good evening. more than 150,000 americans have now died in this country's reckoning with covid-19. and though it's a milestone, a terrible one to be sure, it is neither just a number nor a

statistic. it is one parent. one grandparent. a lost child. an absent friend. one less measure of love in the world, and many more tears. that, times 150,000. i wish i could tell you the president of those 150,000 dead and their families, and all of us, said something about those deaths today. about the grief that so many families are feeling. but he did not. today, crossing that miserable milestone of 150,000 deaths, the president ignored it. nothing about the 197 lives lost in california or the 216 in florida. when confronted with the civilian casualties of his misbegotten, so-called whole-of-government approach to the pandemic, this self-proclaimed wartime president has little to say. visiting an oil rig in texas, a state when which reported 313 deaths today, the president didn't speak of that. nor, did he wear a mask, nor did most people at the event. the president did not acknowledge the lives lost in midland, texas, right where he was. nor speak at the rio grande

valley. this is the extent of what he said of the energy company he was visiting in texas. a state, i remind you, that reported 313 fatalities, today, alone. >> our hearts are with the people of texas. we love our people. we love our country. together, we will end the plague from china. we will defeat the virus. i want to thank everyone at double eagle energy. >> the president, also, had nothing to say about texas congressman louie gohmert who was slated to fly with him earlier today. and telling a local texas news outlet this today. >> i can't help but wonder if, by keeping a mask on and keeping it in place that, if i might've put some germs, some -- some of the virus onto the mask and breathed it in. >> congressman gohmert, seen

here. we are going to show you the video. walking yesterday, with attorney general barr. both men were mask free, on the way into the house judiciary committee. guess we don't have the video. we will get it to you. the congressman says mask wearing should be a matter of individual choice, which must thrill everyone around him. two republican aides who were in proximity to him, tell jeff zeleny they are only, now, in line to get tested. adding it's been frustrating and a waste of a day. and this is congress, not the country at large, where you will recall, the president, back in early march, said that anyone who needs a test can get one. wasn't true then. isn't true now. and beyond boasting about the total number of tests done in this country, he's had nothing to say about whether people can actually get one, and get results back in time to be useful. two weeks is meaningless. however, once again, today, he did have plenty to say about this woman, who he has praised for her public embrace of hydroxychloroquine. she is a doctor, who also tweets about alien dna and the sperm of

demons. >> that means this person is not really a demon or a nephilim. it's just a human being that's a witch. >> so that is dr. manuel, part of a group of tea-party sponsored doctors. potentially, dangerous covid treatments. >> i came here to washington, d.c., to tell american, nobody needs to get sick. this virus has a cure. it is called hydroxychloroquine. i know you people want to talk about mask. hello. you don't need mask. there is a cure. they don't want to open schools. no, you don't need people to be locked down. there is prevention and there is a cure. >> well, the president retweeted that video of her, as have many covid deniers and conspiracy theorists.

then, defended her while claiming to, quote, know nothing about her. and when kaitlan collins pressed him on it, he just fled the briefing room. he could not or i guess would not face further questioning on support for this person, the one he likes but, quote, knows nothing about. and today, when asked again, he made no mention but like a man obsessed, he was still praising her. >> i was very impressed with her, as other doctors have stood with her. i think she made sense but i know nothing. i just saw her making a statement, with very respected doctors. she was not alone. she was making a statement about hydroxychloroquine, other doctors that swear by it. they think it's great. she was not alone. i was very impressed by her. i know nothing about her. i had never seen her before. but certainly, you could put her up and let her have a voice. and with hydroxy, all i want to do is save lives.

i don't care if it's hydroxy or anything else. all i want to do is save lives. if we can save lives, i'm great. >> i'm impressed with her, he says. i know nothing about her, he says. it's now been 24 hours, though. and if the president actually did want to know something about this person that he is now promoting on a global stage, he's had plenty of time to google her or have someone else do it and about the demon sex and astral sex. clearly, what doesn't interest him is medical studies. the actions of his own fda removing emergency-use authorization of the drug she is touting. what clearly doesn't interest the president are his own scientists' guidelines on social distancing or wearing masks. things that, actually, can save lives, which the president says is all he really cares about. in fact, it seems the only thing that does really interest about the president about his scientists is how popular and respected anthony fauci is. he brought it up yesterday. he cares about fauci's popularity because it annoys him.

