this morning on "world news now," president trump greets supporters as he battles covid-19. >> but his drive past the crowds outside walter reed medical center is being blasted by doctors. it comes as he also posts a new video and as the white house is being accused of a lack of transparency about his illness. also, this morning several states seeing record highs of new coronavirus infections. in a major reversal, new york city is now threatening to shut down schools and businesses in certain neighborhoods, home to more than half a million people. plus, could movie theaters be closing indefinitely? the major announcement from one of the most popular theater chains in america and could it be james bond's fault. and getting decked out for halloween. how hitting the pause button on trick-or-treating is now causing a run on holiday decor,

especially for this one item in particular. that's later in "the mix." it's monday october 5th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." some would say that's how we're all feeling after 2020 right there. >> waiting for it to be over. >> yeah. we will talk about that in "the skinny." but we must get to that major development from all over the weekend. president trump looking to prove that he is doing well as he remains hospitalized for covid-19. >> the president is under fire for briefly leaving walter reed medicare center in his suv to wave to supporters outside, doctors saying he put the lives of his security detail at risk for political theater. there are new photos showing the president working inside the hospital. >> stock futures rose sunday evening as investors keep an eye on the president's condition. doctors say he may be discharged as early as today. this morning new outrage over president trump's drive past supporters amid his battle with

coronavirus. >> i think we're going to pay a little surprise to some of the great patriots that we have out on the street. >> doctors are now condemning this drive-by appearance outside walter reed medical center, calling it a dangerous publicity stunt. among the critics, an attending physician at walter reed saying this is insanity, tweeting that everyone in the car now has to be quarantined for 14 days, they might get sick, they may die. overnight the white house saying in a statement appropriate precautions were taken, including ppe. the move was cleared by the medical team as safe to do. the cdc says hospitalized covid-19 patients should only leave their move for medically-essential purposes. as the president seeks to project an image of strength, americans are being offered a puzzling and even grim picture of the president's health. on saturday, white house doctors denied the president needed oxygen. >> yesterday and today he was not on oxygen. >> reporter: but from trump's chief of staff mark meadows, a much more serious statement on

the president's condition. >> he had a fever and a blood oxygen level that dropped rapidly. >> trump's physician dr. sean conley finally revealed the president required supplemental oxygen twice. >> i recommended to the president we try some supplemental oxygen, see how he'd respond. >> conley also denied accusations he was purposely mislead the public. >> i was trying to reflect the up beat attitude that the team, the president, that his course of illness has had. i didn't want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction. >> abc news has learned the president had a high fever as recently as friday and his oxygen levels dipped below safe levels to at least 93%. >> i was concerned for possibly rapid progression of the illness. >> we also know doctors at the white house and walter reed have given him an experimental antibody cocktail. it's meant to reduce virus levels in the blood. at least two doses of remdesivir, believed to decrease recovery time for patients with lower respiratory tract involvement, and a course of

dexamethasone, a steroid prescribed to hospitalized patients who need extra oxygen. the white house released this picture of the president on a conference call with mike pence and secretary of state mike pompeo ahead of a possible discharge later today. despite the fact we've been in a global pandemic for more than seven months, trump says that after more than two days in the hospital he's learned a lot about the virus. >> i get it and i understand it. it's a very interesting thing and i'm going to be letting you know about it. >> nearly three days after the president announced his diagnosis, white house staffers have reportedly received guidance on what to do if they have symptoms. in an e-mail obtained by new york magazine, they were instructed to stay away from the white house, self-isolate and work from home. at least ten people linked to the president have tested positive for covid-19, including former new jersey governor chris christie. he checked into the hospital as a precaution because he has asthma. president trump's coronavirus diagnosis is shaking up the race for the white house

with the election just one month away. it's not clear if, when or how he will resume campaigning now that his crowded in-person rallies have come to a halt. joe biden is still hoping to face off with the president in a second debate ten days from now. the only vice presidential debate of 2020 is set for this wednesday between mike pence and kamala harris. they will be seated 12 feet apart after the biden campaign requested more space. >> coronavirus cases are rising across this country. more than 7.4 million americans are battling the virus and nearly 210,000 have died from it. new york city wants to close schools and businesses in nine neighborhoods where cases are spiking. abc's trevor ault has more. >> reporter: a major reversal. new york city now threatening to shut down schools and businesses in nine hot spot neighborhoods, home to more than half a million people. >> the goal is to do everything we can to stop something bigger from happening right now. >> reporter: 32 states and puerto rico reporting rising

cases. the president's positive test friday just one of more than 54,000 new infections reported that day, the most since mid august. on saturday, wisconsin logging nearly 2,900 new cases, a record high paired with record hospitalizations and deaths this week. >> our hospitals are getting to a point where they're getting overwhelmed. so if we don't do something now, we're going to be in serious trouble. >> reporter: this week north dakota with record high hospitalizations and deaths. brian bushnel is fighting the virus on a ventilator. his wife rita is infected too. >> when it affects you this close, it really is a big deal. >> reporter: kentucky hitting a daily record in cases on saturday, the state's governor pleading with people to be responsible. >> everybody needs to be wearing a mask.

