The death toll rising tonight. Hundreds of homes destroyed. Citizen fire brigades trying to protect their homes. The other major threat tonight two tropical systems expected to become hurricanes and both now forecast to hit the u. S. In the coming week. Meteorologist rob marciano standing by to time it out. The alarming news tonight about the coronavirus. The cdc now projecting up to 30,000 more lives lost in just the next three weeks. Colleges in at least 36 states reporting outbreaks on campus. And the headline from notre dames school paper tonight. The u. S. Postmaster general grilled on capitol hill about changes at the post office. What he acknowledged. Changes that led to a slowdown. And will it be fixed, with america preparing to vote in a president ial election . Arrested and charged. After being accused defrauding hundreds of thousands of americans, the president s former chief strategist saying this is a political hit job after being arrested on a multiMillion Dollar yacht. And Actress Lori Loughlin sentenced tonight. What the judge decided. And good evening tonight from delaware. There is a lot of news to get to tonight. The fires raging, the death toll growing, and the two tropical systems were now tracking, both headed for the u. S. Next week. Were going to time this out for you tonight. But we are here in delaware because we just sat down with the democratic ticket. The first joint interview with former Vice President joe biden and senator Kamala Harris. It comes hours after joe biden accepted the nomination for president more than 30 years after he first ran for the office. They did not hold back today. No questions off the table. Robin roberts and i will have the entire interviews sunday night, but the first clips right here tonight. Joe bidens acceptance speech promising to heal a divided nation, saying he is the democratic candidate, but wants to be an american president , to bring light and hope to this season of darkness in america. His wife jill joining him on stage as well as senator Kamala Harris and her husband doug. And then in these unusual times, they celebrated with supporters who were in their cars at a safe distance at a drivein event outside, the fireworks in the sky over delaware. They were both aware of the crises in this country the pandemic, the economy, the fight for racial justice. They told us they would unveil a new pandemic strategy on day one. And one of the questions we asked, would you shut down the country again if theres a second wave, and if the scientists said thats what we need to do . If youre sworn in come january and we have coronavirus and the flu combining, which many scientists have said is a real possibility, would you be prepared to shut this country down again . I would be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives, because we cannot get the country moving until we control the virus. That is the fundamental flaw of this administrations thinking to begin with. In order to keep the country running and moving and the economy growing and people employed, you have to fix the virus. You have to deal with the virus. So if the Scientists Say shut it down i would shut it down. I would listen to the scientists. The former Vice President , joe biden, senator Kamala Harris with me just moments ago. Robin roberts is also here in delaware, and she asked them about the issue of race and policing in our country. Its an issue dividing so many americans. She asked about a claim made by President Trump that joe biden would defund the police. Heres what he said. President trump says that you want to defund the police. Do you . No, i dont. By the way, he proposes cutting 500 billion out of local police support. Look, what the police need first of all there have to be National Standards that apply to every Police Department in the country, and thats what were going to do. I dont want to defund Police Departments. I think they need more help. They need more assistance. And we have to make it clear that this is about protecting neighborhoods, protecting people. Everybody across the board. So the only guy that actually put in a bill to actually defund the police is donald trump. We talk about so many of the issues being debated across our country, but there was one more question i wanted to put to senator Kamala Harris that were going to show you here tonight. We asked her what she makes of the names, the descriptions President Trump has used talking about her. This was her response, and then the former Vice President joe biden weighed in as well. President trump has referred to you as nasty, a sort of madwoman, a disaster, the meanest, most horrible, most disrespectful of anybody in the u. S. Senate. How do you define what you hear from the president . Listen, i really i think that there is so much about what comes out of Donald Trumps mouth that is designed to strac from what he is doing every day. That is about neglect, negligence, and harm to the american people. And incompetence. Absolutely. Absolutely. The idea that he would Say Something like that no president no president has ever said anything like that. No president has ever used those words. No president said people coming out of fields with torches and spewing antisemitic bile and met by people who oppose them and someone dies and he says theres good people on both sides. No president of the United States has ever said anything like that. Ever. The former Vice President joe biden just a short time ago, and again, i hope youll join Robin Roberts and me this sunday night for our joint interviews