not his expertise. he doesn't care about that. he doesn't care about his advice. and he certainly doesn't care for the fact that dr. fauci reminds the public of the facts of the very drug the president has been touting. >> if a study that's a good study comes out, and shows efficacy and safety for hydroxychloroquine, or any other drug that we do, if you do it in the right way, you accept the scientific data. but right now, today, the cumulative, scientific data that has been put together and done, over a number of different studies, has shown no efficacy. so, when there is a video out there for a bunch of people spouting something that isn't true, the only recourse you have is to be very, very clear, in presenting the scientific data that, essentially, contradicts that. >> no efficacy. not effective. doesn't work. that bunch of people, by the way. they got an audience, yesterday, with vice president pence. yeah. the vice president met with them. not sure if it was in person or

if they beamed in via astral projection. don't worry. it is part of the whole-of-government effort the president always talks about, strong and decisive leadership, as the vice president always says, of a self-proclaimed wartime president. makes no mention of the 150,000 american lives lost in the battlefield that he, himself, is absent from. let's get perspective from a doctor whose organization believes the country needs a better plan for the pandemic and has developed one. david is association of american medical colleges. dr. scorton, i appreciate your time. thank you. your association laid out a roadmap today and you are saying that -- or you're predicting, if strong measures are not put in place immediately, the death toll may well reach into the multiples of hundreds of thousands. we passed 150,000 today. how much worse do you see this, potentially, getting on the course we're on? >> well, thanks for having me.

and, anderson, how much worse it gets, depends on us. depends on whether we have the courage to pull together, and do the things that have to be done, based on scientific evidence. so it's in our hands. we can suppress the growth of this virus. or we can let it run wild. it's, really, up to us. >> your op-ed in "the post" begins with the words, we're failing. can you explain, exactly, how we are failing? >> well, as you noted tonight and shows earlier today on cnn. there is continuing growth in the number of cases. there's continuing growth in hospitalizations. continuing growth in deaths. that's all you need to know, to know that we are failing. and you notice i said in the op-ed, we are failing, not a particular person or particular sector is failing. all of us, together, are failing to face the scientific evidence, and do what is -- what needs to be done, based on that scientific evidence. >> you wrote that it's no exaggeration to say that none of the goals that americans have

for resuming some sort of normalcy can be achieved, without establishing more testing and a stronger supply chain. we know testing is not where it needs to be. contact tracing, certainly not. are hospitals equipped with what they need to fight this virus? the equipment? the ppe? the swabs? everything that we have been talking about, now, for four or five months. >> well, we have been talking about it for a long time. and i'm sorry to say, tonight, end of july, we are not ready to do things we need to do because of lack of supplies. we are not ready to make decisions on things such as reopening schools because we don't have the testing we need. and in the roadmap, we lay out some targets and some timelines. we need to get organized on these. especially, supplies, as you mentioned. especially, testing. and having a national view on face coverings. >> so when you talk about -- when you talk about this roadmap, how many -- what percentage of the population should be wearing masks, right now?

and what -- what are -- what are the other main steps on the roadmap? >> well, let me, quickly, tell you about the roadmap, overall. so, the first three things that need to happen, urgently, you've already mentioned. and, that is, a national policy on face coverings, and it should be mandatory in areas where there is growing community spread. there is no room for local decisions, if there is growing community spread. masks should be mandatory, in thou those situations. the supplies we talked about, in testing. not only do we not have enough tests. and we lay out in the op-ed and in the roadmap, that we believe we need to have 2.3 million tests per day. and that's not an arbitrary number, anderson. that's based on some calculations, that i am glad to share, if you wish. other elements of the plan include a variety of things. but in the context of john lewis, taking his final journey, i want to mention that one of the big ones is health

