Could be the darkest winter in modern history. Game changer in the race for a vaccine. The promising new development right now in one of the major trials and the potential breakthrough that aims to kill the virus on surfaces. Battle over the beaches. With a week until memorial day, the new rules for summer as beaches from the jersey shore to the california coast are set to reopen. The requirements for masks, social distancing, and are these images from overseas the future of a day at the beach . Last dance for the last dance. An exclusive sneak peek at the final episode behind the scenes with the unstoppable Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan chasing his sixth nba championship. One of the reporters who knows jord hi, guys. Thank you so much. And thank you, class of 2020. Graduates across the country. We are absolutely unstoppable. From the packed car parades to the principal personally sending off all 60of students and this morning, we are surprising a special group of seniors. 29 of them about to become emts. Their graduation speech live right here from the one and only oscar winner, Matthew Mcconaughey. Its Graduation Day on gma. I can make your hands clap good morning, america. Happy friday, everybody. You dont need to adjust your television. Yes, there are actually three of us at the desk this morning. It has been a while. It has been several weeks. We should assure all of you, we measured it all out. We are keeping the six feet distance, but it is good to be back. Nice to have us all here. And, yes, were on our threeperson mark. We are on our marks. And we are also highlighting a very special class of seniors today, some of them gearing up to join the fight on the front lines of this pandemic. We cannot wait to celebrate them and hear from them directly. They are an inspiring class. We want to help recognize all this years graduates whose celebrations have been upended in this strange time. We know school wont be fully back to normal in the fall. Questions are looming about whether American Parents will send their kids back to school. A new abc news ipsos poll finds 69 of American Parents arent right now willing to send their kids back to school. 31 said they would. This morning, more than 1. 4 million coronavirus cases across the country. At least 48 states have lifted restrictions. One of those states is hard hit new york. Whit johnson joins us here from times square with more on that. There are new guidelines, whit, from the cdc this morning. Good morning. Reporter new york, the epicenter of the crisis in america, is slowly beginning to reopen but some parts of the state might have to wait at least another month, this as the cdc releases new guidance, a basic checklist for how schools and businesses could get back to work. The federal government releasing new guidelines thursday on how to reopen restaurants, mass transit and schools. The sixpage document from the cdc with protocols on how to avoid outbreaks amid the pandemic. Restaurants and bars urged to encourage social distancing by enhancing spacing of tables and stools, limiting party sizes and provide flexible leave for employees. Schools and camps advised to stagger dropoffs and limit how often kids gather in groups. But decisions on when to open largely left to each state. On thursday President Trump touring a pennsylvania medical supply business without a mask, taking a shot at the states democratic governor. We have to get your governor of pennsylvania to start opening up a little bit. You have areas of pennsylvania that are barely affected and they want to keep them closed. Cant do that. Reporter new york, the hardest hit state in the nation, is gingerly taking its first steps. Just five regions in the central and northern parts of the state qualify for phase one showing 14day declines in hospitalizations and deaths. Businesses going back to work include construction, agriculture and Retail Limited to pickup and dropoff. Phased reopening does not mean the problem has gone away. Reporter but Governor Cuomo extending the stayathome order to june 13th for devastated areas near new york city that still do not meet phase one criteria. In florida, universal Orlando Citywalk opening some shops and restaurants with restrictions. The mall of america in minnesota planning to open its doors june 1st. As states struggle with decisions to reopen, theyre also struggling with money. The virus ravaging state budgets. The house set to vote on a new stimulus bill today. But the white house threatening to veto the legislation if it gets past the senate. At least 45 states are already easing restrictions, but in four of those states, the number of new cases is on the rise. Tensions boiling over in michigan. This scuffle breaking out on the steps of the state capitol. Protesters, some armed with guns, calling for an end to the governors stayathome orders still in place until may 28th. And another hard hit state, louisiana, will enter the first phase of its reopening today. The governor of rhode island is also announcing plans to open summer camps by the end of june but added that is a goal and subject to change. George. A lot of kids hoping for that. We move to the dramatic testimony on capitol hill where whistleblower Richard Bright warned that 2020 could be the darkest winter in modern history if more isnt done now to address the covid crisis. It was a contentious confrontation. Mary bruce is tracking the fallout. Good morning, mary. Reporter good morning, george. Well, for the second time this week a Top Health Official is offering a grim outlook. Dr. Rick bright ripped into the trump administrations handling of this pandemic saying lives were lost because of missteps and he says there is no comprehensive plan for testing or a vaccine but President Trump again is dismissing the criticism and the warnings. We dont have a single point of leadership right now for thi master plan for this response. Reporter a top vaccine expert, dr. Rick bright, was leading the governments search for a vaccine, but says he was forced out of his job after he raised concerns. Now hes speaking out as a whistleblower with a dire warning of whats to come. If we fail to improve our response now, based on science, i fear the pandemic will get worse and be prolonged without better planning. 