with the democratic running mates. A 20 20 special. The ticket, the first interview. Sunday night, 8 00 p. M. Eastern, right here on abc. In the meantime, President Trump with a rebuttal of joe bidens acceptance speech right here in delaware last night. Heres abcs mary bruce. Reporter President Trump today making it clear he was watching as joe biden declared his presidency a chapter of american darkness. If you entrust me with the presidency, i will draw on the best of us, not the worst. Ill be an ally of the light, not the darkness. Where joe biden sees american darkness, i see american greatness. Reporter the president says democrats are the ones going negative, but today he painted an apocalyptic picture, casting himself as a savior. Im the only thing standing between the American Dream and to what the president heard from joe biden last night here. Mary bruce with us, live from washington. We know the Republican NationalConvention Begins on monday. We know very little about how it will play out, but we do know President Trump will deliver his acceptance speech from the white house and hell also be visiting at least one battleground state . Reporter david, the president is set to travel to North Carolina on monday, where his convention was supposed to be and where the party will still formally nominate him on monday night. Details of next weeks convention are still largely under wraps. We do know that every member of the first family will be speaking and that the president will be giving his big address from the white house. Just another sign of how unconventional these conventions have become. David . Youll be with us all week long next week. Mary, well see you then. In the meantime, to the other news, the state of emergency at this hour in california. After the historic lightning siege we reported on that sparked hundreds of wildfires, those fires still burning tonight. The death toll now growing. At least six p fires speeding across the bonedry landscape. More than 100,000 people forced to evacuate statewide. Firefighters tonight are stretched too thin to save every home. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed. Abcs Clayton Sandell on the fire lines again tonight. Reporter tonight, hundreds of wildfires are raging in california. 12,000 firefighters in a desperate battle they cant seem to win. Some of these fires were allowed to smoulder because, frankly, we didnt have the resources to get out there and put eyes on them. Reporter the fires killing at least six people. More than 500 structures d,housm threatened. Jessica adams and her children fleeing with no time to spare. We literally ran out with, like, no shoes. I remember my older daughter said, mommy, shes like, i dont even have shoes on. Reporter flames charred 1,200 square miles, roughly the size of rhode island. More than 100,000 people are evacuated. We want you to leave when youve been ordered to evacuate. Reporter but some are ignoring that, and with a shortage of firefighting resources, some civilians are forming amateur fire brigades, armed with their own hoses and chainsaws. Desperately trying to save neighbors homes. Johnny white believes residents are on their own. His bulldozers today were busy cutting fire breaks. Wel get er ne. Are taking reporter Officials Say they appreciate the desire to help but discourage doityourself firefighting. Their life is more important than their property or anything else within that area. Reporter david, the big concern on this fire in Sonoma County is that as the winds pick up, so do the flames. We are in a very dense forest. These trees are hundreds of feet tall, and theres concern going into the weekend about more thunderstorms that bring more ligh vil starte and now to the other extraordinary weather threat, what could be two hurricanes in the gulf of mexico at the same time, both headed for the u. S. , known to happen in recorded history according to our weather team. Lets get to our meteorologist rob marciano. Hes got the timing and the track as we look ahead to next week. Hey, rob. Reporter hi, david. The start of the Hurricane Season has already been historic, and now this. A scenario we havent remotely seen in the last 90 years. Lets take a look at where they are now. You have Tropical Storm laura approaching the caribbean and td 14, central america. Warnings up for puerto rico as the track of laura takes it over that island, through the virgin islands. Hispaniola, cuba, scraping south florida and into the gulf of mexico. Strengthening to a hurricane and heading somewhere towards new orleans. Td 14 bringing flooding into mexico and strengthening in the gulf before turning toward texas tuesday. Both potentially making landfall within 24 hours of each other. Historic, yes. Lets hope that doesnt happen. David . Were all hoping that doesnt happen. Rob marciano, our thanks to you on a friday night. We turn now to the coronavirus and the troubling new forecast on that front from the cdc tonight. Deaths from the virus could top 200,000 by september 12th, just three weeks from now. Tonight, more than 175,000 lives have been lost. Cases surging on College Campuses, Authorities Say, in at least 30 states. And an outbreak forcing one Mississippi Elementary School to switch to Remote Learning just one week after it opened its doors for the school year. And we have just learned tonight a 6yearold in florida has now died from the virus. Victor oquendo from miami. Reporter universities are scrambling tonight, desperately trying to contain growing outbreaks of covid19, many linked