inequities. and the health inequities that we have seen in people of color and in vulnerable populations, of a wide variety, have been accentuated by the coronavirus pandemic. but they didn't start, they weren't caused, by the pandemic. we have failed, over generations, to deal with these health inequities. and that's one of the things that we need to do, and we need to get more serious about it now. >> when you talk about the number of testing. it's not, of course, just the number of actual tests. it's how quickly this can get results. what is a reasonable timeframe that those -- i think you said 2.3 million tests a day -- would get results? because obviously, two weeks is -- makes the test almost meaningless. >> exactly. just what you said is absolutely correct. if the test takes ten days to two weeks, it's not useful for things like contact tracing or anything else. so there's multiple kinds of tests. and bear with me, just for a moment. the kind of test that we are thinking about that take a while are called pcr test.

and they take a while to come back. they're very accurate tests. there is, also, another test that can be called the point-of-contact test. it's called an antigen test. and you might think about a simple test, that you can get results very quickly, certainly within an hour. those tests are very useful if they're positive. there is about a 15% false negative rate. so one approach would be to utilize these antigen tests at point of care or even, perhaps, at home. and then -- and then, utilize medical center labs as a backup. so if the test is negative, the academic medical center lab can perform the full pcr, and usually do it quicker than the high throughput labs taking tests from all across the country. >> thank you for being with us tonight. thank you. >> coming up next, we have more breaking news in the wake of congressman louie gohmert testing positive. house speaker pelosi mandating

masks on the house floor. we will talk about that. she joins us live. and later, my conversation with mogul and filmmaker, tyler perry about the president's latest effort to stoke racial fear in the suburbs, confederate monuments, john lewis, and more. (vo) verizon knows how to build unlimited right. start with america's most awarded network. offer it at a price built for everyone with the most advanced iphone yet. iphone 11 pro on us when you buy one. because everyone deserves the best. this is unlimited built right.

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two items tonight breaking on capitol hill. congressman louie gohmert tested positive for covid. and house speaker nancy pelosi mandating masks be worn on the floor. that said, the mandate literally only covers so much. the problem of testing, of course, remains very real. joining us now, the speaker, herself, madam speaker, thank you for being with us. this new mandatory mask mandate you have instituted for the house chambers, my understanding, it doesn't apply to the office buildings or hallways. would you like it to? and do you think it should

extend to both chambers, frankly, or the entire capitol kblek complex? >> well, yes, floor of the house. the members may not come on to the floor of the house unless they have a mask. and directed the sergeant arms to refuse exit/entry into the hall, if people don't have on a mask. and we have masks there, for them. the sergeant arms will issue the regulations and the rest, probably, tomorrow. and, with it, what goes with it for the other -- other rooms in the capitol, other -- what happens in the other office buildings that are on capitol hill. so that -- that expanded announcement won't, probably, happen tomorrow. >> minority leader mccarthy said today, quote, testing would be critical at the capitol, quote, because people can be here and have it, and would not know. obviously, that is factually

correct. it, also, applies to the entire rest of the country who, still, cannot get easily tested. i don't know if it's ironic that he is saying this. but the -- the problem of testing. i mean, it's extraordinary to me that we're still in this situation. where people can't get tests, and it takes two weeks for people to get results. >> well, when the white house, originally, suggested that they had enough tests to send us. i consulted with a capitol physician and, really, we are not -- it's just not the members of congress. it's the members of congress and support staff, and that's -- that's very many people. we can't say, well, as members, we should get tested but the other people shouldn't. but it points to the challenge that we have in the country. we have the tools at our disposal. testing. tracing. treatment. isolation. mask wearing. sanitation. to -- to hold this virus in check. to try to beat it.

hopefully, we will have a -- a vaccine or some therapies that will be helpful. but we don't have them, to a full extent, now. certainly, not a vaccine. and, until we do, we have to do what we can. other countries have done it. it works. but, in order for us to do it, in the capitol, with a full -- with everybody there, as well as in the country, we need more equipment. and the reason everybody isn't tested. because there isn't enough equipment to test everyone. and then, we don't have enough equipment to get the results of the test. sometimes, it takes a week to get the results. almost useless, by then. and then, we need the ppe, the personal protective equipment, for the people administering the test and our healthcare providers and teachers and others. to have that equipment. so we've asked the president to have the defense production act go into action, to insist that our businesses produce this equipment.

