for the same medications as the vet, but up to 30 percent less with fast free shipping. visit petmeds.com today. hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world. you are watching "cnn newsroom" and i'm rosemary church. just ahead this hour, more than 1,000 covid-19 deaths in the u.s. for the second straight day, but some positive signs on the vaccine front offer a glimmer of hope. then -- >> i think i've been very clear with the president that there are certain things and lines that i will just not allow him to cross, not in my city. >> the chicago mayor's message for president trump as the debate rages over whether federal forces should be

policing u.s. streets. and a familiar face weighs in on the race for the white house. good to have you with us. well, the united states is rapidly closing in on 4 million cases of covid-19. that's a million more infected people than just two weeks ago. nearly 69,000 new cases were reported on wednesday and for the second straight day the death tolls surpassed 200,000. the virus exploded from coast to coast. more than half the country has halted or rolled back reopening. facemask requirements are in place or planned in at least 41 states. that could help save thousands of lives in the coming months according to the latest computer

model and the u.s. says it will pay drug maker pfizer nearly $2 billion to produce and deliver millions of vaccine doses if it's proven safe and effective and if it's approved. so cnn's athena jones has the message. >> reporter: as the nation battles to get coronavirus under control, signs of progress on the vaccine front. the federal government reaching what's been called an historic deal to buy tens of millions of vaccines from pharmaceutical company pfizer if it's approved. >> we can acquire 100 million doses of this vaccine as early as december of 2019 -- of 2020 and have the option to buy an additional 500 million dosed. >> reporter: pfizer in partnership with biointech -- >> preliminary data shows good response from patients

vaccinated and we plan to start large scale clinical trial before the end of july involving 20 to 30,000 patients. >> reporter: calls for patients to try it out have been met with an overwhelming response. >> we have well over 100,000 people that have already signed up as volunteers. >> reporter: meanwhile, at the rate the virus is spreading, officials say if you don't already know someone who's been infected, that's about to change in the coming weeks. the nationwide daily death toll is rising topping 1,000 for the first time in two weeks. california, which just surpassed new york in total number of cases, setting a new record adding more than 12,800 new cases in one day. many hard hit in los angeles county driven by young people. total hospitalizations nearing their april highs. infection and hospitalization rates painting a bleak picture in the south. with hospitals overwhelmed in texas, governor greg abbott

backing a curfew in the rio grande valley while stopping short in place of a shelter in place order. >> i told him and others, if i could get 10% of people to follow it, i'm 10% further ahead than i am today. >> reporter: hospitals under pressure in florida where more than 50 icus reached capacity and just 15% of icu beds left. nearby broward county is nearing capacity. >> 90% of our icu beds are unavailable. we must do more to stop the spread of the virus. >> reporter: experts warn of a long road ahead for the u.s. >> i think we ultimately will get control of it. i don't really see us eradicating it. >> officials say getting it under control will require people to follow basic public health guidelines. >> not defenseless.

we have powerful tools. probably the most powerful tool we have is a simple facemask. >> reporter: one thing dr. red field is speaking about, they are projecting 5,000 fewer deaths in the u.s. by november 1st. that's in part because more and more cities and states have issued mask mandates and because more people are wearing facemasks and keeping their distance from others even without mandates. according to this model, deaths would fall by 40,000 if the u.s. universally adopted mask wearing. athena jones, cnn, new york. there's been a break through on more financial health for americans after days of in party arguing. senate republicans and the white house have reached a deal on how to fund key parts of the next stimulus. the republican chairman of the senate health committee told reporters that the package reflects the priorities of getting the u.s. back to school,

back to child care, back to work. further details on that later this hour. to another major story gripping the nation. u.s. president donald trump announced wednesday that he will surge, his word, federal law enforcement officers into major u.s. cities he believes that are under policed and coincidentally run by democrats. the tactic hasn't worked well in portland, oregon, where pro testers and federal troops have faced off repeatedly. the governor of new mexico says she welcomes a conversation if it is -- any deviation will be met with legal action. u.s. attorney general william barr believes this is a reaction for calls for police reform. >> we had that terrible event in

minneapolis but then we had this extreme reaction that has demonized police and called for the defunding of police departments, and what we have seen then is a significant increase in violent crime in many cities. this rise is a direct result of the attack on the police forces and weakening of police forces. >> chicago's mayor has spoken with president trump who has already announced federal officers will be there soon. it's unclear if the city will have the same reaction as portland. omar jimenez looks at chicago's cycle of violence and why change needs to happen. >> reporter: this cycle of violence in chicago needs to end. >> reporter: they're the latest grim headlines in what's been a grim year for gun violence in the city of chicago.

