it more amusing than anything else but she understands what we're up against. some parents need the money, some parents might not. but it is the business principle, if you can't deliver what you promise, you should give people some of their money back. >> thank you for coming on and explaining this to us. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> and our special coverage continues now with kate bolduan. >> hello, i'm kate bolduan and thank you for joining us this hour. muzzled. that is the exact word a current cdc official is using to describe to cnn what the trump white house has done to the public health agency in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. cdc officials describing how their work has been sidelined and how it appears there are things superseding science in the response, namely politics. likely evidence of that, the cdc has released the detailed

guidelines for reopening the country that had previously been shelved by the white house. the guidance posted with no press conference and no announcement. it provides what many have been asked for, a detailed map for restaurants and other venues to reconsider before opening doors again. just as president trump according to sources went after the cdc in a closed door meeting with republican senators on capitol hill and as the president continues to feud with scientists, dismissing scientific studies as anti-trump and promotes treatments against fda guide lines and this is not in a vacuum. this is not over. americans are still dying from the virus. now more than 92,000 americans have been killed. well over 1.5 million americans have been infected. we have new reporting on this troubling conflict emerging between the president and the cdc.

kristin, you're reporting is putting the head of the cdc in the hot seat today. what are you learning? >> reporter: well, that is right, kate. after weeks of this tension, a senior administration officialing me there are informal conversations going on about what to do about robert redfield and just to give a little bit of background, we know this relationship between the cdc and the white house has grown increasingly strained, particularly between redfield and dr. birx. they had a heated conversation about the data practices of the cdc. dr. birx grew frustrated during the conversation in front of other task force officials and frustrated with the director himself. now as recently as last week, redfield expressed to colleagues he wasn't concerned about his job. that this was routine. he said that he and birx, who have known each other for decades, they would go back to being on good terms. this is just a fleeting bit of

tension. but the tide has really shifted over the weekend. we heard the white house trade adviser peter navarro to be the first administration official to go that far against the cdc at least on the record and he said that the cdc let america down whether it came to testing. then again yesterday where president trump behind closed doors as you said really excoriating the cdc. i do want to note a couple of things. one, during that time, he never mentioned redfield by name so that is important. and cdc officials are pushing back on the idea that anything is wrong. they are telling us it is business as usual and the relationship has not changed and he was at a meeting at the white house on monday. >> thank you so much. so nick, let me bring you on. what are you hearing from cdc officials? >> reporter: well it depends on which officials we talk to, kate. senior officials are frustrating with the way the agency has been treated by the white house.

they believe they have been putting politics a head of science and feel there is political components coming back like the southern border and travel restrictions focusing on the wrong country initially the cases on the east coast could be traced back to europe and instead cdc officials told us that the white house was focused on travel from china when they should have been focused elsewhere. otherwise, though, we have heard from sources closer to dr. redfield who pushed back on the assertion that he's in trouble. they say he's proud of leading the agency and he's committed to doing this work and that he's the right man for this job right now. he is not, though, infallible. they said he is not right man for this moment and he's not charismatic information and not pushing back on misinformation coming from president trump. and a lack of announcement about the recommendations that were published over the weekend as well. for weeks 68 pages drafted by

the cdc recommendations they thought would safely reopen america were shelved by the white house. they say because they were overly specific. now we get 60 pages of also very specific guidelines which officials are 50, and states could taylor them but there are anger and frustration among the senior leaders and saying that white house is putting politics ahead of science and leaving tens of thousands of lives of american lives hanging in the balance. kate. >> nick, thanks for your reporting. kristin, thank you. joining me now is dr. seema yasmin and now a cnn medical analyst. thank you so much for being here. this tension between various agencies in the government, it is not unheard of, but in a time of true crisis to have the president trash the cdc officials saying they are sidelined because of politics, what is your reaction to this as

a former cdc official yourself? >> so you're totally right. this is not unheard of and certainly not new. i have a piece in "the new york times" detailing my experience as being an officer in the intelligence service laying it clear any time you're leading an epidemic investigation you're not just chasing after the bacteria or the virus, you're also dealing with public diplomacy but it seems so much worse now and i'm really concerned about this. americans make up less than 5% of the global population but more than 30% of covid-19 cases. so right now is not the time for there to be any kind of spats between different leaders. we need the cdc to be energized and to have power behind it to do its job. it is really heartbreaking that there are thousands of staffers there who have exactly the skills that we need to deal with a pandemic and it feels like

