for the same medications as the vet, but up to 30 percent less with fast free shipping. visit petmeds.com today. the united states surpasses 4 million coronavirus cases with 1 million added in just the last 15 days. president trump cancels republican convention activities in jacksonville, florida, as coronavirus cases surge in the state and major league baseball players make a statement as the season finally gets underway. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta. welcome in the united states and all around the world. i'm kim brunhuber.

as the united states racked up its 4 millionth case of covid-19 on thursday, the u.s. president insisted most of the country is in fine shape and school children should return to the classroom. president trump said he's asked congress for $105 billion to help schools minimize the risk. the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention have said most schools should be reopening except in places where it is spreading. they said the rates of infection are rising in a dozen major u.s. cities. as for the president's showcase acceptance of the republican nomination next month in jacksonville, florida, events there have been scrapped because of the coronavirus. athena jones has more on the dramatic surge of cases across the country.

>> reporter: 4 million ip be effect shuns nationwide. a grim milestone and perhaps the strongest signal that the coronavirus is still raging out of control across the country. deaths nationwide topping 1,000 for the second straight day with total hospitalizations back up to april levels. 15 states setting new records, half of them in the south. the center for public integrity reporting white house coronavirus task force dr. deborah birx said that a dozen major cities where positivity rates are rising must take aggressive steps to halt the virus's steps. >> when we first saw the increase in positivity, that is when to start the mitigation efforts. i know it may look small, and you may say that only went from five to five and a half but if you wait another few days you'll

see a dramatic increase in cases. >> california and florida both setting records for deaths in a day. the mayor of miami stressing halting community spread when most of it is happening at home. >> having multi-generation household wearing masks with your multi-generational residents and respecting social distancing when they're home because we're seeing 9 largest center of spread being your house. >> in alaska, one of 12 states that saw the highest 12 day average, the mayor of anchorage rolling back reopening placing new limits on indoor and outdoor gatherings and the governor announcing that starting today people in state buildings will be required to wear facemasks when they cannot stay six feet away from others. >> we want to do everything we can over the next two weeks to see if we can arrest this surge. >> reporter: meanwhile, school districts from seattle to

maryland and south carolina's clemson holding classes online in the fall. doug dousy still mulling over whether to open schools. >> we want to go back to work. we want to support our kids. we want to keep doing what we love doing but we want to feel safe. we have family to worry about. >> reporter: one more sign the toll coronavirus is taking, they expect covid-19 to be among the top ten causes of death this year. athena jones, cnn, new york. i'd like to analyze some of those issues with dr. ron daniels with the u.k.'s health service. the president of the united states pivoting sort of. do you think this will help or is the resistance to stringent too sort of entrenched,

basically too little too late. >> it's fascinating, isn't it? we've talked over here in the u.k. about the inconsistency of our government. it's not coming over here through to america's plague, businesses, we have a problem, let's war a mask. the reality is in countries that have seen these curbs, mask wearing is great. had the conference gone ahead, it would have been very likely to cause significant spread. our own prime minister has seen the effects of coronavirus personally. we would hate to see that happen to president trump as well. >> we often get overwhelmed with numbers, case numbers kind of washes over us. one number that made people sit

up and take notice, talking about this in the coffee shop, the fact that we went from 3 million cases to 4 million cases basically in two weeks. the rate of increase accelerating at a frightening pace. what does that tell you? >> well, it tells me -- i've said this before with cnn, america seems to be behaving like 50 small countries and two principalities. with free travel, that's contributed to this huge number that we're now seeing so that 1 in 15, 1 in 20 americans now having tested positive for this virus. it's absolutely imperative of course now that the american public behave responsibly. again, i have a he said this before. this is about balancing rights with moral obligations and respect for others. >> i mean, there hasn't been a lot of show of people doing the

right thing. where i am here in georgia, sort of a microcosm of the u.s., it really illustrates what's going on across the country. over confidence, under testing. various levels of government have conflict. some have advocated basically shutting down again and starting over. what do you think about this radical approach? >> well, i think the u.s. has got to look really carefully at where there are surges being seen. there are great data out there on this. we know that places like new york city have started to see the curve flatten. they're probably at the end of their first surge. other states are at the beginning of theirs. we have to look really carefully at this. where surges are beginning, then these lockdown measures are absolutely vital. you know, look, this is not about you, not about your business, this is about your