at least 60 shell casings left behind as 15 people were shot at a funeral home on the city's south side. and then not long after in a separate shooting a 3-year-old was shot while she was in the car with her parents. they are not cooperating with police. >> violence is a symptom. a symptom of communities that are crying out. young men who don't believe they have a future other than being part of one of these gangs or factions. >> reporter: the superintendent of the chicago police department points to gang violence at least with this shooting. >> at any hour of the day several hundred gang conflicts. 117,000 gang members. >> reporter: but another factor that can't be ignored is the ongoing coronavirus pandemic significantly affecting the ecosystem of public safety that

includes jails, courts, community groups and first responders, including police. just this past weekend alone over 60 people were shot and 12 were killed. 2020 is on pace to be one of the deadliest the city has seen in decades with both murders and shootings. up close to 50%. it's part of what the trump administration is planning to send in federal resources for the city that mayor lightfoot said will bolster their already existing federal partnerships to suppress violent crimes based on information she has. lives are continuing to be lost in what's become a vicious deadly cycle. >> the cycle of violence in chicago, someone gets shot which prompts someone else to pick up a gun. this same cycle repeats itself over and over and over again.

>> speaking at the white house earlier, president trump addressed the issue of violence in chicago. >> the cities unfortunately that are in trouble are all run by democrats. you have radical left democrats running cities like chicago and so many others that we just had a news conference in. unfortunately, that's the way it is. i mean, that's the facts. when you look at chicago and you look at the job -- mayor lightfoot sent me a letter, in their own way there will be a time they want us to go in full blast. right now we're sending extra people to help. chicago is a disaster. the mayor is saying don't come in. the mayor is telling us not to come in. at some point we can avoid that if we have to, and we may have to because it's out of control. i assume she's saying that for political reasons. i think it's negative political reasons. she's a democrat. i'm going to be nice.

people are dying in chicago and other cities and we can solve the problem. they have to ask us but we can solve the problem. >> chicago's mayor responded to those claims by the president. she spoke earlier with cnn's don lemon. >> the president's remarks are politics. you know, obviously he's in a fight for his survival so i'm not surprised that he is targeting democratic mayors, whether that's me, whether that's kesha lands bottoms, muriel bowser in washington, d.c., but it doesn't change the fact that we do not want unconstitution unconstitutional secret federal agents coming into our cities, grabbing our residents and violating their rights. >> talk to me about this conversation. what -- as much as you can share with us, what did you talk about? what was it like? >> well, i don't want to go into the details of the conversation, but what you've heard, the

bluster wasn't what i heard in the conversation. it was very brief and very straightforward. i think i've been very clear with the president that there are certain things and lines that i just will not allow him to cross, not in my city and i think he understands that. we are not going to have a bunch of secret federal agents patrolling our streets without any coordination, cooperation. >> chicago has seen a 51% increase in homicides, 41% increase in shootings over the same point last year. >> do you think the chicago police department -- do you think they have enough resources to control this situation? do they have it under control? because, again, those stats i pointed out are pretty damming. >> well, the reality is when we are surrounded by states with lax gun laws and when our police department year over year takes more guns off the street than new york combined and lapd

combined, that's a serious problem. that's why i repeatedly said and i memorialized it in my letter to the president on monday. if he wanted to make a meaningful difference, help us keep the flow of the illegal guns off our streets. >> mayor, i want to ask you about -- because, listen, the president's supporters and the president are pointing -- you know that chicago is part of the protests that have been happening around the country. >> yes, of course. >> he is specifically claiming the black lives matter movement, his attorney general said that was an extreme reaction that demonizes police and wants to defund them. what's your response to the charge that crime is linked to those events? >> look, unfortunately we have seen people who are trying to hijack these otherwise peaceful events. i'm not going to demonize black lives matter. there are righteous indignation following the murder of george floyd. people are -- of all types are

in the streets and many of them are unaffiliated to any particular cause or organization but they want to express their first amendment rights. we have an obligation to protect that sacred right that's embedded in our constitution. >> mayor, thank you so much. i appreciate your time. >> thank you. joe biden took his sharpest aim at president trump wednesday directly calling him a racist. the presumptive democratic presidential nominee made the remarks at a virtual town hall with an employee's union. >> what president trump has done in going -- his spreading of racism, the way he deals with color of skin, national origin, where they're from is absolutely sickening. no sitting president has ever done this, never, never, never. no republican president, no democratic president.

