A selfie simulating the chokehold used on Elijah Mcclain. Its reprehensible and thats why they no longer work here. The protests overnight and what the attorney for mcclains family is saying this morning. Frightening confrontation. She got the gun on me. Get away. A white woman pulls a gun on a black woman after an argument in a parking lot. Im traumatized. Like, i feel numb. The abc news exclusive. What this mother says went through her head when she saw the gun. And fireworks danger. The big shows canceled. People now taking matters into their own hands. The disastrous results and one doctors warning about why it may be even more dangerous than ever in the era of coronavirus. Fourth of july as this country good morning and happy fourth of july as this country celebrates its birthday at a time when were facing multiple crises and deep divisions. Overnight the president held an event at mt. Rushmore where he vowed to protect americas monuments but faced criticism over the fact that there was no social distancing and no masks required. We are already seeing a lack of social distancing as well as masks as people congregate at pools, bars and beaches this Holiday Weekend. Some officials are pleading with people not to gather in large groups. Austin mayor steve adler is one of them and hell join us live in just a few minutes. Those warnings are backed up by sobering numbers. America saw 57,000 new cases friday, the third record day this week. We have Team Coverage right here this morning and we start with abcs trevor ault who is on Rockaway Beach in new york. Trevor, good morning to you. Reporter well, dan, good morning. You know, america is truly conflicted this fourth of july. Across the country the vast majority of parades and Fireworks Shows are canceled but still several areas like here at Rockaway Beach could draw substantial crowds. Thats as huge portions are reporting an aggressive resurgence of the virus. This morning as america battles an intensifying pandemic, americans are celebrating the fourth of july like never before. I dont think the beach should be closed. Its a holiday. Its a good holiday and people do not want to be inside. Reporter holiday travelers now hitting the road, many joining these long lines of cars heading to packed beaches as covid19 cases rise in threefourths of the United States with half the country seeing increasing hospitalizations and 13 states reporting rising deaths. I mean i dont understand what the problem is wearing a mask. Reporter many beachgoers around the country like the 100,000 converging on myrtle beach this weekend now required to wear masks. But in florida, amid surging cases, closures have left usually packed beaches eerily empty with some cities enforcing curfews. Are we all frustrated here . Were all frustrated. Reporter in this miami neighborhood surge teams going door to door handing out masks and face shields. In texas masks are now required after Governor Greg Abbott initially resisted a statewide mandate. Anyone who thinks covid19 is not dangerous, the numbers are glaring warning signs that this is dangerous. Reporter hospitals in the Rio Grande Valley in south texas overwhelmed with patients now diverting them to other hospitals. And massive parties like this one friday at missouris lake of the ozarks have Health Officials gravely concerned. In georgia, two ymca camps north of atlanta shut down, multiple staff and children now testing positive. In california, icu admissions have already climbed nearly 50 in recent weeks and high demand from people hoping to get tested has facilities like this one set up at dodgers stadium already at capacity. Major League Baseball now canceling the allstar game for the First Time Since world war ii with 31 players already testing positive. Los angeles angels star mike trout opening up about his concerns returning to the game while his wife is pregnant. Honestly still dont feel comfortable. You know, obviously with the baby coming, theres a lot of stuff going through my mind. Reporter a family in arizona has already endured a covid nightmare. At 32 weeks pregnant molly and robert both tested positive despite their own quarantine, even their 4yearold showing symptoms. They have all overcome the virus but the fear hasnt gone away. Me being a teacher, going back to work and i just that situation, i feel like its almost unavoidable. Reporter and today as so Many Americans are going to be heading outside and gathering together, already 13 states have paused or delayed their reopening plans and six of them have reversed course reinstituting restrictions that they previously thought were safe to lift. Whit . An increasing trend across the country. Trevor ault for us, thank you. Joining us from the hard hit state of texas is austin mayor steve adler. Mayor adler, thanks so much for joining us. Happy fourth to you. I want to talk about the hospitalizations because thats always factoring into this when we talk about cases surging. Theyve hit record highs multiple days this week in your state. Youre urging people to stay home for the Holiday Weekend. Do you think the people of austin will take your warning seriously . Well, i tell you, i sure hope they do. The trajectory were on for new hospitalizations have us inundating our hospitals in about two weeks. Were going to have to change our behaviors, change the trajectory if were going to help protect our people and our doctors and nurses. Two weeks is definitely a concern. Youve banned groups of more than 10 people. Masks are also now mandatory statewide. How do you plan on enforcing these new