parents, your grandparents, their kids with chronic health conditions. this is about respect for others. it's not hard to wear a mask and there are no ill effects from wearing a mask apart from a bit of discomfort. >> now you mentioned data, you know, testing is part of that and the speed with which we can do it. the backlog. lots of issues about this here. there's a lot of hope being placed on rapid point of care tests which can give results in minutes instead of days. where are we with this? also, what are the tradeoffs there in terms of the quality of those tests? >> yeah. i think the quality is a significant issue. we are using points of care testing in hospitals in the u.k. we recognize that they're not the gold standard. there are a lot of false positives. people who later test negative for the antigen. a negative point of care test doesn't mean go and have a party, it means, okay, this test was negative, that's reassuring

slightly but that doesn't definitely mean you don't have the virus. >> all right. let's turn to the contentious issue of school reopenings. the schism seems to be growing with the cdc on one hand as we heard earlier saying that the best evidence is that it's low risk. this doesn't make it true but the adults can be affected. we've seen some countries open schools safely, but there isn't a lot of data out there. what have we learned so far? >> i think we've learned that, indeed, schools reopening is low risk but it's not zero risk. so i've seen data that suggests that if we close schools and keep them closed it can reduce the number of total cases and deaths by somewhere 2% to 4%. that's not zero risk. kids seem less prone to developing coronavirus symptoms. they seem less prone to

contracting coronavirus. there are lots of studies, south korea, iceland and japan. children have 1/10 of the risk of contracting it even asymptomatically. similarly, they seem less able to pass it on. that's perhaps because they don't cough as much, they tend to have a sore throat, runny nose, it's less transmissible in that environment. less aerosol, so it is not completely safe but it's less risky than allowing house parties. >> absolutely. thank you so much for that. i appreciate it. dr. ron daniels with the u.k.'s national health service. we appreciate your time. u.s. president donald trump has abandoned plans to hold the 2020 national convention in jacksonville, florida. activities for the nominating event were previously moved from charlotte, north carolina,

officials raised concerns about large gatherings. they said it was a way for the president to demonstrate leadership. here's what he said thursday. >> i looked at my team and i said, the timing for this event is not right, just not right with what's happened recently. the flare-up in florida, to have a big convention is not the right time. it's really something that for me, i have to protect the american people. that's what i've always done. that's what i always will do. that's what i'm about. >> and on monday the sheriff in jacksonville said he wasn't sure he could secure rnc activities in jacksonville. >> the president gave in to reality here after, among others, the sheriff of duvall county, which is where it would be 4e8d, said they did not think

they could do this in a safe manner. he conceded to reality by not having an indoor event at the time when florida is absolutely out of control. 70% of floridians in a quinnipiac poll say as you point out, you've got to turn to the initial instinct which is opening everything as quickly as possible regardless of the public health because he believes the return to normalcy will impede his re-election. polls show joe biden has a wide key in some states. minnesota, 51% of voters who are polled say they would choose biden that's opposed to 38% of donald trump whose handling of the coronavirus outbreak is proving a major issue for many voters. the polls suggest solid leads for biden in michigan and

pennsylvania. well, as we mentioned earlier, the centers for disease control and prevention is now strongly recommending that schools in the u.s. reopen for the term. this comes after president donald trump demanded that the agency alter previous recommendations which he called tough and expensive. >> being at the school, being on the campus is very, very important. fortunately, the data these children are lower risk from the china virus very substantially, but every district should be actively making preparations to open. again, the children obviously have a very strong immune system. >> cdc recommendations are similar. they say parents and guardians should monitor students. children will be advised to wear masks, use social distancing and other preventive measures.

they should consider closing schools, keeping them closed if there is substantial uncontrollable transmission of the virus. philanthropist bill gates is developing many resources to develop a covid-19 vaccine. >> well, the infection rate in the u.s. is equally troubling because the summer when it's warmer, when people are indoors more, actually it's easier to reduce the infection than it's going to be out in the fall. and right now those infections are largely in young people, which means the death rate, although it's come up, is nowhere near its peak. as those infections cross over the generational boundaries, which with this level of infection there will certainly be some of that, the death rate

will go back up. still ahead, a troubling sign of the state of the u.s. economy. we look at how the coronavirus is affecting unemployment claims and tightening tensions between beijing and washington, this time over the forced closure of each other's consulates. we'll get a look at what it means next. and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surfaces. for 45 days.

