ovides visibly smoother, brighter skin. for dramatic skincare results, try olay. and now receive 25% off your purchase at olay.com brand power. helping you buy better. >> this outbreak, the chinese communist government has direct responsibility, direct culpability for silencing, covering it up. >> the chinese government needs to be a thoughtful, explain what happened. rob: bombshell new evidence puts china at the center of the coronavirus cover-up. we are live with breaking details just revealed to fox news that appear to show this entire pandemic started in a laboratory and wuhan, china.

>> we are going to have an economy that comes that quickly. what we had before was a miracle and we think this will be more than a miracle. we have the greatest people in the world. rob: the president set to unveil his plan for reopening this country. shannon: is america ready to be open for business? we will tell you what the white house task force is saying. and nfl season with no fans. rob: a proposal that could put players back on the field and leave you watching from home. "fox and friends first" starts now. good morning, you're watching "fox and friends first" on thursday morning. jillian: thanks for starting the day with us. we begin with a fox news alert. costliest government cover up of all time.

rob: sources say covid-19 likely originated in a lab in china

where the outbreak first began. the white house is demanding complete transparency from china. >> reporter: this is a big story, multiple sources telling fox news the coronavirus originated at a virology institute in wuhan, china not as a bio weapon but to prove dominance in dealing with these types of viruses but something aired, the human transmission spread into the population likely at the nearby west market we have all heard about. it suggests china was blaming the market for the last failure. mike pompeo says it is time for china to start talking. >> the fact we don't know the answers, china has an share the answers is very telling. we need the chinese government to open up. one of the best ways to cooperate would be to let the world in and let the world scientists know how this came to be and how this came to spread. >> it's not clear the us will get that cooperation. it continues to this day. >> clearly the chinese could have been more transparent earlier. we would have had a better understanding of how this virus and how to deal with that. we see them withholding information. >> reporter: sources say who are complicit in covering up china's manipulation of the data, something the organization denies. the director general last response to cut the funding. >> we think the decision of the president of the united states to order a hold in funding the

world health organization who is reviewing the impact of our work of any withdrawal of us funding. >> in washington the political attack continues, nancy pelosi calling the president a, quote, week person and for leader who takes no responsibility. it looks like this will continue to improve. jillian: major development. rob: the president will reveal plans to get americans back to work, governors will be briefed on the strategy this afternoon on the heels of new data showing major us cities are flattening the curve. >> the data suggests nationwide we have passed the peak on new cases, hopefully that will continue and we will continue to make great progress. these encouraging developments have put us in a strong position to finalize guidelines for

states on reopening the country. >> the ultimate decision on what individual states will do will follow their governors is the president puts declining cases in the new york metropolitan area, flattening curves in detroit, and denver, encouraging sign to the dc baltimore area cautioning it's not time to spike the football just yet. >> reporter: is a country we are improving, metro areas improving, communities and counties, that also requires everyone to continue to social distance. rob: also wear face masks, andrew cuomo is issuing an executive order that all people must wear a mask in public when social distancing is not possible. >> anonymous tip leads to the discovery of 17 bodies at a new

jersey nursing home where dozens of residents and staff of died. police receiving a call about a body being stored in a shed outside a rehabilitation center. by the time officers arrived it had been removed but 17 others were found inside the facility more meant to hold four. 68 people linked to the center have died, 26 testing positive for the coronavirus, 41 staff members have been infected. shannon: new york city police department mourning the death of three more members from covid-19, denise prinz, traffic agent carol ryan and detective robert cardona who is a survivor of 9/11 related cancer sadly has passed, 27 members of the department of died from

coronavirus, 2700 have been diagnosed. 6200 called out sick. 6200 people called out sick yesterday. a new mit study blaming crowded subways and buses for the rapid spread in new york city linking the high number of riders in march to an explosion in cases in this area. starting tomorrow be mandatory for everyone to use facemasks while they do mass transit. >> growing fears over a nationwide meet shortages the largest pork processor closes more plants was smithfield foods shuttering its meat processing plant in wisconsin and missouri over coronavirus outbreaks of the facilities, closures coming days after become to close the facility in south dakota. 500 employees tested positive. smithfield says a small number of workers were infected at the wisconsin and missouri facility. >> talks between steve mnuchin and chuck schumer will resume after they failed to reach a deal on emergency relief for small businesses, the treasury and is being seeking additional

funding from congress as paycheck protection program is set to run out of money. last month lawmakers approved $350 billion for this program, over 1 million applications have been approved. everybody jumping in on this totaling $224 billion, officials proposing another $250 billion for that program to carry it through. united airlines warning employees to brace for job today after agreeing to a $5 billion government bailout. the simplest money band airlines from involuntary furloughs until the end of september. united is cutting may flights by 90%. the pandemic getting the industry very hard with very few people traveling. recent flight, theaters, similar cuts united states could come in june. >> a powerful tribute lining up boston overnight. police, ems and firefighters thanking healthcare workers.