they're being told to sit on the sidelines. >> so then in the midst of this, the 60 pages of guidelines that were finally released, the fact that any guidance for faith and religious institutions was left out of it, what do you -- what is your reaction and what do you think of the guidance? >> i'm very troubled by this. and especially this idea that back on may 7th the cdc was told thanks for weeks of work on providing this detailed guidance, it is too detailed and now cdc staffers are saying it is too general and that granular detail about how many inches or feet there should be between people and how spaced out school desks should be, that kind of tiny detail is exactly what the cdc is so good at. i spent so much time with the tape measure when i was there because that is the kind of detail you're giving to states. so they're not left in the lurch. and i think that is now how many state officials feel, that as 50

states are in some phase of reopening, how are they supposed to trust the guidance when there is back and forth between the white house and the scientists who know what we should be doing. >> where does it leave the country if the white house isn't endorsing -- let's see, not endorsing the guidelines and promoting them to the public. >> it leaves us in a state of mayhem right when we need to have a coordinated federal response. even just picking one thing like temperature checks, georgia, ohio and pennsylvania are defining a fever at 104 if they do temperature checks and texas is 100 and delaware at 99.5. it is mayhem. we need to coming from the same playbook, having a coordinated response but right now when we need that kind of technical expertise that the cdc is so good at, they are being immobilized by politicians and that is dangerous for public health. >> and the way you put it

crystalized the need nor leadership because it goes from the 50,000 foot view to the granular, like you said wlarks is the appropriate temperature, and where should the line be when it should be flagged in terms of temperature checks. you get to the heart of it. than thank you so much, doctor, appreciate it. >> thank you. a major milestone. all 50 states have begun to loosen restrictions an partially reopen for business. the daily average of new cases trending down or holding steady in a majority of states. that number trending up in 18 states in the nation right now. today connecticut is beginning to lift restrictions. here is a look at numbers. starting today residents could begin to head back to some stores and restaurants. and that is where cnn brynn gingras is in millford, connecticut. one restaurant opening up and you've been there before opening today and what are you hearing

from people? >> reporter: -- we're hearing people say they're finally able to have a meal with family members outside and co-worker and with friends and it is giving them life at this point. this particular restaurant archie moores is in willford, connecticut, and they're taking the steps they need to to take this step. they have menus, individual paper menus and the silver ware is plastic and they have pepper and salt and wipes individuals and as you walk into the out door dining area, you see all of the areas, the flow, that not only the people that are eating but also the servers are all following. so it is going smoothly and a lot of people here are happy to be outside and one person came

here without a mask and the restaurant offered them a mask. so everyone trying to follow those precautions and i want you to hear more from people who are taking advantage of this. >> how the world has opened and seeing traffic actually -- brought me back a little. so being able to see people enjoying their life again really is a nice gesture. >> my mom is my best friend and she means the world to me so being out and being able to enjoy lunch with her like we always do on the weekends is really my everything to me right now. >> reporter: now connecticut one of the states that is in the downward trend, the numbers are the lowest as far as deaths are concerned since april. the governor is going to continue to watch the metrics and bring back restrictions because we're in the tri-state

area, the hardest hit area of the country. >> what used to be so normal is special. you could hear it in the tone of voice. thank you. we are just days away from memorial day weekend and parks and pools are parked in the country but there year that is not so easy. take virginia beach, one of the largest beach destinations, the governor just announcing it will reopen this friday. but there are restrictions. let's find out what this weekend could mean, joining me now is ron williams, the deputy city manager of virginia beach. thank you so much for being here. so the beaches are going to be opening. what can people visiting this weekend do and maybe more importantly what could people still not do? >> well, most importantly, kate, they could sit on the beach. we've had an exercise in fishing only environment and that is nice to be partially open but

