the president has called her an important voice. tonight, joe biden calling her, quote, an absolute disgrace and that the president is also trying to scare suburban voters. and tonight, one of the president's staunchest allies now testing positive, just before he was going to board air force one with president trump. the new interview tonight. the president pressed about reports of russia's alleged bounties on u.s. troops. russia allegedly paying the taliban. the president pressed on his recent phone call with vladimir putin, did it come up? the president saying the call was to discuss other things. and the major move involving 12,000 u.s. troopsonedn germany. a key u.s. ally. here at home tonight, the alarming images. the partial bridge collapse as a train goes off the tracks. on high alert in the northeast tonight. the sharks, nine sightings off new york shores in just the last two days. it comes after a deadly attack, the wife and mother who was killed off maine. and we're also tracking that tropical threat now passing near puerto rico. and the shift in the track tonight. what it now means for florida and the east as this moves north. good evening and it's great to have you with us here on this wednesday night. and we begin tonight with that grim new milestone. the death toll in this country now topping 150,000 from the coronavirus. 150,000 lives lost. so many families affected in this pandemic. tonight, the federal government now pointing to 98 hot spots, they say now emerging across 30 states. some of them where the virus had already been slowed. more than 4.4 million americans testing positive and, of course, that death toll tonight. florida reporting a record number of deaths in the last 24 hours. 217 more deaths. more than 9,000 new cases there. texas tonight reporting 313 deaths and 9,000 new cases there, a total number of cases in texas now more than 400,000, joining california, florida and new york. and the emotional debate tonight in jeffersonville, indiana, for one, parents were told they could choose virtual or in-class. some parents saying they had no choice but to send their children, even if they fear for their health, saying they have no choice because they have to work. that is their reality. vice president pence and education secretary betsy devos paying a visit to a private school in north carolina. secretary devos saying there is no national plan for reopening schools. and so we begin tonight on all of this, including those new hot spots and the debate, what are parents to do with the school year about to begin and so many unanswered questions. abc's victor oquendo leading us off. >> reporter: tonight, the country topping a once unimaginable toll. 150,000 american lives lost to the coronavirus. florida and texas seeing their deadliest days yet. doctors are pushed to the breaking point. >> they're exhausted. there's not a deep bench of physicians. >> reporter: e.r. doctor robert rodriguez is back in his hometown of brownsville, texas, helping on the front lines. >> we're trying everything, but these patients are extremely, extremely sick. >> reporter: behind every patient, a family. in arizona, 20-year-old adrian garcia, who had diabetes, lost his battle with the virus. his entire family was infected, but adrian was the only one who didn't recover. he leaves behind a 3-month-old daughter. >> for the average person with no underlying health conditions, you'll be okay. we're okay. but my son is not. >> reporter: the nation's death toll is surging. an internal fema memo obtained by abc news revealing a 30% inkreegs in deaths from the previous week. homeland security identifying 98 emerging hot spots across 30 states. and tonight, a new front in the war on covid. dr. anthony fauci telling our dr. jen ashton he's concerned about cases ticking up in states like ohio, tennessee, kentucky and indiana. >> which is a sure-fire hint that you may be getting into the same sort of trouble with those states that the southern states got into trouble. >> reporter: today in jeffersonville, indiana, about 70% of students were back in school with masks and social distancing. parents can choose virtual or in-person learning. some parents feel they have little choice. >> honestly, the options were limited. my husband and i both work outside of the home. >> reporter: in florida, latoya floyd is a single mother of two, an essential worker at a grocery store. she's worried about sending her kids back to the classroom. >> i absolutely have no choice but to send them to school, because i work 45 hours a week. >> reporter: with the debate raging over safely reopening schools, doctors in florida demanding more robust safety measures. >> putting hundreds and thousands of young people, teachers and staff together in enclosed spaces like school buildings is an invitation for a covid-19 super spreader event. >> reporter: officials taking no chances south of orlando, ordering nearly 300 students to self-quarantine, after one person who attended an outdoor graduation ceremony tested positive. today, the vice president, who has pushed for the reopening of in-person classes, visiting a private elementary school in north carolina, where teachers and students wore masks. taking off his mask for a time to talk to kids. >> we really do believe it's in the best interest of our children to be back in the classroom. >> reporter: education secretary betsy devos acknowledging there is no national plan for schools. >> there's not a national superintendant, nor should there be, therefore, there's not a national plan for reopening. >> reporter: here in miami-dade county, the nation's fourth largest school district, they'll be starting the year with online learning. and that's the same story in other major cities in florida. but other districts will start with in-person classes, something that the governor repeatedly pushed for. just today, he said, if his kids were old enough, he'd have no problem sending them back to school. david? >> all