we've had racists, they've existed and tried to get elected as president. he's the first one that has. >> it should be noted there were 12 u.s. presidents who owned slaves and others who made racist remarks. president trump responded with a snipe at china before pointing to pre-virus unemployment numbers. >> prior to the china plague coming in, floating in, coming into our country and really doing terrible things all over the world, terrible things, we had the best african-american, hispanic american, asian-american, almost every group was the best. the unemployment numbers were the best. >> mr. trump also said he has done more for black americans than anyone with the possible exception of abraham lincoln. we also caught up with barack obama earlier this month.

they discussed president trump's divisive rhetoric over the past few years and the coronavirus. >> he ran by deliberately dividing people from the moment he came down that escalator, and i think people are now going, i don't want my kid growing up that way. >> you know what it's like as much as anybody to be in the white house during a crisis. you know what it's like and how lonely it can be to make tough decisions where not every decision is going to be perfect, you've got to make it and to take responsibility for it. >> so they also discussed how the u.s. is grappling with systemic racism and how to make lasting changes to root out historic enemies. still to come, president trump orders the chinese consulate in houston, texas, to shut down and the chinese

government is furious. more reaction from china next. gel. oe five blades and a pivoting flexball designed to get virtually every hair on the first stroke, while washing away dirt and oil. so you're ready for the day with a clean shave and a clean face. unlike ordinary memory want supplements-ter? neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference.

the u.s. has ordered china

to close its consulate in houston texas by friday. soon after that order houston fire officials say they responded to reports that documents were being burned in the consulates courtyard. u.s. officials say the order came after a slow buildup and after a growing number of disputes between the two countries. president donald trump is not ruling out more chinese consulate closures in the u.s. take a listen. >> as far as closing additional embassies, it's always possible. you see what's going on. we thought there was a fire in the kun that we did close. and everybody said there's a fire, there's a fire. i guess they were burning documents or burning papers and i wonder what that's all about. >> cnn's kristie lu stout joins me now from hong kong. good to see you, christi. tell us how china is dealing

with this. >> reporter: diplomatic tension is building. china has vowed to retaliate. u.s. prosecutors are seeking a chinese researcher who is accused of fraud. she is currently hiding out in the chinese consulate in san francisco. within the last hour china's ministry of foreign affairs held a press briefing. they didn't say anything about concrete retaliatory measures. they said the following, that the u.s. should stop using all kinds of excuses to restrict, crack down adding that china would use, quote, necessary measures to firmly safeguard the rights of chinese citizens in the u.s. on wednesday beijing vowed to retaliate. the state media had reported to

the possibility of shutting down one of america's consulates in china. we heard earlier from houston. take a listen to what he said about the situation. >> speak about the facts and do not fabricate something. i will say all activities of this consulate under the rule of the convention. also a bilateral agreement between china and the u.s. >> reporter: the state department said it ordered the closure to protect americans. this comes days after the e.s. leveled charges at two hackers accused of spying on china.

all of this is rachetting up tension between the u.s. and china. concrete terms to see how china is orchestrating that. one republican u.s. senator agrees with his move to close the chinese consulate. senator marco rubio is calling it the central mode of the communist party's network of spies, referring to that consulate. other experts say president trump is doing this to divert attention from the pandemic. >> it's hard to avoid the bigger picture here, which is that president trump is trying to rachet up a cold war with china i think in large part to distract from his own failures in dealing with the coronavirus here at home which he calls the china flu or the kung flu which

is pretty racist. this is more evidence of trump trying to demonize china. there's no question china's done a lot wrong, but trump's motives i think are highly suspect. you can question whether closing the consulate is going to be they'll close one of our consulates in china and what do we get out of that. >> what other form of retalleyation do you expect to see and where is this going? >> this is a very good question. you've seen the tit-for-tat rachetting up of tensions over the last few months. trump is trying to blame chien nampt china has a lot of culpability.

xi jinping has been violating hong kong's autonomy. china is doing a lot wrong, but i'm just not sure that president trump has any kind of game plan for dealing with the chinese and it seems like a lot of what he's doing is to engage this new enemy that he seems to be defending as he seeks re-election. president trump is serious about standing up to china, we are going to have to work a lot harder to get our own house in order. the chinese congress is running out of control and trump is really advocating america's responsibility pulling out of the world organization, pulling out of the trans-pacific partnership, pulling out of the iran nuclear deal, pulling out of every international obligation you can think of. that's creating a vacuum that china is able to fill. in the meantime, we're going through these tit-for-tat responses to china.

it doesn't make a lot of sense. i don't see a strategy beyond the obvious political strategy that president trump is following. >> that was cnn global affairs analyst talking to me earlier. he went on to tell me he doesn't think mr. trump's distraction technique is working saying the public knows who to blame. china is catching up in the race to mars. just a short time ago beijing launched what it hopes to be the first successful mission to mars. it is supposed to reach mars by february of 2021. to open or not to open? that is the question school officials across the country are facing as covid-19 cases spike. we will tell you what the u.s. president is saying about it. that's next. reinventing. it's what small businesses do.