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hundreds of worshippers are being asked to self quarantine after attending this celebration. no social distancing, no masks, plenty of raised voices and spreading of droplets. every american has the constitutional right to freedom of worship. they say this one put community at risk. shasta county is on california's watch list for increased transmission of the virus. the u.s. economy is showing troubling signs once again even as republican senators argue over the details over a new stimulus plan. new unemployment claims are up for the first time in almost four months. 1.4 million americans applied

for first-time unemployment benefits last week. for more cnn's elainey jokos joins us. how does this help fill in the larger economic picture? >> this is a reality check. very sobering number. we had a decline in initial claims for 15 weeks. this is the first time we've seen an increase. importantly the market didn't expect this rise. in fact, there's a dire correlation in terms of what we've seen on coronavirus cases increasing in the sunbelt and what we're seeing in the increase of initial claims. we saw the likes of california, 400,000 claims, nearly 400,000 claims coming through for the last week. we saw florida and georgia also hitting very high numbers as well. we're seeing continuing claims sitting at 60 million. that number dropped slightly but, again, it shows that a true u.s. recovery really does hinge on intervention, on a recovery

plan by the u.s. government. you've got to remember the enhanced benefit that put an extra $600 in the pockets of vulnerable unemployed americans. that program is coming to the end at the end of july. i want you to take a listen to what treasury secretary steven mnuchin had to say. remember, the republicans in the senate and the white house apparently looking at the details and they're going to take it to the democrats. take a listen. >> the president's priority for the moment is to get money into americans quickly and one of the problems with the payroll tax cut is it takes time so we are much more focused right now on the direct payments. we're going to come back again. you know, there may be a c.a.r.e.s. 5.0. the president, again, is focused on money in american workers pockets right now. >> reporter: the big news there is what to do with that enhanced benefit. we heard that steve mnuchin was talking about dropping it to 200

to $100 a week and then we saw a proposal perhaps replacing 70% of lost income. the point is the democrats want this enhanced benefit in place. they're talking about a recovery plan hitting $3 trillion. republicans say $1 trillion. once they finally get some common ground, it has to go back to the democrats and that's where the negotiation really needs to happen. time is running out. markets and participants are watching this and unemployed americans are watching this very closely. >> absolutely. all of this doesn't bode so well for those millions of americans looking for help. thank you so much, elaini elainie giokos, we appreciate it. if losing a job isn't bad enough, for millions of americans it means losing health insurance. phil mattingly talked to one woman who's trying to stay hopeful during these unprecedented times.

>> trying to stay optimistic. smiling. it will all be okay. >> reporter: despite a furlough ashley managed to stay positive in the first few months of the pandemic. >> unemployment, everything made it a little bit easier to be like, okay, i can stay at home and be okay. >> reporter: but the pittsburgh restaurant group where she worked decided it had to make cuts. >> there's so much uncertainty. i think nobody really knows what's going on. it's kind of almost like a downwards spiral. >> reporter: now ashley has joined nearly 18 million americans as unemployed, and those job losses have laid bear a significant hole for those individuals. >> particularly a time like this when people are losing their jobs at unprecedented levels, they're losing their health insurance coverage at a time when we're facing a health crisis in the country and many people have a need more than ever for health insurance coverage. >> reporter: nearly 160 million americans, about half the u.s. population, receive health

