 19 limits taxes on our most vulnerable. Yes on 19. How will 2020 census data where there are more people, there are more needs for public services. Thats why the census is used by the government to inform funding decisions each year. But thats not all. Its also used by nonprofits to inform services, by businesses to create jobs, and even by students for school projects. Understanding how the population changes helps us shape communities across the country for the better. Shape your future. Start here. Visit 2020census. Gov. Back now with a very close call. A car crashing into this store in turkey, just barely missing those two kids whose parents were shopping in the area. Three people were injured and are this good condition. Were expecting more gusty winds and dry conditions across parts of the west today fueling those historic wildfires. This morning, we have a new survival story from oregon where one fire trapped a man inside a dam where he works for days. Abcs andrea fujii reports. Reporter as the beechy creek fire raged outside in detroit, oregon, dam operator mike pomeroi was hunkered down inside. He had come to check on the dam that provides water to the people of salem worried the fire could damage it. As the fire approached he tried to evacuate but was driven back by smoke and flames. I have a safety ring by the door, and i was going to wet that down and make a dash for it and grab the ring and jump in the river if i got chased out of here. Reporter he lost all communication with the outside world trapped inside the multilevel facility, which was starting to fill with smoke. He set up a cot and supplies in a hallway knowing if anyone were to come, theyd find him. It was a continuous process of trying to think of things. I was brainstorming, well, what about this, what about that and trying to come up with solutions and problems. Reporter outside the dam the beechy creek fire, one of several fires in the Jackson County area, destroyed nearly 2,400 residential structures. Multiple fires also raging in washington and california and overnight word that 250 u. S. Marines and sailors will now be sent to help fight the creek fire burning in central california. Back in oregon, with no sense of when hed be able to escape, pomeroys concern turned to his family. I kind of knew that they were very, very worried about me. Reporter nearly two days later a relief crew finally made it to the dam, and with pomeroys help, they got the dams generators back online. Officials with the army corps of engineers credits pomeroy for protecting the water supply by preventing more damage. Kenneth, mona. Incredible story there, andrea, thank you. And business news, a new idea to save you money on your phone bill. At t is considering a plan to cut 5 or 10 off customers monthly bills if those customers are willing to put up with advertising on their phones but even if the idea is 5 of product, its still at least a year away from becoming a reality. Coming up, a new announcement about the return of college sports. Also good news in the fight against covid19 for people who wear glasses. One more mile look reply all look own your look. With fewer lines. Theres only one botox® cosmetic. Its the only one. Fda approved. To temporarily make frown lines. Crows feet. 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Just press firmly and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surfaces. For 45 days. Were back with a costly bar crawl. An american living in germany could face ten years in prison for ignoring coronavirus quarantine rules. She allegedly went on a bar crawl even though she had symptoms of the virus. Officials say she may have new signs of trouble in the cruise business. Carnival is selling at least 18 ships and canceling four more trips scheduled next year reportedly losing 700 million a month due the pandemic. People still are booking cruises, and if we can get through this, the cruise industry can come back and probably even continue to grow and maybe go back to growing as rapidly as it was before. The issue is getting through this next year. An cysts say the cdcs no sail order is in effect through this month and will likely be extended even though some cruises in europe are already sailing again. Of course, its not just the cruise industry thats hurting. A study by yelp found 60 of businesses that closed during the pandemic do not expect to reopen again. College basketball fans can now circle a date on their calendar. The ncaa has announced the basketball season will start november 25th. Thats two weeks later than planned due to coronavirus precautions. Big ten fo players will be tested daily for coronavirus. Sources say the white house even offered to provide covid19 tests. President trump is now urging the pac12 to follow suit. Wearing eye glasses may go a long way to preventing covid19. Earlier i smoke with dr. Shashank ravi about a new study and we also discussed new concern about the accuracy of covid testing and screening techniques. Dr. Ravi, lets begin with that headline for those who wear glasses. Researchers say you could be five times less likely to be diagnosed with covid19. Whats your take on this . Kenneth, one of a few interesting studies that have shown in an observational nature individuals with eyeglasses were found to have it at a lower rate than others in their community and important to note we dont know exactly why this is. That would require a more randomized control study. It could be theyre touching their face less or that individuals with eyeglasses just have different habits than other groups. A new study out on screening methods and just how anding inaccurate they can be. Whats 9 takeaways here . Important to distinguish between screening and testing. Screening refers to asking questions or checking a temperature to determine who may have the virus. This is different than testing, which is an actual laboratory test, which is either a nose swab or a saliva test, which can show with much more accuracy whether an individual has the virus. Earlier we reported on the director of the cdc and President Trump offering conflicting messages in the last 24 hours when it comes to a time line for a covid19 vaccine and also when it comes to the importance of wearing a mask. What do you make of this confusion coming out of washington . Well, i think most in the medical community would agree that President Trump is being overly optimistic. Remember, even after Clinical Trials are done, itll still take some time even at a rapid speed to get approval. Whenever a vaccine is approved, it wont suddenly change what were doing in that it will still take over half a year for us to get back to some resemblance of our precovid lives. Our thanks to dr. Ravi there. Who is playing joe biden on saturday night live. Reaction to the announcement. Taylors big night at the cmas. But first a reminder, you can watch america this morning each day on our streaming channel, abc newslive, starting at 3 30 a. M. 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Taylor swift returned with an accoustic performance of her new song, betty. Yeah, i showed up at your party were you happy will you love me will you kiss me on the porch in front of all your sfrnd also last nig carrie ain t queens of country from fat si klein to Reba Mcentire and dolly parton. Next the reaction after saturday night live announced jim carrey will play joe biden. Producers say it was carrey who expressed interest in the role. Reaction has been mixed. Some cant wait for the jim carrey versus alec baldwin. Others are wondering why Jason Sudeikis is no longer playing biden. Tell us what you think. We want to hear from you. Next a texas woman has saved her dads taco truck using the power of social media. Get this, his business has been hit hard by the pandemic with sales hitting rock bottom on saturday. So she turned to twitter with a message saying, quote, my dads struggling, he only sold 6 struggling, he only sold 6 today. 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