they could finally sit on the beach. the most important thing that we're asking and that the governor provision provides is that we need to require the physical distancing. his executive order still have a six foot requirement for individuals and no more than 10 people gathering in a group. and so thankfully everybody is going to be able to enjoy the widest beaches on the east coast here in virginia beach. >> and there are other restrictions on the sports and recreation that can be done on the beaches, right? >> that is right. there are certain portions of the beach, of the 28 miles, sports, no alcohol and an emphasis that discourages gathering and groups and that is no amplified speakers or no large coolers or canopy or tent or clustering of umbrellas and if they spread out and keep their distance then we feel like we have a very safe environment on virginia beach for people to

visit. >> so how do you enforce the rules and kind of the rules of the road this weekend? how do you enforce it? >> great question. so the past few weeks, predominantly, are law enforcement and the police department has been enforcing the existing exercise in fishing only orders from the governor northam. now we add in a layer of about 150 individuals called beach ambassadors. in friendly yellow uniforms and the reminder verbally to what the rules are for everyone and also see signage at each beach access but if they see someone not physical distancing or groups gathering they'll have for voluntarily compliance and then they'll ask for law enforcement to appreciate the physical distancing to respect that and follow the regulations so that we could continue the privilege of sitting on our beaches. >> look, i mean, let's hope everybody respects it but we'll have to see and have plans in

place. the crisis in the country is on two fronts. the public and economic crisis everywhere really. being able to reopen for memorial day, what does this mean for your city? >> it is very important, kate. we have industries that have been rocked by this, hardest hit and the highest unemployment is in retail, restaurant and other industries and opening up in the summer where they make the money for the year is very important but we want to do it in a safe manner and have the gold standard for safety for not only the beach operations but also that industry that supports the beach and the resorts. so they have higher protocols and following the cdc guidance for cleaning and sanitation, both in the hotels and restaurants and then we also have clean teams along the boardwalk doing the high-tech surfaces for raining and ballards and the shower towers to follow cdc guidelines on cleaning as well. >> thank you for coming in.

good luck this weekend. >> thank you, kate. >> thank you very much. coming up, airlines are announcing new moves to convince passengers that it is safe to fly once again. are those moves enough? plus this just into cnn, a ford factory in chicago has new coronavirus cases just a day after reopening the plant. details are next. arthritis. and take. it. on... ...with rinvoq. rinvoq a once-daily pill... ...can dramatically improve symptoms... rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. and for some-rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. that's rinvoq relief. with ra, your overactive immune system... ...attacks your joints. rinvoq regulates it to help stop the attack. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious infections and blood clots, sometimes fatal, have occurred... ...as have certain cancers, including lymphoma, tears in the stomach or intestines,

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this just into cnn, this afternoon ford is reopening the chicago assembly plant after having to suspend production because two workers tested positive for coronavirus. cristina alesci joining me. they just reopened on monday.

what is going on? it is kate, can you hear me? i think we lost -- i think we lost her. we'll try to get back to her in one second. but let's look to the airline industry. as the airline industry is looking to make a comeback amid devastating losses from the pandemic, some of the biggest companies are making moves to try and reassure customers that it is safe to fly once again. just as there are hints demand is on the way back. cnn aviation correspondent pete mountain has the latest. what are you hearing from the airlines. >> reporter: airlines are getting a bit of a glimmer of hope even though this is typically the start of a very busy summer travel season for them. the transportation security administration said the number of folks traveling through america's airports are ticking up slightly but still only about

10% of the norm. so airlines are in a race to prove that they are the safest carrier to fly on. i want to walk you through a few different policies that airlines have. united made a big announcement today saying it was partnering with clorox and the cleveland clinic to guide its health policies and now at about 25% of the normal passenger loads. jet blue said it will block off middle seats through the july 4th holiday until july 6th and start instituting temperature checks for crews, something we are hearing from united. and delta announced to keep capacity on flights at about 60%. so two-thirds full to try and keep middle seats empty. so airlines are really trying to prove that they could win passengers back. i've been doing a bit of reporting on this. i talked to yang chen, a researchers at perdue university, after that animation of how a cough travels through