no more being casual. time to be urgent. >> reporter: in many areas, health experts' dire warnings are getting ignored. deputies shutting down this massive charity car show east of los angeles for violating local guidelines. fraternities still causing concern, 144 people testing positive at the university of washington's greek row. >> it's a big problem, obviously. >> reporter: the decision to close schools and nonessential businesses in nine hot spot neighborhoods here in new york city will ultimately be up to governor cuomo. if approved, they could take effect as early as wednesday. attorneys for breonna taylor's family have asked kentucky's governor to appoint a new special prosecutor and reopen the case. state attorney general daniel cameron has faced scrutiny for failing to present homicide charges against three white officers who killed the young woman. 15 hours of grand jury proceedings were made public. revealing conflicting testimony. concerns are being raised that increased voting by mail will lead to ballot rejections due to voters making mistakes. the federal government says 1% of mail-in ballots were rejected in 2016 usually because they arrived late or were signed incorrectly.

experts say this year's vote by mail increase will likely lead to more errors because people doing it for the first time aren't used to do rules. so implore you to check out your state rules, make sure you cross all the ts, dot all the i's. i knew that about the signatures. that's a big impact on those rejected ballots. make sure you know the rules, make sure your votes count. an arizona dog has made the jump to social media. >> his name is max and he's become a celebrity in his phoenix neighborhood for his jumping abilities. neighbors saw his head over the wall in his yard and thought he was on a trampoline. his owner says, nope, he just wants to see people walking by. >> how long before max escapes? >> a number of days. >> look at his cute little head over the fence. >> very cute.

>> he's a ball of energy. we love to see it. coming up, this year's must-have halloween decoration. >> plus, the bombshell announcement from james bond that could mean the end for hundreds of movie theaters. first, president trump and his hospitalization for coronavirus. what we're now learning about his treatment and what our medical expert says about his surprise ride outside hospital grounds. you're watching "world news now." outside hospital grounds. you're watching "world news now."

we are back with deadly and we are back with deadly and historic flooding at the french/italian border. torrential rains washed away homes, roads and bridges near the french city of nice. streets are cluttered with debris and mud. dozens are missing including two firefighters whose vehicle was swept away. in mexico, at least six people are dead after tropical storm gamma battered the yucatan peninsula with near hurricane force winds. that storm has stalled and more damaging rain is expected along mexico's coast before making a turn to the north.

another possible, more dangerous storm is right behind it. hurricane warnings already issued for cuba. it could become a category 2 storm along the northern gulf by the end of the week. turning back to our top story, president trump's hospitalization for the coronavirus. we're learning more about his course of treatment. based upon what we do know, some medical experts say those measures are often reserved for patients with moderate to severe cases. i spoke earlier with dr. darien sutton. dr. sutton, let's start with the president's drive outside the hospital grounds. cdc guidelines says transporting a patient outside his or her room should be limited to medical essential purposes. was this drive okay? was the president still contagious? >> the president is still infectious and contagious. from what we know about covid-19, viral loads and infectiousness remain high in the first days after initial infection. the president and anyone testing positive should remain in isolation. as per dr. james phillips, these presidential suvs are airtight.

the president stepping inside of them increases risk of transmission and infection. this trip was not only unnecessary, but it was dangerous. >> the white house refuses to say when president trump last tested negative for the coronavirus. why is it important to know that? >> knowing his status of these tests would help to shed some light on his treatment progress. but to be honest, the cdc states that an individual should remain in isolation for ten days after their last positive test. if we knew, if we publicly knew about these test results, we can hold the president and the staff accountable for following these cdc guidelines. >> taking a deeper look into the president's treatment and what the public knows so far, trump has received supplemental oxygen at least two times so far. on friday and saturday he received an experimental antibody cocktail on friday. he's midway through a five-day

course of remdesivir and he's been given the powerful steroid dexamethasone. what does all of this say to you about the severity of his illness? >> i can't speak to the specifics of the president's treatment or care because only the president and the medical team really understand that. i can say that medications like remdesivir and dexamethasone are mainly studied for patients who have moderate to severe symptoms of covid-19. the president's reported oxygen saturation as well as his need for supplemental oxygen put him in those risk categories. so it makes sense. >> the president's doctor said he may be discharged as soon as today. what do you make of that? >> as someone who has treated many patients who have suffered from covid-19, i can say that progress is truly day by day. but i also know the white house has medical facilities. i would not see a discharge fro, developments from friday throughout the weekend.

here we are obviously the president's regimen as far as what the doctors are doing for him, that will be looked at very closely and also the president's actions outside walter reed medical center with him leaving, exactly when the secret service agents who were in there with him in that sealed-tight suv, so obviously there are a number of questions, a number of critics who are seizing on the president's actions as he battles covid-19. >> a point that was brought up was the fact that a lot of family members suffering through covid-19, some on their death beds were unable to even see their families to say good-bye. yet we saw the president get in a car and make rounds around walter reed medical center. as you said, that will be closely scrutinized. coming up, covid strikes hollywood again. >> breaking overnight, one of the world's biggest movie theater companies closing locations.

theater companies closing locations.