this equipment. he just won't do it. he hasn't done it. we had this plan in our heroes act. this is a way for us to open our economy, facilitate opening our schools, by reducing the rate of infection in our communities. but in order to do that, we have to know what it is, and that requires testing, tracing, treatment, et cetera. so again, come back to us, we should have it. well, i will leave that judgment up to the capitol physician, about whether we have the equipment and the rest to just test members. that doesn't seem enough. but it is -- there was great cause for alarm in the capitol when people found out that congressman gohmert had been -- been tested the way he had. and participated in two hearings yesterday, largely without a mask. very, very irresponsible, on his

part. and members were very unhappy because he interacted with other members. but other staff, as well. >> yeah. is there any progress on any kind of further steps toward coming to a consensus on what happens next, in terms of helping working people? helping people on unemployment? helping people who are in desperate straits right now? >> well, central to all of that, is to get rid of this -- this virus. and that's why i keep coming back to the fact, we can open our economy. we can improve the situation, if we follow science. but if you don't believe in science, and you don't believe in governance, as they don't seem to, then, that makes it more problematic. so in terms of our -- our conversations, we have to, fundamentally, agree that, central to solving our problem is, solving the virus, to the extent that we can.

we have a -- we have three main pillars. state and local government, honor our heroes, our healthcare providers, our first responders, sanitation, transportation, food. all of the services that people need, that are provided by state and local. they've said zero. zero. it can't be. it can't be. and, by the way, it's much less than they spent to give tax cuts to the top 1% in our country. 83% of the benefits going to the top 1%. now, all of a sudden, it's -- it's the money. in addition to that, we have the testing, which i described. and then, put money in the pockets of the american people. well, they have a disdain or sort of a condescension toward working people, it seems, because they don't trust how they might use the $600. that kind of thing. oh, they have money to pay the rent. they're just not paying the rent. well, that -- we -- we can't operate, if we're -- we are not

even stipulating to basic set of facts. the people are hurting. the unemployment is high. and that we have a way to address this, in terms of honoring our heroes, testing, tracing, treatment, as well as money in the pockets of the american people. being respectful of them. and understanding their needs. people are hungry. millions of children are food insecure in our country, and we can't get them to do food stamps and women with children food -- feeding programs and the rest of that. so we still have a long way to go. but we are determined that we will try to find common ground. and we need the public to weigh in about the need to support -- to support state and local government. and all the people who serve the community. you can't open schools. state and local governments apply over 90% of the funding for schools. so this is all connected.

it's all addressed in the heroes act. and i hoped that they would come closer to our thinking on it than some of the -- it's over ten weeks since we passed the bill. >> yeah. >> leader mcconnell said we need a pause. then, came back this monday, with a piecemeal. well, that's not what -- this is as big as it gets. a plague, has an impact on our economy. it's about the lives of the american people. the livelihood of the american people. and the life of our democracy. >> speaker pelosi, i appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you. thank you. >> up next, the president makes his most racially charged pitch yet to suburban voters, a day after his attorney general said there is no systemic racism in police departments. writer, director, philanthropist, tyler perry joins me to talk about the conversations americans are having right now about race.

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the big events are back and xfinity is your home for the return of live sports. president trump is under fire for a tweet he wrote this afternoon. quoting the president, quote, i am happy to inform all the people living the suburban lifestyle dream, that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low-income housing built in your neighborhood. your housing prices will go up, based on the market, and crime will go down. i have rescinded the obama-biden affirmatively fair housing rule. enjoy. said, quote, our president is now a proud, vocal segregationist. white house correspondent kaitlan collins. so the president bragging about ending this obama-era fair housing rule, is this just clearly an appeal to white, suburban voters that he is just trying to get? >> i mean, that's definitely what it looks like because the