an airplane and he said the only way to really make travelers safe while flying is to have 100% mask compliance. this is happening in the absence of any requirement from the federal government, kate. >> mask up needs to be the new mantra for everything, especially flying. pete, thank you for that reporting. back to cristina alesci, with this reporting about the ford plant in chicago, one day after reopening the plant forced to shut down operations temporarily. what is happening? >> reporter: that's right. and this underscores how difficult it is going to be and touch and go it will be for companies to reopen. so in chicago the company said that it is instituting a policy where employees were getting temperatures checked and anyone exhibiting symptoms or a high temperature would have to undergo testing. two employees tested positive. the company shut down that chicago plant for the evening and reopened it today and then

just today moments before going on air, i confirmed with the company that the same fact pattern emerged in a factory in dearborn, michigan. obviously this is going to be a fact pattern we'll see across the corporate landscape. a couple of days ago we reported on apple reopening its stores and its executives saying it would not hesitate to re-close stores if there is an issue in that locality. so this is all very much touch and go. all eyes on ford obviously right now because the president is going to visit one of the plants tomorrow. so this just goes to show you the lengths that the companies are going to. also i should add that the company is saying that none of these employees as far as they could tell contracted the virus within the plant. they believe the employees got it before coming back to work, kate. >> and this is hopefully a sign that the systems that these companies are putting in place is working to stop the spread.

this is also companies all over the countries big and small need to look at this as their future here. great to see you. thank you so much. it seems every day we're hearing another big announcement about progress in the race for a vaccine. so why is one scientist warning the rush to share this news could do more harm than good. that's next.

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every educator, teacher and principal in america is rushing to figure out what school in the fall is going to look like. and the considerations can be quite different from kindergarten through 12th grade than say universities. when should kids go back and what does classrooms look like and how did bus and lunch and recess. very real questions. one school that shut down earliest on was a school outside of seattle. let's check in with the person making those tough decisions right now. joining me is michelle reid. thank you for being here this afternoon. you're a big school system.

you have seven high schools set to hold virtual graduations in the coming weeks. what are your plans for the fall right now? >> well, thanks, kate. that is a great question. as i was reflecting with one of my colleagues yesterday, thinking about what is different from when we close to an expected reopening in the fall, what we realize is that what is different is that we've had more people die and more people are ill and we have the same staff that are now older and still no vaccine or widespread testing so we're struggling with those data points that would indicate that we could safely have some type of reopening, honestly. >> where are you learning right now in terms of bringing everyone back, keeping it remote learning? where are you right now? >> great question. as we think about bringing approximately 27,000 students and staff back together for some kind of a robust productive learning experience we're recognizing that we need to look

at this in phases. recently mr. nadella from microsoft indicated it autd to be respond, recover and reimagine and we're in between recover and reimagine at the moment. our district is working on a five-phased approach and i think paramount is a robust distance learning platform for those students and staff with medical concerns or anxiety about returning in addition to some type of in-person connectedness if it is possible. again, without widespread testing and a vaccination i'm not sure it is possible in the way we might have imagined it. >> i want to ask you about distance learning in one second. but now since we have the new cdc guidelines that were put out over the weekend, there are many considerations that they outlined that they recommend for schools and we'll roll them on the screen because these are the ones that stuck out. spacing desks six feet apart. turning desks to face the same

direction. closing dining halls and cleaning and disinfecting shared objects between uses like toys, games and art supplies. staggering arrival and dropoff times and locations. on buses, one child per seat in every other row, if possible. can you pull that off in your school district? >> well, as we've been discussing this, kate, we've realized that 60% of our bus drivers are in the high-risk category. >> wow. >> so even if we minimize students on the bus, they still pass the bus driver to get on the bus. we've looked at alternate ways to board the bus and be safe but the resources require to run more buses because we're going to be limited to the number of students. it is going to make things really challenging. furthermore the requirement for ppe for almost 3,000 staff members, it is going to be significant. and i think that what we're realizing is that having a

backbone of a robust distance platform is most critical. in our house in north shore we've worked collaboratively with our teachers and support staff and their safety and health of students is front and senor f. we don't feel it is safe to have them back we won't bring them back in that fashion. >> as a participant, i took some relief, but just your candor on remote learning because i read that you told axios just taking everything that we used to do and wedge it into a new virtual reality is not a promising practice, it didn't work. where does that leave you now. >> we closed schools and went online within 72 hours back in early march. what we have done is move to a north shore learns version 2.0 which is more project based, more integrated and holistic and shifts the role of the teachers and the learner for a much more