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now we mentioned the break through in washington over the next round of stimulus. that plan should include $105 billion for schools. regardless of the money, multiple districts from new york to washington are already preparing for remote learning this fall. the president says he wants all schools to open. take a listen. >> i would like to see the schools open, open 100% and we'll do it safely. we'll do it carefully, but when you look at the statistics i just read having to do with children and safety, they're very impressive. they have very strong immune systems. >> what you understand, children go to school, go back home, some

live with glands parentrandpare >> they do say they don't transmit very easily. a lot of people are saying they don't transmit. we're studying, john, very hard that particular subject, that they don't bring it home with them now. they don't catch it easily. they don't bring it home easily. if they do catch it, they get better fast. we are looking at that fact. we are looking at that very strongly. we'll be reporting about that. >> we are doing the fact checking. we wanted expert reaction to president trump's statement about children and covid-19. i spoke to the chief medical officer at harvard ucla medical center, he said he understands how difficult this is for parents and children, but he said the priority should be safety. >> this prolonged pandemic, it's been five months and it's going to go on much longer is very challenging for kids and parents. now it is irresponsible to reopen schools when we have so

much community transmission of the pandemic occurring while at the same time we simply don't have enough testing to go around. so this is a very dangerous time to reopen schools, especially in those states and injuries duct shuns that are so heavily affected. >> now i also wanted to talk to you about the key model from washington university because that projects nearly 220,000 u.s. deaths by november. that's about 5,000 fewer than their last forecast due to mask mandates in some states. it also predicts that if there is a national mask mandate, that another 34,000 lives could be saved. so how important is it to you that president trump makes that call for a national mask mandate? >> it's everything. at this point we don't have very effective treatments for covid. we certainly do not yet have a vaccine but we do know for a fact that masks work. masks work in protecting others

and they work in protecting youth from contracting coronavirus. we have seen it in so many other countries across the world where they are wearing their masks and they are socially distancing. they don't have anywhere close the problem we have here in the united states. >> dr. mahajan, thank you so much. we appreciate it. >> thank you. well, staffers at the white house are being urged not to panic after a cafeteria worker on the grounds was diagnosed with the virus. the news was sent to staff by email which was seen by cnn as kaitlyn collins explains. >> reporter: they wanted to tell them that a staffer who works in one of the cafeterias on the white house grounds has tested positive for coronavirus. now this is not the one that's in the actual west wing. that's the mess where staffers go. two restaurants one inside the white house where the vice president's office is, where the

national security council staffers are and hundreds of others. there's another one in the new executive office building also here on the white house grounds. both of those have been closed after a staffer tested positive. the white house medical office said they've conducted contact tracing. they don't think anyone who works in the west wing needs to self-quarantine at this time. >> meantime, counselor to the president, kellyanne conway, has been defending president trump's handling of the coronavirus. speaking to reporters wednesday, she appeared to shift blame onto the states themselves. >> i think what added yesterday is him saying some of these states blew through our gated criteria, blew through our phases and they opened up some of the industries a little too quickly, like bars. >> but here's what the president himself has said over the last few months. >> we're very close to completing a plan to open our country, hopefully even ahead of

schedule. we cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. i would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by easter. i'm not going to do anything rash or hastily, i don't do that, but the country wants to get back to work. the plans to reopen the country are close to being finalized. i want fans back in the arenas. >> safe? >> no, whenever we're ready. as soon as we can. it's time to be open. it's time to stay open. we will put out the fires as they come up. ultimately the goal is to ease the guidelines and open things up to very large sections of our country as we near the end of our historic battle with the invisible enemy. could go on for a while, but we win. >> well, on the issue of masks, here's what conway had to say. >> he said in april if people want to wear a mask, they should

wear a mask. you have to go back and pull it. i think that's not very honest if you aren't reporting it. he is way ahead of that. >> fact check. here's what mr. trump said in early april. >> so with the masks, it's going to be really a voluntary thing. you can do it, you don't have to do it. i'm choosing not to do it but some people may want to do it. >> now of course he's saying to do it so that's what we're going to do, we're going to wear our masks. this is "cnn newsroom." hong kong is struggling with the third wave of the coronavirus. we are live there. that is next. stay with us. want to brain better? unlike ordinary memory supplements- neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference.