♪ ♪ that was thomas jefferson bird as earl in the 1995 movie "clockers." bird was found shot to death in atlanta saturday morning. no arrests have been made. bird appeared in a number of spike lee films. lee paid tribute to him on instagram, calling him my guy. he was 70.

there is major hollywood news breaking overnight. regal cinemas is closing its u.s. locations after reopening in august. >> it comes amid a new development involving the new james bond film. our own will ganss is here with more. >>t ain' theaters were supposed to be bouncing back this fall, but a new announcement has the fate of film hanging in the balance. it's a plot twist that none of us saw coming. it's a plot twist even hollywood didn't see coming. ♪ >> the parent company of regal movie theaters making the decision to suspend operations at its more than 500 operations this coming thursday. this announcement following that james bond bombshell. "no time to die" which was supposed to open in november being delayed until april 2nd, 2021, because of the pandemic's effect on theatrical business. last month, cineworld reported a loss of $1.6 billion in the first half of 2020 as revenue slumped by 67%.

>> james bond isn't the only big name getting pandemic pushed. >> my plan was to drive us away. >> your plan sucks. >> marvel's "black widow" and spielberg's "west side story" both punted to 2021. the only big movies scheduled to premier in theaters this year, disney pixar's "soul" and "wonder woman 1984" scheduled for christmas day. >> barbara, what did you do? >> in fact, some of hollywood's hottest films have started to joke about the uncertainty. >> "free guy" coming this christmas. >> fantastic. >> "free guy" coming this new year's. >> "free guy coming this valentine's day. >> coming this labor day. >> this april, probably. >> smart. >> smart. >> coming on a july 4th. >> coming before or after the next olympics. >> while big names might be

taking it lightly, the fate of movie theaters in 2020 is all but sealed. this while new york is still not allowing movie theaters open at all. just this morning those theater closures made official, all of this after a-list hollywood filmmakers urged congress just last week to bail out these struggling theaters, warning that cinema may not survive the impact of the pandemic, you guys. >> a lot of changes coming and those theaters close on thursday. i mean, there was a push to streaming. >> yeah. >> this just accelerated everything. >> it's truly sad. i'm a big, big movie theater fan. to see that happening and people losing their jobs and we know what the theater can do for a lot of people. it takes you away from the madness, but obviously it's just not safe. you've got to do what's safe and what saves lives.

what saves lives.

♪ it is time now for your monday morning mix. we are living in stressful times. yes. wu saw. a lot has been going on. just this weekend a lot has been going on. but the key to fixing that stress or dealing with that stress might be across the pond, like really across the pond because according to the study britain is a hot mess, too. but apparently the dutch have gotten it down. they believe in this practice of niksen, which means literally do nothing. throw that to-do list away, just get in the habit of chilling out, doing nothing, clearing your calendar and destressing. >> don't even watch tv? >> don't even watch tv. >> nothing that gets the mind going like that. >> i believe it because there was also a concept, huga, that

the dutch came out with, as well, making your home really comfortable so it's a great place to come back. they have perfected this, guys. they know how to live life. >> tear up that to-do list. >> this hits close to home. i have anxiety. i have something to do. i have nothing to do, but i could not sit there. >> a lot of people have on that to-do list halloween decorations. apparently there's a 12-foot skeleton that's the most coveted item. that one right there sold out online. it's a $300 piece that is so in demand. >> why the 12-foot one? >> that's a great question. it's on like ebay, amazon for like $1300 if you can find it. >> okay. >> good luck buying that scary piece. that price alone is scary. >> steal your neighbor's. just kidding.

have you ever wondered how news anchors talk at home? how do you talk at home? >> just like this. i'm kenneth moton. jeanette reyes, with our philadelphia station, and her husband, who is with our station in d.c., they decided they were going to try to figure out how news anchors talk at home or show you how news anchors talk at home. take a listen. >> reporting live here in the kitchen. your name now is 5:52. we're trying to figure out what we'd like for dinner. the options are right now lasagne, chicken fettucini alfredo or a ribeye. if you could help us out, we'd love to hear from you. send us an e-mail at 7abc.com and let us know the choices for tonight. >> so it goes on and he answers and he's like, well, actually, i looked at the options in his reporter voice. but at the end, my favorite part is they go, no, what do you really want for dinner? and he's like, not mcdonald's. >> so many people have sent this video to me.

we know them. in this case, we actually do

morning america." right now on "america this morning," new confusion surrounding president trump's condition after testing positive for covid-19. the mixed messages from trump's doctors about his symptoms, treatments, even when he tested positive. last week's rose garden event now being called a super spreader. the new fall-out forhe president after this drive by appearance outside his hospital room. critics slamming trump for breaking quarantine. what the white house is saying this morning. senate slowdown. the growing list of republicans testing positive for coronavirus putting the supreme court hearings in jeopardy. what it means for the confirmation of a new justice with the election less than a month away. deadly crash.