2020 could be the darkest winter in modern history. Reporter bright says Early Warning signs were missed and that inaction by the government put lives at risk. I believe americans need to be told the truth and i believe that the best scientific guidance and advice was not being conveyed to the American Public during that time. Reporter he described the moment he realized the federal response was falling short when a manufacturer of n95 masks reached out to warn him of shortages. And he said, were in deep [ bleep ]. The world is, and we need to act. And i pushed that forward to the highest levels i could in hhs and got no response. Reporter looking ahead bright tempered expectations about a vaccine. 12 to 18 months is an aggressive schedule and i think its going to take longer than that to do so. Reporter he says distributing a vaccine to everyone who needs it will be another problem. Theres no one company that can produce enough for our country or for the world. Its going to be limited supplies. Reporter on his way to pennsylvania the president dismissed brights warnings. I dont know him. I never met him. I dont want to meet him but i wam d he looks likan angry, disgruntled employee. Reporter as for when we may actually see a vaccine, bright was blunt in saying that 12 to 18month timeline assumes everything goes perfectly and he says that never happens. He says it is likely that just developing a vaccine is going to take longer. George . Okay, mary. Meantime, were seeing fallout for the republican senator richard burr of North Carolina who is being investigated by the fbi for stock trades. Reporter temporarily stepping aside from his powerful post as the chairman of the Senate Intelligence committee as this investigation intensifies, he is being looked into by federal agents for whether he violated Insider Trading laws when he sold off more than a Million Dollars in stock as this pandemic was hitting. Burr denies any wrongdoing and said hes stepping aside to avoid being a distraction. George. Mary bruce, thanks very much. Amy . Now to new developments in the race for a covid19 vaccine, some promising results reported from Oxford Universitys trial and there is potentially a breakthrough product to kill the virus on surfaces. Kaylee hartung has the latest. Reporter this morning, a promising new sign in the fight against covid19. Oxford university saying its vaccine appears to protect monkeys from the coronavirus. A handful of vaccines now in human trials. President trump saying hes hopeful there will be one available in the u. S. By the end of the year. But until then, researchers are investigating new ways to stop the spread of infection. You kill and you protect. Reporter dr. Charles gerba testing a new potentially gamechanging product from allied bioscience, claiming after its sprayed on a surface like this door, it should not only kill covid19, but also protect that surface from contamination for 90 days. The new York City Transit system experimenting with three surface coatings like this. Im really interested mostly in schools and in buses, in subways. I think well have a lot more confidence we can reduce the spread of these viruses by surfaces with this type of technology. Reporter regulations make it difficult to use the virus that causes covid19 when testing these products. Others act as substitutes and regulators reviewing surface coatings claiming to be covid killers. Theres still so much unknown about how its transmitted on surfaces. So long as we dont have a vaccine, the thought of riding a subway or going to a mall might seem scary to some but Preventive Solutions like this could be key to helping protect us all as the country eases its way into reopening and could see fda approval as soon as today for one of these surface coatings. Amy. That is good news. Kaylee hartung, thank you. Dr. Jennifer ashton is joining us now, and dr. Ashton, we heard from dr. Fauci saying we cannot rush the timeline here in developing a vaccine for covid19. There are longterm safety issues at hand, correct . Exactly, and shortterm, longterm concerns all delineated in a really important article that came out this week in the journal science. Dr. Fauci one of the authors and one thing theyre concerned about looking for is something called a vaccine enhanced immune response. It has been seen in animals with other coronaviruses. That is why this timeline cannot be accelerated. Safety is a primary focus. All right. And, jen, we know the cdc issued that warning about the inflammatory syndrome were seeing in children. Its been issued. What does it say . This is the list, amy. Take a look. This is their ninth health alert this year all on coronaviruses. 21 years of age and younger, fever, multiple organ systems involved, a recent diagnosis of covid19 in the past four weeks, and no other cause found. All right, important things to look for if youre a parent, certainly. Dr. Jen ashton, we appreciate. Thank you. Michael . Thank you, amy. Now to the latest on the Fatal Shooting of that young unarmed black man, ahmaud arbery. For the first time, were hearing the 911 call made by one of the men charged with murdering the 25yearold. The call was made weeks before the shooting. Heres steve osunsami. Reporter investigators this morning are listening through this newly released 911 call made by one of the two men accused of murdering 25yearold ahmaud arbery. What is the name and phone number, sir . Travis mcmichael. Reporter mcmichael and his father gregory, a former Police Officer, are accused of gunning down the young, unarmed black man during what police say they called a citizens arrest. The 911 call was made february 11th, nearly two weeks prior to the killing. Travis mcmichael is heard telling police that he saw someone