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we want to take a look at how the pandemic has been handled around the world, and we begin in hong kong which is dealing with its third wave of cases.

cnn's will ripley is there and he joins us live. good to see you, will. hong kong had this under control. what is the latest efforts on containing this? >> reporter: we've seen, you know, well over 600 cases over the last two weeks, rosemary. a very small number when you're thinking about the united states and other countries that are seeing thousands of new cases every day. here in hong kong the total for the pandemic is getting closer to 2200 cases with 14 deaths. numbers that most cities would celebrate but here in hong kong they are shutting this place down. and they're expanding social distancing requirements. people are encouraged to work from home. civil servants are doing so. they've now expanded the requirement that everybody wear masks in all indoor public spaces. this includes public transportation like buses and trains and any area where you might be inside you have to wear a mask or you can be fined 600 u.s. dollars. travelers coming in from nine

countries deemed high risk, including the united states and india, they have to submit covid-19 results and they have to be recent results. somebody from the united states where tests are taking a long time to turn around might have a difficult time getting a test and supplying it to the airline before they can board a flight from hong kong. it's difficult for people to come in and bring cases into the city because they're testing everybody and quarantining them after they arrive. what's significant are the community cases that are continuing to spread despite the measures, the city talking about a possible lockdown. the numbers keep going up. every day we keep seeing new record highs. the numbers are low, but the concern is the numbers could get much, much higher if these measures are not taken. the reason why hong kong is so concerned about the low numbers is because already we have a health care system here that is being pushed to the brink. we are running out of isolation beds for covid-19 patients and also labs that are processing

these covid-19 tests, around 10,000 or so per day, they are being pushed to the limit. in fact, we had an incident here in recent days where a woman who was actually negative got a false positive because one of the lab techs who was overworked mixed up the results. this patient who didn't have covid-19 was put in isolation in the same room with someone who did and they were there for several hours before the mistake was identified. so you have a city that could be really, really under prepared if the numbers were to explode here which is why hong kong is taking such precautions, rosemary. >> will ripley, many thanks. well, the brazilian health ministry says the country's coronavirus outbreak seems to be under control despite breaking the daily record for new infections. brazil reported nearly 68,000 new cases on wednesday. more than 16,000 just in sao palo. the ministry reported 12,080 new

coronavirus deaths. the president met with supporters after testing positive for the third time within two weeks. the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention says multiple tests on someone who has already tested positive are not worth while. and despite the growing numbers of cases, many people in mexico's biggest cities refuse to believe the virus is that severe and others don't believe it exists at all. matt rivers reports from mexico city. >> reporter: humberto montez cruz sings at funerals for a living but he doesn't take this virus seriously. this virus doesn't exist. i don't know if i'm ignorant or if the faith i have in god. if it exists, he'd of gotten it by now. i've consistently heard people

like him say this virus doesn't exist. in may a funeral home director said people died of, quote, the flu, not covid. paramedics said they encounter skeptics on every call. a cream ma tore yum owner said he's amazed how many people tell him the virus isn't real. why? this man found with a fundamental lack of trust in institutions. >> there's a fundamental trust. >> reporter: when officials say take the virus seriously, some do the opposite. he points to other officials like the mexican president downplaying the virus or a lack of understanding where it comes from. >> you want to believe there's something intentional about this, but this happened just because a virus suddenly happened. and that is something difficult to believe. >> in mexico city's crowded

central district we found george who doesn't believe in the virus. >> i've seen so many things in the media that it doesn't exist. i don't know anyone who's gotten it. >> reporter: he's in the minority. the threat is getting harder to ignore. martha says i didn't believe in the virus but now with everything happening. i have to believe it exists. abigail says i didn't believe it but i have family in the hospital so i'm scared. 68% of mexicans do believe the virus exists. 14% don't believe it exists or aren't sure and that seems like a small number until you consider 14% of mexico's population is what we should do. if they're not, it doesn't bode well with a country that already

has one of the worst outbreaks in the world. matt rivers, cnn, mexico city. authorities in chile have come up with another way to test for the virus. they are training dogs to test people that may have been infected with covid-19 by sniffing their sweat. the three golden retrievers and labrador are between the ages of 4 and 5. the police have been using them to locate illegal drugs, explosives, missing people. the virus has no smell but experts say the infection and produces a sweat. canine detection of covid-19 has a 95% success rate when tested in other countries. british prime minister boris johnson is calling on the military for a quadruple threat.