rules this Holiday Weekend . Well, enforcement is going to be out but ill tell you, if youre you cant enforce your way into compliance on Something Like this. It has to be something that the Community Wants to do, so weve been having quite the Extensive Campaign for the last two weeks pointing to this weekend. Its going to be a lot of individual choices that will add up to the Community Action and i just hope that this is something that were together on. Youve been critical of Governor Greg Abbott saying that hes done too little too late. He did recently put in that mask requirement. He also closed bars. But still restaurants are open, movie theaters are open. Barber shops are open. What do you think he should have done sooner, and do you think now he might need to scale back the reopening . You know, probably three things i would have done differently. I wouldnt have started so fast so we would have testing and tracing more in place. Second, when we opened up in phases there would have been pauses between phases so that we could have learned the data and information about each phase before we went to the next one. And then third, the big lesson in texas i think is you cant open up the economy the same way the economy was opened in january and february. You actually have to adapt and innovate. We have to do restaurants differently. We have to do bars differently. We have to be more creative and were probably going to have to do that until there is a vaccine and we didnt do that and were going to have to restart and try this again. Mayor, quickly just to follow up on that question, the second part, do you think another shutdown is required for your state . I hope not. Its a last resort. But we have plans to do that. We started talking to the community in case its something that we need to do to tamp down the virus to give us a clean restart. Dont want to do it. But its certainly an arrow in the quiver at this point. Mayor adler, our thanks to you. We are wishing your city the very best on this Holiday Weekend. Eva . Thank you. Have a good holiday. Be safe. Lets turn to abc medical contributor dr. Todd ellerin with more on the latest in this fight against covid19. Thanks for being with us this morning. The cdc director gave abc news his latest recommendations on who should get tested for covid19. What is his advice . Yeah, good morning, eva. So what dr. Redfield said is that we really want to focus on asymptomatic individuals because they can transmit virus, especially if theyve been at high risk for getting the virus, for instance, if theyve been in crowds. He went on to say that roughly 20 to 80 of people infected may be asymptomatic especially if theyre under 45. Also, 50 of people who are diagnosed with the infection dont know where theyve gotten it from so its really critical we do more widespread testing. Dr. Redfield also confirmed to us a concern thats been getting a lot of attention recently, that this virus has mutated. What has happened and what does that mean . Right. So it looks like the original virus from china has been replaced by a virus thats mutated. What a mutation means is an amino acid change thats a Building Block of the protein that changes and this is in the spike protein, that part of the virus that enters the cell. It looks like this virus is more infectious in cells, maybe more contagious so lead to more persontoperson transmission but the good news is it doesnt look more deadly at this time. All right, well, thats good to know. Lots of people, as you know, will be attending july 4th parties or holding their own. What advice do you have for people to keep their guests safe and themselves safe this weekend . The most important thing is to recognize that this virus is not taking a holiday but here are some tips to try to be safe. So, one, we want to keep guests outside. Two, no sharing food or drinks. Using plastic utensils and paper products, we want to label cups. You dont want to grab your neighbors cup. Thats not good. Try to designate servers so people arent a lot of hands on the bottles will lead to increased infection, and disposable hand towels and, remember, masks are really important. That has been shown to decrease transmission. A good reminder this Holiday Weekend. Wear your mask. Dr. Todd ellerin, thank you so much for being with us. Thanks, guys. Dan. Thank you, eva. Thank you, dr. Todd. As we mentioned at the top of the show, President Trump spoke to a packed crowd at mt. Rushmore in south dakota overnight. There was no social distancing and no masks required. Protesters railed against the president for what they saw as ricky behavior in the midst of this pandemic and abcs rachel scott is on the National Mall in washington d. C. Where the president in d. C. Tonight will attend another largescale event. Rachel, good morning to you. Reporter dan, good morning. Yes, 300,000 face coverings will be on hand tonight but wearing it will be optional. The president hosting his third largescale event in the last two weeks as Health Officials continue to warn against those big crowds and another Campaign Official testing positive for covid19. Theyre coming to america reporter overnight fireworks and flyovers at mt. Rushmore. President trump kicking off the fourth of july weekend pushing back against weeks of protests that have toppled controversial statues and monuments. Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heros, erase our values and indoctrinate our children. Reporter in the shadow of those famous president ial sculptures, the president said americas history is under attack. This movement is openly attacking the legacies of every person on mt. Rushmore. This monument will never be desecrated. Reporter but amid a National Reckoning on race the nations ideals and principles are being questioned. When you carve out, you know, four white men who were colonizers who committed genocide against Indigenous People and for that to be okay in Society Today is fundamentally wrong. Reporter as air force one flew overhead clashes with protesters on the ground. In the amphitheater no social distancing. Thousands packed shoulder to shoulder only inches apart. Many not wearing a mask. [ crowd chanting usa ] reporter minutes before the president took the stage to address the crowd, news that Trump CampaignSenior Adviser and Top Fundraising official Kimberly Guilfoyle tested positive for covid19 in south dakota. Guilfoyle is dating the president s eldest son donald trump jr. And regularly attends campaign events, seen here two weeks ago at the trump rally in tulsa without a mask. In a statement the campaigns Fundraising Committee says guilfoyle is asymptomatic and was immediately isolated to limit any exposure and as a precaution will cancel all upcoming events, adding donald trump jr. Was tested negative, but as a precaution is also selfisolating. And donald trump jr. And Kimberly Guilfoyle will be driving back to the east coast from south dakota, we are told. Neither have been in close or direct contact with the president , but this comes as a wave of Trump Campaign staffers and secret Service Agents have tested positive for the virus following that rally in tulsa. Whit. Another big day in washington. Rachel scott for us, thank you. Meanwhile, three Police Officers were fired and one more has resigned over selfies taken near the memorial site for Elijah Mcclain including one that appears to show a reenactment of the chokehold used on mcclain before his death. Abcs Clayton Sandell joins us from aurora, colorado, with the outrage from mcclains family. Clayton, good morning. Reporter good morning, whit. They are cleaning up here from a protest overnight. Protestors marched to this Aurora Police station behind me here demanding justice for Elijah Mcclain but this morning, the Police Department find themselves in the middle of another Public Relations disaster. [ crowd chanting ] reporter hundreds of protesters demanding justice for Elijah Mcclain taking to the streets of aurora, colorado, overnight. Say his name all Elijah Mcclain reporter amid growing anger over a cruel new twist. This photo, they are actually reenacting theyre actually reenacting a carotid control hold. Reporter three officers in selfies smiling and simulating the chokehold used on Elijah Mcclain two months after the 23yearold massage therapist and violinist died after a confrontation with other officers. The Police Union Says the chief rushed to judgment. Erica marrero and Kyle Dittrich were fired. Officer jaron jones resigned. Its reprehensible. Thats why they are no longer working here. Stop, i have a right to stop you because youre being suspicious. Reporter last august a 911 caller reported a suspicious man in a ski mask. Mcclains family said he wore it because of a blood condition that made him feel cold. Stop tensing up. Stop, stop. Reporter officers used a carotid chokehold to subdue him as he pleaded for his life. I wasnt trying to do that. I cant breathe correctly because Reporter Police say mcclain tried to grab officer jason rosenblatts gun. When rosenblatt later received this picture in a text message he replied ha, ha. He was also fired. There was absolutely nothing funny about this. Reporter a paramedic injected mcclain with a heavy sedative. Two heart attacks and three days later he died having committed no crime. All of the officers involved should be fired and should be fired and not able to be hired in any other department where they will continue to kill. Reporter now, the officers that confronted mcclain last summer were cleared by the local d. A. But now the Colorado Attorney general has opened a new investigation. The fbi and the department of justice both say theyre looking into the case for possible civil rights violations. Eva. Clayton sandell for us, thank you. Changing gears and lets check in on the weather and rob marciano in westport, connecticut, with what seems to be a really hot fourth of july forecast. Good morning, rob. Hey, good morning, eva. That is typically the case, isnt it . For a good chunk of the country it will be pretty sweltering. Beautiful in westport with a cooling breeze for parts of the northeast and fire issues across parts of southern california. Lets get to that first. There was a fire, about 70 to 100 acres burned there but got it out quickly in air support in san bernardino. We do have an elevated fire risk today. Not terribly hot but low levels of humidity and gusty winds so the fires that are burning are going to be tough to battle. Theres also a big surf and well talk about that more in a bit. Heres the heat indices, what it feels like with the humidity, up and over 90 degrees across the eastern twothirds of the country. 94 in dallas, 90 in atlanta, 90 in d. C. There will be a few showers and thunderstorms across parts of the southeast with that heat and humidity and some of the thunderstorms across the Northern Plains could become severe. Elsewhere fairly pleasant for this fourth of july. Thats a check of whats. Happy fourth of july. Nice and sunny here in San Francisco. Well have that sea breeze in the afternoon, but about 70 today downtown. Look at a warmer bay side afternoon. And in