president has now been in office for this long, and he has not rescinded this regulation, yet. and if you look at this regulation, anderson, basically, what it goes to do is try to combat these discriminatory housing practices that you have seen. and end segregation in suburban areas. and if it's an area that is getting any kind of grant or aid money, they have to assess the segregation in their area and deal with it, if they do find that to be a practice. and when the president rescinded this, the department of housing and urban development called it this unworkable rule. but, though, there's no evidence that it drove crime up in these areas, you saw what the president said there on twitter. you know, your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. now, of course, there is no evidence that crime went up. so it's not clear where the president is making that statement from. and that's why you've seen critics, in response to this, saying that they believe it's a pretty clear play to his base. >> i mean, given the history of the trump organization and his father, and the -- you know, the -- the allegations against

them. the lawsuits against them for discrimination in housing. i mean, this rule, as you mentioned, is from 2015. it's pretty clear why the president's just repealing it, now. >> well, and it, also, comes as, internally, the president's campaign has been talking and noticing that he is losing ground with suburban voters. mainly, women, suburban voters that helped carry him into the white house in 2016. so that's why you have seen him lately say if joe biden gets elected, the suburbs are going to disappear. he's been making comments like that, trying to appeal to those kind of voters with this. it's not clear this is going to work. aides have been saying his best re-election strategy is focusing on the coronavirus, making it look like he is in charge, he is at the helm. of course, you know, we've seen the statements he's made this week. but instead, the president's gone back to these cultural battles that helped him in 2016. but what's not clear this is going to work is we saw what happened in 2018. where the president was using things like the caravan, talking

about that ahead of the midterm elections. and then, democrats retook the house because it wasn't something that appealed to voters. and a lot of it was those suburban areas, where you saw a lot of those democrats who were in republican areas or not longstanding democratic areas. is this going to be an effective tactic like the president thinks it is? >> thanks. a short time before, the president tried to stoke fear among whites about black americans moving next door, i spoke with tyler perry about the state of race in america. his views on confederate monuments, as well as john lewis and police reform. >> tyler, you recently wrote about race in "people" magazine. you said it is my hope we continue these hard conversations and come out of our respective corners to talk to each other. but most of all, to hear. we got to start hearing each other so this pain, this grief, this mourning in america, will give way to morning in america. i found that really powerful and i was thinking about this yesterday. the attorney general of the united states, bill barr, said he doesn't believe there is systemic racism in police

departments. if you were to have a conversation with barr, what would you want him to hear? >> wow. that's -- what a great question. i -- there are many things i've wanted to hear. but, more than anything, just to understand the journey of someone who is black in america. even me, sitting here talking to you now, at 50 years old. all the things that i've accomplished. all the things that i've overcome. i still get pulled over by police. some recognize me. some don't. because i'm in a nice car, in a neighborhood that they don't even know that i live in, until they realize it's me. so i would want him to understand that there is -- there is bias. there are those things. and here's the -- the -- the greatest gift that i've been given is i've been able to live on both sides of the -- of the -- of the wealth gap. i have been extremely poor, and i've managed to do very, very well. and i -- and i understand how someone can come to that conclusion, when you live in your own world, when you live in your own bubble. and you're not even open to

hearing or seeing it another way. so i understand how he got there. but his thinking is very wrong. >> are you optimistic, now, in a way that you haven't been before? when you see these protests that are taking place? when you see the outpouring of people, of -- of all colors? >> i was. i was very optimistic, you know, at the horror of what happened after the death of george floyd. i became optimistic when i saw so many people get it. it was the same thing that happens during the civil rights movement. when people saw, on television, what happened on the edmund pettus bridge. what happened in all of these moments, when people saw it. when white people saw it, they got engaged. they wanted to help. so, when they saw george floyd's death, horrific, horrible death, played out, as this man pleaded for his life and begged. said please, many, many times. seeing it changes everything. so i became very, very optimistic when everybody