robust independent learning model and we feel like our students are engaging. we've had over 95% engagement throughout the spring and we have to do something significantly different. as i said to axios, you could not take everything that we did, which was amazing, at aur brick and mortar schools and move them into the online climate. it will not keepu our students engaged and frustrate parents and teachers and that is not why they signed on. they love our kids and want to have rich discussions and engagement and in a safe and healthy way which we'll have to problem solve and honestly we have some ideas but we're waiting on our state and i think one of the challenges is those people at that 30,000 foot level have a lot on their plate and we value their guidance and judgment andoch it is guidance and judgment we might not anticipate at the ground level as we try to make things work

for students and families and staff. so there is a tension at times. the guide lines an the bureaucracy catching up with the work on the ground. >> take the one example of what do you do about buses and that shows you just the beginning of the challenges that you face. thank you so much. we'll check in with you. thank you very much for your time and everything you're doing. >> thank you so much, kate. another announcement from a company working on a vaccine that a clinical trial shows promise. and a warning that announcements like that could be dangerous. - [spokeswoman] meet the ninja foodi grill. get the perfectly grilled flavors of an outdoor grill indoors, and because it's a ninja foodi, it can do even more, like transform into an air fryer. the ninja foodi grill, the grill that sears, sizzles, and air fry crisps.

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this is getting a lot of talk today. another company announcing progress in the quest for a coronavirus vaccine. todays in johnson and johnson announcing six of the experimental vaccines show positive results in monkeys. earlier this week it was moderna announcing positive results in its early vaccine trial in humans. in the case of moderna and many others, there is a critical caveat. the company is not releasing underlying scientific data to back up the announcement. now a pioneer in the research of hiv/aids is raising the alarm on what he is calling publication by press release and the real world harm this could have in the fight against the pandemic. dr. ronald hazelton writing it is damaging trust in the fundamental methods of science and medicine at a time when we need it most.

dr. hazelton joining us now. thank you so much for being here. moderna is more than one example that you highlight. why is this trend of announcing progress without showing the evidence behind it so dangerous? >> it is dangerous because you don't know what has happened. it's absolutely equivalent to a ceo of a publicly traded company saying we have had a fantastic quarter and nobody gets to see the numbers. you believe a cfo with a lot of shares in that company or is it about to go public, again, through a secondary offering or would you like to see the numbers. well science and medicine has people's lives at stake, not just money at stake. we need to know what happened. and if somebody is going to make a claim, this works, this was a great result, we need to see the data. and it has to be looked at critically. the fundamental aspect of

science is being able to reproduce somebody's results. you know what they did, you get the same result. that is the fundamental building of trust in medicine and science. and if you don't have that, you don't have the data, you can't have that trust. and public needs to trust. people are really confused. they're upset. we need trust. at least in our medical and scientific enterprise. >> and this isn't just an issue with private companies. the nih has made a similar announcement too, if you will, dr. fauci sitting in the oval office talked about the treatment remdesivir saying it has clear-cut positive effect in diminishing the time of recovery and as you well note in your writing that was 24 days ago and the supporting data hasn't been released. >> that is right. and doctors are likely to be confused because the very same

day a paper came out saying remdesivir doesn't save lives and doesn't have an effect and even though this is an anti-viral drug, it has no effect on the virus. what does a doctor do to make the judgment. and now it is over 20 days, 21, 22 days since the announcement was made. it is not right. it is definitely premature. if they're not ready to show the data, how could they make the announcement? that is a violation of norms and it is a violation of trust. >> these might sound like such basic questions but i think it is fundamental in this. is there a value in getting preliminary information out to the public in a time of crisis or do you think that no matter what it is best to wait until the vaccine trial is complete? >> we're nottine talking about being complete, we're talking about being able to see the data. see the data. so that is different.