he felt looked suspicious inside a house under construction. I just saw a guy running into a house being built, two houses down from me. When i turned around, he took off running into the house. Are you okay . Yeah, yeah. It just startled me. When i turned around, i saw him, and backed up, he reached into his pocket and ran into the house. So i dont know if hes armed or not. Reporter these Security Camera videos from inside that construction site do show a young black man repeatedly visiting and walking around. But in every recording, the person is seen walking away empty handed. And the owner has reported no thefts. The attorneys for Travis Mcmichael are calling arberys death a tragedy, and are begging the public to let the facts play out. People who know better than to rush to judgment, people who know better than to engage in stereotyping are rushing to judgment, are stereotyping, and that saddens me. Reporter attorneys for the victims family say they wish their son was afforded the same privilege. Because im representing a 25yearold victim who was shot to death by people who rushed to judgment and stereotyped him, it comes off as disingenuous and almost offensive to this family. Reporter state investigators have taken over this case after local prosecutors in the brunswick, georgia, area were accused of looking the other way. Gregory mcmichael, the father, isnt just a local Police Officer, he also, george, used to work for a local prosecutor. George . Potential conflicts there, steve, thank you very much. Were going to look now at when and how professional sports are coming back as leagues brainstorm safe ways to return. Battle lines are emerging on the baseball field with players resisting a plan from owners that would likely mean a pay cut for most of them. Ryan smith is here with the story. Good morning, ryan. Reporter good morning, george. Major League Baseball hopes to restart in july, but any plan must be approved by authorities and states where teams play. And Health Officials also have to sign off. And then there are players getting them to take those steep d rorr the league b preparing to reveal a health and safety plan which would feature a shorter season and no fans in attendance. Team owners seeking to make up for that lost revenue with reduced pay for players. Tampa bay rays star pitcher blake snell protesting the prospect of going back out on the mount for less than half his 7 million salary. Doesnt make sense for me to be on lockdown, not around my family, not around the people i love, and get paid way the hell less. Reporter other players supporting snell, saying the risk to their safety is too great for additional pay cuts after players have already agreed to a prorated salary. Heheeae a deal. Personally, i have great confidence that we will reach an agreement with the Players Association that it is safe to come back to work. Reporter meanwhile, nascar is going full speed ahead. This sunday kicking off seven races in 11 days to help make up for lost time. Nascar running all the races in a tight time period is really going to take its toll on the drivers and probably the only thing worse than having a bad day on the racetrack is not getting to race at all. Reporter for many u. S. Sports teams, all eyes will be on the german soccer league, restarting their season tomorrow with enhanced safety precautions including staggered team arrivals, strict social distancing and less than 350 spectators allowed at games which usually draw in more than 40,000. 17yearold american geo reyna playing for dortmund, saying the league could be the model for bringing sports back worldwide. Americas obviously Getting Better slowly and slowly. I think all the leagues in america and around the world would kind of emulate there. As for the nfl, theyre still slated to start their season on time in september, but if it is without fans, it may not seem like it from home. Fox announcer joe buck says their games might add in digital fans in the stands and pipe in crowd noise in empty stadiums to make it all look and feel and sound just like normal, george. Almost normal. Thank you very much. Were following a lot of other headlines this morning including the new rules for how to stay on the beach this summer. And the americans stuck overseas due to travel restrictions. One of our gma producers revealing how she finally managed to come home after being stuck. First, to ginger. Hey, ginger, good morning. Good morning, michael. Parts of the northeast reopening today, and today we have a chance of tornadoes and damaging winds, which ill show you. Also flash flooding which we saw overnight in chicago. At least four inches of rain falling in parts of chicago and you see the water rescue happening there in the via duct. There are also tornados in kansas and now all of this action is moving east. Let me show you when it starts after 2 00 p. M. In western pennsylvania and new york. It will extend, utica, albany, all of them have to be on the lookout this afternoon and evening. Your local weather in 30 seconds. First, though, the weekend forecast brought to you by sprint. They said im going nowhere good morning. Im abc7 news meteorologist mike nicco. We made it to friday. Our driest and warmest day this week. We will be dry tomorrow until the evening. Thunderstorms and showers for sunday night, monday and tuesday to round out the wet event. Today, mid to upper 60s, most of the bay. Mid and upper 70s inland. Tonight, into the low to mid 50s. Here is a look at the seven day well be right back. Ven day where does your almondmilk almond breeze starts here with our almond trees in our blue diamond orchard in california. My parents job is to look after them. And its my job to test the product. The best almonds make the best almondmilk. Blue diamond almond breeze. So as you head back out on the road, well be doing what we do best. Providing some calm amidst the chaos. With virtual, realtime tours of our vehicles as well as remote purchasing. For a little help, on and off the road. Now when yo