there could be a second coronavirus spike, a seasonal flu outbreak, winter flooding and disruptions as the u.s. transitions out of the e.u. all of these at once could overwhelm national army. they say these plans will be set by the end of august. the u.s. president speaks out about the long-time companion of convicted sex offender jeffrey epstein but what he has to say has brought renewed scrutiny about his relationship with epstein. we'll have the details just ahead. e. i remember setting up shipstation. one or two clicks and everything was up and running. i was printing out labels and saving money. shipstation saves us so much time. it makes it really easy and seamless. pick an order, print everything you need, slap the label onto the box, and it's ready to go. our costs for shipping were cut in half. just like that. shipstation. the #1 choice of online sellers. go to shipstation.com/tv and get 2 months free.

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for the same medications as the vet, but up to 30 percent less with fast free shipping. visit petmeds.com today. ghislaine maxwell is facing charges for allegedly playing a role in jeffrey epstein's sex trafficking ring, but she also knew donald trump before he became president. now mr. trump is downplaying how well he knows her, yet he says he wishes her well. cnn's pamela brown has our report. >> reporter: president trump's return to the briefing room took an unexpected return with his response to a question about ghislaine maxwell, arrested earlier this month on multiple

charges related to sexual abuse of underage girls by her long-time companion convicted sex offender jeffrey epstein. she has pleaded guilty. >> i haven't been following it too much. i just wish her well frankly. >> reporter: this is bringing renewed scrutiny to trump's relationship with maxwell and epstein. he died after being charged with sex trafficking. some republican lawmakers reacted on twitter saying this is unacceptably obtuse for a woman accused of the most morally depraved of crimes and she is despicable and he needs to say that. >> i've met her numerous times over the years, especially since i lived in palm beach and i guess they lived in palm beach, but i wish her well, whatever it is. >> reporter: trump says he's known epstein since the late '80s and pictures from the '90s show trump with maxwell.

one picture shows trump with maxwell in 1997, then again in early 2000 at trump's palm beach property mar-a-lago and another picture shows trump with maxwell that same year at a new york fashion show and then again with model naomi campbell. epstein's one-time business partner who spent 18 years in jail for a ponzi scheme told cnn today there's no dispute, they knew each other well. in a 2002 interview with new york magazine trump showered praise on epstein calling him, quote, a terrific guy and saying he's a lot of fun to be with. it is even said he likes beautiful women as much as i do, and many of them are on the younger side. after epstein was arrested last year, trump had a different tune claiming he kicked epstein out of mar-a-lago years before. >> he was a fixture in palm beach. i had a falling out with him a

long time ago. i wasn't a fan. >> prosecutors say maxwell went into hiding over the last year as more victims came forward alleging she lured them in and groomed them to be sexually abused by epstein. alleged victim virginia guiffrey said she was lured in. she never alleged any wrongdoing by the president. pamela brown, cnn, washington. in a normal world, all eyes would have been on tokyo this week for the opening of the olympic games. that, of course, isn't happening. the global pandemic saw to that, but the games are now due to take place one year from today. that milestone comes as japan breaks its record for most coronavirus cases in a single day. and it only took 30 years but liverpool are finally hoisting another english championship trophy. >> the biggest lift for

liverpool. on top in england. >> the reds actually clinched the premier league title almost a month ago, the earliest in top flight history but they didn't get their hands on the trophy until wednesday. despite all of this partying in the bubble, the festivities were somewhat muted due to the coronavirus. fans were urged to stay at home and not gather outside of the stadium. the manager promises there will be a proper party when it's safe. before we leave you, a quick programming note. tune in for a cnn special. coronavirus. it's 8 p.m. on thursday night. thank you so much for your company. i'm rosemary church. "early start" is up next. you're watching cnn. have yourselves a great day.

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senate republicans in the white house mostly resolve their differences on a much-needed stimulus deal. more stimulus checks, funding for schools and billions for testing which the president calls overrated. and 119 days after the planned opening day, a shortened major league baseball season finally gets underway today. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm laura jarrett. >> i'm christine romans. thursday, july 23rd, 5 a.m. in new york. republican senators in the white house reached a deal on the key parts of th