i could tell you one thing, we're in an extraordinary time and scientists all over the world are given permission by the leading journals to post preliminary results as soon as they can even before the review or they are accepted and that allows us to see the data. if you could see the data, then fine, make the announcement but don't make the announcement if the data is not available for anybody to check. if it was a cfo, would you be in deep trouble. we had a great quarter but i'm not going to show you my results. so that is the equivalent. but more important because it is lax -- >> so when a researcher has a positive development, is there any begun reason why they might not release the supporting data. i guess on the basic level i just don't get why they don't put it out if it is real. >> i could tell you in this epidemic there are more papers

being published more quickly than in the history of the entire world. the moment people have data that they believe is worthy of publication, or at least submitting to a journal, it's up and visible to everybody in the world. so nobody is hiding their data. it is out there. now i'll answer your question very specifically and if somebody makes a discovery that is patentable, i don't want to put that out until you file your patent and now you could file your patent in a day or two. so that is not really a good reason not to put your data out. and most of the data, is coming out very, very quickly, quicker than i've ever seen it from any issue. so not a question -- that the data isn't visible. you can't see it. >> sorry about the delay in the

audio, sir. i was struck by the end of your piece in the post, i'll read for folks when you said medicine and science are not matters of majority opinion they are supported by transparent data this is the backbone of our scientific progress and we can't give up on our standards now and is your message to the scientific community or class or media or nonscientists watching at home now. >> i think it is to everyone that you mentioned. people who really matter the people at home watching right now. they're the ones that this matters to. but the message that comes out and you and i know if you listen to the data or the story out of the moderna press release, we have something great but if you look at the data it was premature and it was unconvincing and it was not transparent. and people got hope up for that.

people thought i could take my kid back to school. i'm going to be able to take a trip to france next year. this is going to be great. well, we don't know what that means and what we did see, obscure language. and i'm not the only one who has seen that. there is a torrent of criticism from people like me about these announcements. i'm not by far the only one. >> thank you for speaking up. dr. william hazleton, thank you, sir. >> you're welcome, thank you. ahead for us, president trump is lashing out at certain states, threatening to withhold funding over absentee voting. that's next.

there is catastrophic flooding hitting michigan today. look at this, thousands have been forced to evacuate. the governor declaring a state of emergency after two dams fell there. that's still unfolding. in the midst of this disaster for michigan, the president is threatening to pull federal funding from the state for absentee voting, leveling a misleading accusation in the tweet that the state is essential essentially, he's saying, promoting voter fraud. why is he afraid, it seems, of absentee voting? cnn's abby phillip is following all of this. abby, what's going on here? >> reporter: kate, this is an issue that president trump has fixated on and has made, frankly, false and, as you pointed out, misleading claims about it. he's accusing michigan of doing something, in his words, illegal by sending absentee ballot applications to all of the

state's voters. now, michigan is a state where any voter for any reason can vote by absentee ballot and the state's secretary of state, who is a democrat, has said that she is well within her authority to do that and has already done it so far this year in a local election earlier this month without complaints from president trump. but it is just one of the two places where he attacked local election officials for expanding mail-in voting. he also criticized nevada, another state the president hopes to win in november, for making the primary election that is coming up a mail-in election. i just received a statement from nevada's secretary of state, who is a republican, who says they changed that election to a mail-in election legally. they basically pushed back on president trump, saying they are well within their rights to do so and to do so according to their state law. now, there is a question about how the white house is going to justify the president's claim

that he'll withhold federal funds. so far we haven't gotten answers on that. just now in the white house press briefing, kayleigh mcenany, the white house press secretary, claimed that there is bipartisan consensus that there is widespread voter fraud in mail-in ballots. we have to say that is not true. we have seen no evidence of widespread voter fraud in either mail-in ballots or in-person ballots in this country. >> and there are certain states that do exclusively mail-in voting and there hasn't been widespread fraud there, like oregon. thank you so much, abby phillip. thanks for joining me. i'm kate bolduan. like helping you understand what the recently passed economic package can mean for you. we're more than a financial company. we're a "together we can get through anything" company. now, more than ever.

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this is cnn breaking news. >> welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. breaking this afternoon, a rift between the white house and the nation's top medical experts emerging in full view with the fate of the cdc director now in question. the trump administration source telling cnn that there are conversations happening inside the white house about potentially replacing the head of the centers for disease control and prevention or cdc, dr. robert redfield. and redfield has become concerned that he may have a target on his back, a separate source tells cnn. as the white house looks for others to blame, fairly or not, for the fact that the u.s. has around a third of the