to packed parties like these. A stark new warning just days after notre dame reversed course, suspending inperson classes for two weeks. The front page headline from the student newspaper, dont make us write obituaries. We believe that if this continues, we will be writing obituaries for people, for students, for faculty, for any workers at notre dame. And we will probably be hearing about the deaths of people in the community. Reporter new images of offcampus parties at ohio state. The school now warning students they could be suspended. Tonight the cdc predicting up to 30,000 more deaths in the next three weeks, and cases are surging on College Campuses in at least 36 states. The cdc director saying the way for schools to safely reopen is by Controlling Community spread. Schools are not islands in and of themselves. They are connected to the communities that surround them. Reporter the president saying schools must reopen, insisting only a small percentage of children get very sick. We did the right thing. Weve done it right and we have to open our schools. Reporter but a new outbreak forcing this Mississippi Elementary School to shut down one week into the new year. And teachers in florida suing to stop inperson classes. Their attorney summing up their case today. Pouring these kids into them is throwing and packing our most precious human value, our children, packing them into a disease factory. Reporter weve just learned some sad news. A 6yearold girl from the tampa area has died from the virus. That makes her the youngest victim in the state. David . That is just awful. Victor oquendo tonight. Victor, thank you. Were going to turn now to the u. S. Postmaster general, in the hot seat today over those delays in delivering mail, the changes at the post office. He was asked if he spoke with President Trump about changes in the u. S. Postal service, and what hes saying is causing the slowdown, and can he promise every ballot will be delivered in time to be counted in this president ial election . Heres our chief White House CorrespondentJonathan Karl tonight. Reporter President Trump today again raised dark and unsubstantiated fears about mailin voting. Youre not going to be able to know the end of this election, in my opinion, for p postmast gngress election mail secure and on time. This sacred duty is my number one priority between now and election day. Reporter louis dejoy firmly rejected accusations from some democrats that he is sabotaging the upcoming election. The insinuation is quite frankly outrageous. Reporter he acknowledged with mail volume down, some sorting machines and blue mailboxes have been removed since he became postmaster general 67 days ago. Part of a longstanding trend. Democrats demanded to know whether dejoy, a trump megadonor, was doing the bidding of the president. Did you discuss those changes or their potential impact on the november election with the president or anyone at the white house . And i remind you, youre under oath. I have never spoken to the president about the Postal Service other than to congratulate me when i accepted the position. Reporter in stark contrast to the president , the postmaster general said he favors mailin voting and has voted himself by mail for years. His advice to those wanting to be sure their vote is counted . Vote early. He said it twice, david. Vote early. Jon karl, with us all week long. Jon, thank you. Next tonight to the president s former chief strategist, steve bannon, 24 hours after he was arrested and charged, accused of defrauding hundreds of thousands of americans. Tonight the president s former top adviser now saying this is a political hit job after being arrested on a multiMillion Dollar yacht. Heres our chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas tonight. Reporter tonight, video surfacing of steve bannon at a we build the wall telethon. Were on the Million Dollar yacht of Brian Kolfage. Brian kolfage took all that money from build the wall. No, were actually in sunlen park, new mexico. Reporter the former Trump Campaign ceo joking about misusing donor contributions to fund the president s signature issue. Build that wall build that wall reporter but prosecutors are not laughing and have accused bannon and Organization FounderBrian Kolfage of fraud. They promised they wouldnt take a penny of the 25 million they raised from 500,000 donors, many of them making small contributions of their hardearned money. But Authorities Say that kolfage and bannon siphoned off more than 1 million to line their own pockets. Bannon, who pleaded not guilty and posted a 5 million bail after being indicted, vowing to fight the charges. Im not going to back down. This is a political hit job. Everybody knows i love a fight. Reporter prosecutors have opened a hotline for defrauded donors so they can potentially get some of their money back. David . Pierre thomas with us here tonight. Pierre, thank you. We turn next to the chilling moment in the sentencing of one of americas most notorious serial killers, the Golden State Killer in california. Former Police OfficerJoseph Deangelo jr. Sentenced to life with no parole. Confessing to 13 murders and more than 50 rapes in the 1970s and 80s. Days after hearing from survivors, he rose from his wheelchair and addressed them. Heres abcs matt gutman. Reporter for decades, the man you see prowling his jail cell let murder and rape speak for him. Ive listened to all your statements. Reporter but tonight the Golden State Killer muttering this apology to his victims. And im truly sorry. Reporter m