galvanized together because i know that's when change comes. when people galvanize and come together, as one. that's when change happens. but lately, i've been very, very concerned that the message is being hijacked by some other groups or political paths and parties that are trying to stop the message of what we're asking for here is police reform, right? so, yeah, i was. but i'm worried now because of what i'm seeing. >> you have -- your son is 5 years old. and, you know, obviously, having a child changes one's perspective on things, and makes you see things with -- with fresh eyes, in many senses. have you had -- i mean, i know he's 5 years old -- have you had a conversation with him about race? i know it's something you've written about. just the -- sort of the -- the feeling of, gosh, i'm going to have to have this conversation sometime soon. >> yeah, i don't want to -- listen. i'm trying to push that as long as i can because there is something about the level of

innocence that -- that's ripped from a child, when they have to face race. like, i love watching him play with his friends or coming home from school and talking about his friends. never describing them by race, at all, never, not once in the years that he's been talking and smart enough to ask me all kinds of questions. so my hope is that i can keep him -- keep it from him, as long as i can. but i know that, being his father, being a black man in america, enduring the things i have, i am going to have to have the conversation with him. and i know it's coming soon. i know it's going to be painful. but listen. if i can let him hold onto that innocence just for another day, i'm going to give him that. >> your great great grandfather was enslaved in this country. you are, also, the owner of the largest movie studio in the u.s., which just happens to be built on what was a military base for the confederate army. i mean, the arc of that is just -- is an extraordinary thing. the president is arguing that confederate statues, monuments,

are part of our heritage. as somebody who is a storyteller, what -- what story do you think these statues tell you and us? and should they come down? >> for me, i grew up -- growing up in new orleans, and there is a circle called lee circle. that takes you from where the street car actually goes around it to take you into the french quarters and downtown. and you see robert e. lee up top. there's a robert e. lee high school. so these -- listen, as a kid, i loved the dukes of hazard, until i realized what the flag represented as i got older. and again, that's going back to holding on to the innocence. when -- when i see these monuments, for me, i can look at them and realize i don't need to see them in the air to understand what happened. i have this. i wear this every day. i wake up with it every day. and even in america, in 2020, there's still racism that i deal with. even me. that i deal with, on a constant basis in hollywood. in this -- in the business. you know, as much as i have been

able to accomplish, if i -- if -- if people would have given me the shot to just have a fair playing field, god knows where i could be, at this point. so i've always had to find a way. how do i find a way to make it, inside of this? that's what my mother taught me, who grew up in the jim crow south. you have to find a way. so that's what i have been trying to do all these years, find a way. so when i see these statues and these monuments. to be on this land, that was once a confederate army base. i mean, think about the poetic justice in that. where there were -- where people -- confederate soldiers plotting and planning strategy on how to keep negros enslaved. and now, that land is owned by a negro. that, for me, is beyond poetic justice. and there's still several streets here named after confederate generals on the base, that i am changing. when you talk about my -- my ancestors and great great grandfather, i want to change them to those names so that they can be honored as well. >> you know, i read, recently,

that you donated kroger -- i think it was gift cards -- to people in the atlanta area. and you got the atlanta police department to help distribute them around to people in -- in need. when -- when, you know, there's a large movement within -- protest movement of defunding police. republicans are focusing on that, as saying that, you know, the democrats want to do away with police departments, which i don't think is what defund police means. but when you hear that slogan, what do you think? >> well, when i first heard it, i was troubled by it. i thought, okay, this is -- this is going to be weaponized by -- in this political year. i, completely, thought that was happen -- and that's exactly what's happened. it's been weaponized. but i did some research and i would challenge people to do some research. i think we need more police. my studio is in a neighborhood where i think we need police. but we don't need police that have -- that are undertrained.

and you got to understand, i have really close friends who are police officers, that i love dearly, who are really good people, who have been very, very hurt by this as well. and here's what i want you to understand, anderson. wrong -- where there's wrong, i'm going to stand up against it. when -- when rayshard brooks was murdered, i thought that was wrong. when george -- george floyd was murdered, i thought that was wrong, like so many other people. but when a police officer, who is white, in a suburb in atlanta was shot in the head by a shoplifter, i thought that was wrong, too. and i reached out to do what i can to help his family. when -- anywhere, there is wrong, i am going to stand up against it. i believe that most -- i don't believe that -- that there are lots of people -- let me just change that to understand that. there are a lot of people in america, who feel the way that i do. right? i think we need the police. i know that i need the police. i have several that work for me, here, at the studio. we need them but we need them reformed. we need them trained well.