right, victor oquendo leading us off. victor, thank you. tonight, president trump once again saying he supports that controversial doctor who said masks don't work and who pushed hydroxychloroquine, along with the president, even though his own team of advisers and doctors have said it's dangerous and ineffective for treating covid-19. that doctor in the past has said that illnesses are caused by demons and witches. tonight, joe biden taking aim, saying the doctor is an absolute disgrace. and a key supporter of president trump, a congressman tonight, has now tested positive for the virus, just before he was going to board air force one. abc's mary bruce on it all. >> reporter: president trump today doubled down on his support for a fringe doctor who is spreading lies about the coronavirus, even after learning she claims demons and witches cause illnesses. >> i was very impressed with her. i know nothing about her. i had never seen her before. but certainly you can put her up and let her have a voice. >> reporter: trump had retweeted a video of that doctor denouncing the use of masks and promoting hydroxychloroquine, even though the nation's top health officials warn the anti-malaria drug is ineffective at treating covid-19 and potentially dangerous. joe biden today urged the president to knock it off. >> president trump should stop tweeting and start doing something about it, damn it. and stop going on and talking about this crazy woman he talked about last night about -- who's an absolute disgrace. >> reporter: one of the people who spread that misleading video, the chief of staff for republican congressman louie gohmert. today, gohmert announced he's tested positive himself. >> i'm asymptomatic. i don't have any of the symptoms that are listed as part of covid-19. >> reporter: the congressman has frequently been spotted on the hill without a mask. sources tell us his staff has even been scolded for wearing them. >> masks really complicate things. this is the first time in american history when we have punished or restricted people who are not sick. >> reporter: just yesterday, he was seen walking alongside attorney general bill barr, neither of them in a mask. barr's staff says the attorney general is now getting tested. the congressman sat for hours in two separate hearings yesterday. tonight, senior lawmakers from both parties going into quarantine. gohmert himself only learned he was positive because he was required to take a test before he was set to fly with the president. >> now that i apparently have it, i will be very, very careful to make sure i don't give it to anybody else. >> reporter: today, as he prepared to drive to texas to self-quarantine, gohmert promised to wear a mask, quote, religiously. >> all right, so, let's get to mary tonight. because we know moments ago, house speaker nancy pelosi now announcing anyone on the house floor must wear a mask. and mary, you reported there tonight that joe biden is taking aim again at the president and his handling of the pandemic, but biden making news himself overnight, after that image appeared of his own notes while speaking to reporters before we came on the air last night. in those notes, we could all see the talking points on senator kamala harris. a lot of people trying to read the tea leaves in the last 24 hours. >> reporter: david, photographers there getting a glimpse of biden's notes yesterday and right there on top, talking points about senator kamala harris. biden's former rival now under consideration to be his running mate. and the first note there, saying, quote, do not hold grudges. biden says he will make his choice next week. david? >> mary bruce on the campaign trail. mary, thank you. we turn next here tonight to the move involving 12,000 u.s. troops. the pentagon transferring those troops from germany, a key u.s. ally. there has been immediate reaction to this tonight. and a new interview with the president, after reports russia allegedly paid bounties to the taliban for the killing of u.s. troops in afghanistan. the president was asked about his recent call with vladimir putin and whether the safety of our troops was brought up. here's terry moran. >> reporter: tonight, after those reports that russia might have been paying bounties to the taliban to kill u.s. troops in afghanistan, president trump admitting in an interview with axios that he never even raised the matter in a call with vladimir putin last week. >> we discussed numerous things, we did not discuss that, no. >> and you've never discussed that with him? >> i have never discussed it with him, no. >> reporter: trump also denied he'd heard anything about the bounties, despite reports the intel did make it into the president's daily brief. >> it never reached my desk. you know why? because they didn't think it -- intelligence, they didn't think it was real. >> it was in your written brief, though. >> they didn't think it was worthy of -- i wouldn't mind -- if it reached my desk, i would have done something about it. it never reached my desk. >> reporter: when asked about russia supplying arms to the taliban, trump said the u.s. did the same thing in afghanistan, too. >> well, we supplied weapons when they were fighting russia, too. you know, when they were fighting, when the taliban -- in afghanistan. >> that's a different era. >> well, it's a different -- i'm just saying, yes. i'm just saying, we did that, too. >> reporter: and the president also making a major strategic move in europe, withdrawing a third of u.s. troops from germany, citing his longstanding gripe that germany doesn't pay its fair share for defense in europe. >> we don't want to be the suckers anymore. >> reporter: there was bipartisan condemnation of the move. those american troops in germany have been the cornerstone of u.s. security in europe for decades. senator mitt romney calling the withdrawal "a grave error" and "a slap in the face of a friend and ally." the biden campaign blasted