insurance through their employer in 2018. now as many as 26.8 million people could become uninsured due to those job losses according to the kaiser family foundation. while the group estimates more than 20 million would likely qualify for obamacare medicare subsidies, at least 5 million people faced with paying their own way, all as a crucial $600 federal unemployment benefit is about to expire on july 31st. >> that was actually my saving grace. >> it really was. as pamplin confronts the need of purchasing insurance on her own. she faces a stunning reality. >> food, insurance, car insurance, sadly health insurance would be the last priority. >> reporter: lawmakers urgently debate a federal extension to that unemployment plan, it's a decision millions must make with jarring repercussions. >> i don't know if i could

afford that now because i felt like i was finally blessed to be in a position where i felt a little bit comfortable. >> reporter: she had a job, health insurance. she closed on a new home just days after her restaurant shut down and she still never stopped smiling. the uncertainty has taken control. >> i don't want to lose everything i've worked hard to get and realize how hard it would be to get it back again. so the terms of the diplomatic growing dispute between the u.s. and china. china says it's a reciprocal measure after the trump administration ordered the consulate in houston, texas, to shut down. mike pompeo said it's time for the world to change how it engages with beijing. >> we have to have our truth which should guide us in the years and decades to come. if we want a free 21st century

and not the country of which xi jinping dreams, the whole blind parity with china must not get it done. we must not continue it. we must not return to it. >> to analyze all of this, let's bring in david culver of beijing. strong words from the secretary of state there now attacking china as an oft used tactic in an election season. some experts have claimed this is the lowest u.s./china relations have been in decades. what's your assessment? >> quite bluntly, it's bad and it's getting worse. you heard pompeo there. the secretary went on for an hour as he was speaking. i was listening to the entirety and it was the china threat. he says china is a threat to global freedom. china's fighting back. they think this is all slander and they go on to say they will continue to meet the u.s. with

reciprocal actions as they feel needed. case in point is what we saw just play out today here. did i plo the closing of the u.s. consulate. this is known for spicy food and pandas. you say pandas and it's something that folks in the u.s. relate to. panda diplomacy was a thing that played out and continues to break down. why that conflict? i want you to listen to a little bit of what the foreign ministry had to say. i'll read you some of what they put out in a statement. the measure taken by china is is a legitimate and necessary response for the unjustified act by the u.s. it's customary and diplomatic practices. they go on to say and they

addressed this that that consulate is a place where they believe inappropriate actions were taking place essentially that harmed the national security interests of china. clearly they're likening it to what the u.s. said about the houston consulate that the chinese operated and the u.s. saying it was a threat for spying. >> david, i've been to chengdu to see the pandas and i never imagined it would be the center of a diplomatic dispute. i appreciate your analysis. >> reporter: here we are. >> exactly. well, corruption charges and the coronavirus are galvanizing protesters in israel. just ahead we'll go live toer residential rus is a lem where thousands are calling for the prime minister to resign. that's sending out shocks at supermarkets. we'll take you to london to explain why it's happening now. stay with us. hey, kids!

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welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber, you're watching "cnn newsroom." it's a bad day for brazil. health officials reported almost 60,000 new infections, that's the second only to wednesday where they recorded 68,000. we have more from sao palo. >> reporter: brazil reported another big spike on thursday. almost 60,000 new infections and

1,300 new deaths. this a day after the interim health minister claimed the virus seemed to be under control with what he called an effective response preventing a collapse in the health system. while the rate of infection seems to have plateaued, the virus continues to spread in smaller cities and towns in brazil's south and inland with a total number of cases nearing 2.3 million. in the southernmost states the number of infections has tripled in the last month. a new study led by researchers in brazil show the use of a controversial ma kwlarn drug does not help covid-19 patients. according to the study published in the new england journal of medicine, hydroxychloroquine did not improve hospitalized patients with mild to moderate covid-19. shasta darlington, cnn, san

palo. the country has the fourth highest death toll in the world. matt rivers is in tijuana with more of the strain on the resources there. >> reporter: yet another record day here in mexico with health officials thursday evening reporting more than 8400 newly confirmed cases of the virus. that is the largest day-to-day increase since the virus began. we know the effects have been felt severely in border communities like this one. we're in the mexican state of baja, california. it sits west of the united states. the effects of those early cases are still being felt right now.