we need the right structure, right? but some of the things inside of defund the police, i really understand. like, having officers who are clinically trained to deal with certain situations. i think all of those things are helpful. but taking money from the police department, to -- to make the police department smaller, that troubles me. >> i want to end on just mentioning john lewis. congressman lewis. and also, ct vivian. two -- two extraordinary leaders, who we -- we've recently lost. there is a story i read and, if you could, just quickly, tell it, of a connection you had to john lewis. which was a house you owned was once owned by a racist/segregationist business person i think it was. and john lewis told you a story that when he learned who owned that house, of his connection to that person. >> yeah. it was -- we were having a gospel brunch. we got all these black people. oprah. all of us there. and we had this beautiful gospel brunch. and john lewis was there, and i

started telling the story about this former segregationist who owned a hotel in atlanta called the heart of atlanta hotel. who also owned the property that i had just bought. and when i bought the property, he had lost it in a malpractice suit. but he started suing me over and over again. and i remember walking into court, and him seeing me for the first time. watching the blood drain from his face, realizing that i was a black man. eventually, i had him disbarred. i think he died a few years ago but i had him disbarred because he kept suing. we fought and fought and fought because he had no rights for any of that because i bought the property, fair and square. and congressman lewis comes up to me, with tears in his eyes, and he said i sat in at the lunch counter at his hotel to integrate it. and for me, it was like what an incredible moment that i am standing here with this man, who fought so that i could just live. be able to live in a place where, in the deed, it said you cannot sell to niggas or jews.

so his fight, what he's accomplished and what he's done, allowed me to be here. and this studio is in the district that elected him here all those years. so i am so moved by him. so proud of him. and i am just glad that i had an opportunity to know him, ct vivian, as well as joseph lowry. all in a matter of months, they all passed. >> the beauty of it and the horror of it and the tragedy of it and the potential of it. tyler perry. thank you. >> the potential of it, anderson. the potential. love that. got to stay positive. thank you. thank you very much. >> tyler perry. up next, back to the pandemic. the now more than 150,000 american lives lost. we will bring you the story of the personal toll it's taking on texas. want restaurants to open?

and schools? want the economy to get back on track? you're not alone. and you can help make it happen. stay 6 feet apart. wash your hands. wear a mask every time you leave your home. choose to join the fight against covid-19. do your part. slow the spread.

more on breaking news. president trump spent much of his day in texas, where as we reported, made no public mention of today's grim milestone. 150,000 lives now lost in this country to covid. tonight, another milestone. texas now passing new york state in total cases. it's clear the entire state has been hit badly. but arguably, no place harder than the rio grande valley. our ed lavandera is there. >> rolando and yolanda met as kids in south texas, became high school sweethearts, and the rest is history. they revelled in life's sweet moments. rolando's birthday.

yolanda, cutting her granddaughter's hair. but, in late june, the coronavirus caught the couple by surprise. their daughter, priscilla, believes they got infected at the grocery store. as they got sicker, the 70-year-old grandparents were taken to different hospitals, on the same day.it would be the la saw each other. >> it's heartbreaking, because you never want to die alone. you want to die with your family around you. there's no one there to support you in your last moments. >> rolando died on july 4th. >> my dad passed away and we didn't tell her. she ended up having a heart attack on her own and the last time that i spoke with her, i just told her that dad was waiting for her. >> the garcias died four days apart. priscilla has covid-19, she's quarantined in her parents' home. a small shrine in the living room. it's a place to reflect on her family's ordeal. >> they didn't have to die, they still had another good 10, 15 years.