trump in a statement, saying, "the withdrawal does not reflect a thoughtful defense strategy. this is a gift to vladimir putin." david, nearly half of those 12,000 troops being culled out of germany, they'll be rotated to other parts of eastern europe. the pentagon saying they'll help deter russian aggression, but president trump made crystal clear, this is a lot more about punishing germany than deterring russia. david? >> all of this with the election nearing. terry moran, thank you tonight. we're going to turn next this evening to that partial bridge collapse in arizona. the flames after a train carrying hazardous materials derailed. it happened in tempe. the bridge partially collapsing there. some of the cars falling, as well. and abc's clayton sandell is on the scene tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the flaming freight train inferno outside phoenix, arizona, derailing on a bridge in tempe just after 6:00 this morning. >> got a fire on the mill avenue train bridge. >> reporter: part of that bridge collapsed, a mess of twisted metal, tracks and train cars falling into a park below. nearly 100 firefighters raced to the scene, as flames raced to engulf cars loaded with lumber, grain and other products. >> the fire is traveling north along the train bridge, which is making it extraordinarily difficult for our firefighters to fight. >> reporter: union pacific says tanker cars that fell off the bridge contain a hazardous and highly flammable chemical. the fire department says one tanker is leaking and is using heavy equipment to pull the car upright, stop the leak and prevent another fire. as flames raged, a light rail passenger train on a nearby bridge slowly pushed its way through the smoke. valley metro rail telling us it was safer for this final train to pass through than stop on the bridge. federal investigators now working to figure out why the derailment happened. and david, firefighters tell us that the chemical leaking from that tanker ignites very easily, which is what makes this such a delicate cleanup operation. they say it could last for days. and keep in mind, the crews are doing all this work in the heat. temperatures hovering around 110 degrees. david? >> yeah, still some very tough hours ahead. clayton sandell, thank you. now to minneapolis tonight. authorities say they are now searching for a man that they allege is seen in a viral video, smashing windows and inciting violence after the death of george floyd. they say he is a white supremacist who wanted to fuel racial unrest. here's alex perez. >> reporter: tonight, authorities in minneapolis say they have finally identified the man they claim incited days of violent protests there after george floyd was killed. dubbed "the umbrella man" on social media, he was captured in this viral video breaking windows at this autozone, dressed in black, holding an umbrella. in a court filing this week, police identifying him as a white supremacist. brad svenson recorded the may 27th incident. >> it was strange, because he was just casually walking through this war-like space. >> reporter: according to court documents, the man also spray painted the words "free expletive for everyone zone" on the business's doors. not long after, looting and fires began in the area, police say. an officer telling the court, until "umbrella man," the protests had been relatively peaceful. this individual's sole aim was to incite violence. after a tip, investigators zeroing in on the 32-year-old, police say also a known member of a whites-only motorcycle gang. and david, investigators are working to obtain the man's cell phone location data. at this point, charges have not yet been filed. david? >> alex perez with us tonight. alex, thank you. there are questions tonight after an arrest at a rally here in new york city by the nypd's warrant squad. a team of plainclothes officers grabbing a woman and putting her in an unmarked car while bike cops held the crowd back. witnesses recording it all. the nypd tonight saying it was executing a warrant for the arrest of 18-year-old nikki stone, seen in this video they say vandalizing several surveillance cameras. she was booked and released. witnesses say it was excessive. there is growing concern over sharks in the northeast. nine sightings in just two days and it comes, of course, after that deadly attack, the wife and mother who did not survive. here's eva pilgrim. >> reporter: tonight, lifeguards on alert and helicopters patrolling beaches near new york city after multiple days of shark sightings. at least three sightings today. >> i saw a fin of a shark. >> reporter: on monday, lifeguards in hempstead, new york, spotted a shark near swimmers about five feet from shore. >> people were screaming and yelling a little bit, but the lifeguards did a great job of getting everyone out. >> reporter: the shark identified as a bull shark, which can weigh up to 500 pounds and grow to 11 feet. >> they're aggressive creatures and the biggest concern is, they go to the shoreline. >> reporter: the warnings in new york coming after 63-year-old julie dimperio holowach was attacked and killed by a great white shark in maine monday. holowach was swimming in a wetsuit. experts say the shark may have mistaken her for a seal. shark attacks on humans are very rare, but they are a protected species and their numbers are growing. >> as it recovers, it is re-establishing its historic range. and when you mix that with the recovery of the seal and a lot more people in the water, now suddenly, we look like their food and so occasionally, they'll make a mistake. >> reporter: researchers are watching at least 16 tagged sharks right off the coast here of new york. at least ten of those are great white sharks. david? >> all right, eva, thank you. when we come back here tonight, there's news just coming in on tomorrow's funeral, the service for the late representative john lewis. we 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