consider the mortality rate. roughly 20% of all people that have contracted the virus have died as a result. that's one of the highest mortality rates of all of mexico and mexico has one of the highest mortality rates of any country worldwide. we've spoken to doctors that have totals that hospitals here in baja, california, have been overwhelmed by patients. we know the people here in the city of tijuana that traveled across the border behind me to the u.s. state of california to try and seek treatment which of course has put a strain on the health care system in california. on the other side of this coin, you've got governors in mexican border states who are concerned in rises in cases, severe rises in u.s. states like california and arizona. they don't want americans coming across here. this is the challenge in border communities and the situation on both sides of the border is the

stated reason why they have announced that bored jury travel will be continued until at least 25ug 1 ths. matt rivers, cnn, tijuana. u.k. prime minister boris johnson is marking one year in office with a promise. he says he will not let coronavirus hold the country back. this comes as facemasks become mandatory friday in shops and supermarkets across england. for more, we're joined by anna stuart. she comes to us from oxford street in england. plenty of shops behind you will be affected by this. we saw spain, italy, germany, even england. do you get the sense people will comply? as we've seen in many states, are we going to expect a degree of violent resistance? >> reporter: i'm not sure about the violent resistance.

we've had this rule on public transport. not violent resistance, but i'm not sure everybody will follow it. it is a requirement by law. in terms of face coverings, how many people wear them, this law is coming in a lot later than other countries. there's been a bit of a lag time. nine out of ten britts do agree with the rule. they think you should wear a facemask in public like shops, train stations and airports. only three out of ten britts do wear a facemask. this is being introduced in england. there is a fine for people who don't comply. it is 100 pounds. that is a little over $125. in terms of how strictly that is

enforced, we don't expect it to be heavily enforced here. the police do have the power to enforce this fine. they have essentially said they're not going to be on facemask patrol. it's not up to shop employees to enforce it either. as a matter of last resort, if you refuse to leave the shop after being asked, in terms of how it's being taken up, people are embracing the change. the shops will open in the next hour or so. i'll be shopping here in the name of journalism. >> that's good. it will be interesting to see how that's perceived. anna stewart in london. thank you very much. the new conducto-- duke and

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demonstrators rallied outside the home of chicago mayor lori lightfoot thursday evening. they're calling for the city to defund the police department. lightfoot said thursday she plans to remove a christopher columbus statue in grant park. it was the scene of scuffles last week. several police officers and an 18-year-old demonstrator were

injured. chicago is one of several american cities that soon could see an increased federal law enforcement presence. president donald trump said he wants to deploy tens of thousands of federal agents across the country because of violent crime but that requires invitations from local officials, something mr. trump says isn't new. >> if they invited us in, we would go in with 50,000, 75,000 people. we would be able to solve it like you wouldn't believe it and quick. they don't want to ask. they don't want to ask. it's a disgrace. >> u.s. justice department's independent watchdog said it will investigate how federal troops have been using force against protestors in portland, oregon, and washington, d.c. the fact that those federal troops are even policing american citizens have sparked outrage across the country. david shoretel explains what's

happening next. two violent lockdowns is under scrutiny. announcing thursday they will be opening an investigation into the use of excessive force by federal officers in washington, d.c., and portland, oregon. those two american cities, really the sight of some shocking violence as americans have taken to the street in recent weeks to demonstrate against police brutality. you'll remember in june it was attorney general william barr who ordered a group of federal law enforcement officers to disperse a crowd of peaceful demonstrators who gathered outside the white house. that preceding donald trump's infamous walk across lafayette park and to a church that had been vandalized for a photo opportunity. now the inspector general will be reviewing the training and instructions that those federal officers got before that incident. at the same time the justice department and homeland security

inspectors general announcing on thursday that they'll be reviewing the use of force where rioters have been clashing for several weeks where they are defending a group of federal disclosure. it's galvanized outrage. from key leaders and democrats to urge the inspectors general to go in. a group of u.s. marshal saying to move back. another incident shows federal officers dragging a protestor into an unmarked police van. this is under investigation by two inspectors general. portland's mayor told crowds