they were very vibrant. >> what is it like in south texas right now? >> it's hell on earth. everyone's scared. everyone's anxious. >> about 600 people have died of covid-19 in the rio grande valley. the vast majority of those have died this month. >> it's like living in a constant hurricane of patients coming into the hospital. >> endless? >> endless and overwhelming. >> dr. martin schwartz works intensive care units filled with covid patients. he says medical teams are struggling to stay ahead of the fast-spreading virus. >> we're always on the edge. am i going to have enough ventilators today? am i going to have enough central lines, enough chest tubes? >> it seems like this is taking its toll on a lot of you guys on the front lines. >> we're seeing entire families in our community being ravaged by the virus. >> salvador and imelda munoz celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in june.

the family says their in-home nurse unknowingly infected the elderly couple. but marie silva felt her mother was going to pull through. >> she suffered a heart attack while waiting. there was not enough staff to attend to her and so she didn't make it. >> after that, marie says her father felt his job was done. there was time, though, for one last video call. what will you remember most about that final conversation with your dad? >> all my brothers and sisters telling him how good of a father he was and how he could go rest, if he needed to. letting him know that he did a good job and we love him and we'll never forget him. >> what did he say? >> he just nodded. he didn't cry. he never cried. he was just a strong man. but i could see the pain in his eyes. i could. >> on july 10th, marie says her father's eyes finally closed

during his wife's funeral service. three days later, salvador and imelda were buried together. >> wow. ed lavandera joins us now from texas. it's just heartbreaking, these families. the president suggested that coronavirus numbers are stabilizing in texas. is that accurate? >> kind of. the numbers are starting to show signs of slowing down. we've seen weeks where he had more than 10,000 cases being reported per day. we're seeing just under 10,000 now for the last week or so. he also touted the positive infection rate of those cases being, starting to stabilize, but it's stabilizing at really high numbers. at the end of may, anderson, the positive infection rate was about 4.5%. it reached 17.5% a couple of weeks ago and now it's dropped to just under 13%. so, it's still extremely high here in this state. anderson? >> ed, appreciate that report. just heartbreaking.

thank you. want to check in with chris, see what he's working on. chris? >> the reality is heartbreaking. and what the president did when he went to that state is an outrage. and people need to be outraged. that state is breaking records all the wrong kinds of ways. and yes, they have unique challenges. and he goes there and entertains the maskless masses. he wants to know why people don't like him, that's the answer, right there, what he did today. so, what we're going to do, anderson, is, again unpack the truth of the reality what the inaction is doing to us and what must be done if we want our kids in school and the economy to get back to normal any time soon. >> all right, chris, we'll see you in about six minutes from now. up next, we remember some of those lives lost to the coronavirus, including two students hoping to build a better life for themselves and their world. i am in so much debt. sixty-two thousand seven hundred and ten dollars and thirty-one cents. sofi allowed me to refinance all of my loans

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tonight, with more than 150,000 people in america now dead from the virus, we remember some of the lives lost. darren adams was a student at wayne state university in michigan. he also worked ascustodian there for six years. he always sat in the front row. his professor said his first for knowledge was inspiring. when he spoke up in his class about his experience as a janitor and how it felt to work at the same university where he studied and clean up after the students he went to class with. his candor prompted other students in class to share their stories, as well. he worked with the americorps urban safety program for two years. after his death, the sociology department created an annual scholarship in his name. the university awarded him a posthumous bachelor's degree in sociology. jameela barber was a high school junior in lancaster, texas. she had a smile as big as texas, they said. she was known as a leader, a self-motivator. chef was in the rotc program at

her school and was inducted into the national honor society this year. she was making plans for college and wanted to study interior design. she had no underlying health conditions, it is unclear how she contracted the virus. her family said she wasn't feeling well and found her unconscious in the bathroom. they called 911, tried to administer cpr, but she never woke up. she died at the hospital. she was just 17 years old. that's it for us. i want to hand it over to chris for "cuomo prime time." anderson, thank you very much. take a look at this. what the president did in texas today. you see this? this is why they don't like you, mr. president. nobody wants to see you entertaining the maskless masses, let alone in texas. the people in that state are getting sick in waves. they are setting all the wrong kinds of records. and you do this? i kn