of protesters that federal troops sent there by the president are taking part in an unconstitutional occupation and then he was tear gassed. you may have seen this video. it's incredible. you see mayor ted wheeler there wearing a mask and goggles coughing in a cloud of tear gas. this was early thumorning. mayor wheeler later told cnn's chris cuomo why he's urging president trump to withdraw his troops from the city. >> the fact of the matter is, before the feds arrived the situation was contained. the nightly violence had dissipated. we were seeing smaller crowds. the energy had gone out of those crowds, and then when they showed up the entire thing blew up. they kicked a hornet's nest and i saw firsthand last night the indiscriminate use of tear gas and other mu fishions. it had no effect other than angering people and frustrating

people. now they're outraged. this chaos. this unrest that we are now seeing on the streets of portland, that thousands of people that are now coming out to demonstrate, this was created directly by the trump administration's heavy handed, unwarranted and unconstitutional tactics in our city. >> that was the mayor of portland, oregon, speaking earlier. the body of civil rights legend and u.s. representative john lewis will lie in state at the u.s. capitol next week. the tribute is given to military leaders and states men. he will lie in state on the east steps of the capitol. this will allow the viewing monday and tuesday the ability to take place next week. his family wants people to display a blue or purple ribbon to commemorate his life. democratic congresswoman

alexandria owe case yes cortez is not satisfied with the apology she received. he apologized on the u.s. house floor for the abrupt manner of conversation but he denied using the words attributed to him. she called his apology an excuse and fired off this response from the house floor the next day. >> i am here because i have to show my parents that i am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men. in using that language in front of the press, he gave permission to use that language against his wife, his daughters, women in his community and i am here to stand up to say, that is not acceptable. >> just ahead, opening day for

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minister benjamin netanyahu not just over his handling of the pandemic but also alleged corruption. scuffles broke out as they gathered near his residence in jerusalem. they used water cannons to disperse the crowd. he denies any wrongdoing. for more on this, let's turn to cnn's oren lieberman in jerusalem. it wasn't that long ago, maybe two months ago benjamin netanyahu was being haled as a pandemic hero, now forced to defend his house with water cannons. take us through the reasons behind this fairly rapid reversal of fortune. >> a lot of this is driven by the collapse in israel's fight against the coronavirus. it was in mid may that there were about 20 new cases in may. on wednesday there was a new record of 2,000 new cases in one day. that is the level where the health minister has said this country must seriously consider

returning to a second general lockdown. as for the cases of surge, we have seen the second questioning of prime minister benjamin netanyahu's handling of coronavirus. that has plummeted. no doubt some of those protestors are anticorruption, anti-beebe protesters. there are new dimensions, access and there is fear over financial future. we have seen groups like restaurant owners, social workers. that's why the protests have grown and become more frequent. that explains this sudden lack of trust and we've also seen it in hypothetical polls before the election where his numbers have also collapsed. prime minister benjamin netanyahu has tried to bring this under control. he has appointed a coronavirus czar. that after a number of

candidates refused the job because they feared they'd be given none of the responsibility and all of the blame. kim? >> thanks so much. oren lieberman in jerusalem. appreciate it. well, it's play ball again for the boys of summer. major league baseball opened its covid shortened 60-game season on thursday with two games. >> now one of the more well-known washington national fa fans. i laugh every time i see that. that was top u.s. disease expert dr. anthony fauci. he's never going to make it to the show with a throw like that. the ceremonial first pitch. his favorite team, washington nationals, went on to lose in the rain shortened game. fauci luckily does better in the lab than on the mound. far more seriously, sport wasn't the only focus on opening day.

demands for racial justice also took the field. and that game between the new york yankees and the watching top nationals was a moment of solidarity as both teams took a knee and they weren't the only ones. all the way across the country players from los angeles dodgers, san francisco giants took a knee while they played the national anthem. that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm kim brunhuber. "early start" is next. you doing okay?

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the president's biggest rivals right now, the virus and the clock. 1,000 americans have died for a third day in a row. now the president in full retreat sacrificing what matters most to him, crowd size. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. this is "early start" on friday. i'm christine romans. >> i'm laura jarrett. friday, july 24th. happy friday. 5 a.m. here in new york. we begin this morning with the president in rare retreat. in a surprise move he scrapped the republican national convention celeb