[silence] >> the parade coming on one boston day marking the anniversary of them marathon bombings in 2013, two people were killed when terrorists about explosives at the finish line. the covid-19 outbreak postponing this year's race until september. >> eight minutes after the hour, mike pompeo ripping china for hiding information about coronavirus. >> didn't just put americans at risk that people all across the world at risk, the risk for an awfully long time. >> what is going to take to get answers about the wuhan lab. china has been lying for decades. he joins us next. (music)

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shannon: welcome back. fox news exclusive sources alleging covid-19 did not start in a wet market but instead started in a nearby virology lab during a failed effort to outpace america's ability to find and fight new viruses. >> the sources claim china is covering up the truth and our next guest says it is no surprise beijing is less been forthcoming. >> joining us is doctor manny saphier. everyone digesting this information, this is what sources are telling us. it is not been confirmed. what is your initial reaction? >> thanks for having me. i completely agree. we cannot trust the communist chinese government. for weeks senator tom cotton has said this virus created in the

lab. you see the chairman of the joint chiefs agree, if you want a virus that could harm a lot of people you would make it easily transmissible, make the fatality rate low so not so many were killed but people did die and it was shutdown and economy. i studied with the best virologists, immunologists in the world and it doesn't take a harvard in the to know this could have been created in a lab very easily. shannon: we are told they were not creating a bio weapon, there trying to outpace the united states. patient 0 knowledge of the coming from this lab, here's what ted cruz has to say. >> china has long been the most significant geopolitical threat the united states faces, not just a human rights threat but a

threat to national security and global health. when it comes to this outbreak. as they entered promptly there was a possibility this could have been contained. >> is the truth credit had acted promptly, alerted the world health organization and everybody else that this could have been contained? >> absolutely. this virus presented to the clinic of an ophthalmologist in china, when he went to present this data was arrested. they got their arms around this very quickly but we cannot trust the communist chinese government. they are responsible for a world pandemic and the only person who tried to take them to task is our president we should all stand with. >> you can't trust the chinese but here's the official stats as we have them now, the us

outpacing china and here is from the associated press, could be the dagger in all of this, they knew about this for six days and didn't want to create a panic and didn't want to look bad so they tried to cover it up without warning people as they were traveling around the country and the world. what did that six days mean? >> reporter: that six days is a lifetime in medicine. we could have literally shut this thing down in wuhan city. instead it has ravaged the world. think about this. if they had just been transparent, that's the whole point of the world health organization, why we pay one fifth of their funding. they failed us, china failed us. think about this. we were literally giving money, the nih gave $4 million to these

labs for their own safety and we cannot trust the communist -- >> we knew those lands were bad. there was the post story from a couple years ago that said the lab was dangerous and they needed to shut it down from the us embassy. shannon: we saw them shutting down travel with other countries, building that hospital, it is amazing when you look back now. before we let you go to we need to brace for a second wave of this? >> i think it will be interesting to see what happens in australia and south america in the coming months, their seasons are opposite, we need to get america back to work, we cannot survive this if we continue and we need a vertical containment strategy. what that means is we can't shut america down. we need to protect those people who are at risk. it is possible we have a second wave but we just have to be ready for it and i think we will

be ready for it if we just create new containment options. america has to go on the offense. we shut everything down and we are on the defense but we have to be on the offense which we cannot react to fear. we have to take command of this thing. shannon: thank you for your time and your expertise. it is 18 after the hour. nearly 55 million students are out of school because of the pandemic from mandatory summer schools to being held back, drastic options are on the table to help them catch up. >> what the next solution? a public school teacher says it is time to reimagine our entire education system. there is an emergency food crisis for elderly holocaust survivors in the former soviet union. - this is a fight against time. what we're dealing with is coming out, meeting someone who's 85, 90 years old, can't get around,

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rob: as the pandemic cutoff in person classes nationwide, 55 million school students have been left in limbo, leaders are considering requiring summer school to make up for lost time. rebecca joins us with her take. thank you for coming on this morning. i want to show how many states, 25 of them ordered the closing of school for the rest of the school year. what our students and parents supposed to do? >> parents need options for sure but i am reading there's all kinds of ideas to force kids to go to summer school and to all these extra programs and things. i've taught public school for 28 years and i've never seen any of those things work. what works and help students succeed is when parents are involved in education and right now parents are involved. this is a really good thing the kids are home with their parents

right now. rob: if you gave me an algebra book and put me in front of the kid he's not going to learn anything. how for parents who don't know this stuff what do they do? >> the problem is we have these public schools. i've been talking to teachers at public schools, private schools, charter schools, the public schools are making all these excuses saying they cannot provide students with access to the technology they need and claiming kids are too poor, have few resources, need more money. the problem is what this crisis is exposing his government schools are showing no go, they can't get the job done. even during normal circumstances they don't get it done but especially not now. many homeschoolers and private

schools, charter schools, for-profit independent schools are getting the job done. why? they are not encumbered by unions and waste and government incompetence. i have a question. should we that union control government schools be allowed to hold our kids back? know. we need to serve the kids. rob: sounds like you like the betsy devos plan. extended schooldays, jumpstart programs, option to hold a student back of the are not doing as well. one more, let's look at projections from 2020, they expect 70% of reading gains loss, 50% in math, what your specific solution, was would you like to see the plan b? >> what i was saying, public schools are not getting the job done. it doesn't matter what problem we bring up, public schools can't get it done. you just mentioned betsy devos,

education freedom savings account scholarship. a wonderful idea, the money follows the child. give the parents the option to choose the school. there are some charter schools doing a bang up job with this online learning, their kids are not going to be behind, they are not going to have problems. if parents have the right to take the money and choose the school they wouldn't be having this problem. public schools run publicly. >> think about how many are pumping tax money into school systems that are just awful and it is really sad. let's talk about something a lot of people never would have considered, getting into college without having to take the sats, what do you make of this? >> i don't think this is a good idea at all. my biggest concern because i've been in education so long, my husband tied university level for 30 years, we are concerned

about interior motives behind this. i'm not saying act and sat are the best vehicles for testing, there are better ways to do it but all universities need to be able to determine if students have the aptitude to work at a college level because aptitude, competency and fundamental skills are essential, students will be frustrated and they will fail if they don't have those skills so we have to find some way. we cannot eliminate exams. what will happen then? we will lower our standards, our universities that used to be the elite system of the world will be even less valuable than they are now and that would be a crime. >> thank you for your time, we appreciate it. >> a married florida nurse capturing america's hard as they fight on the front lines.

they grabbed each other's masks while looking into each other's eyes between surgery at a tampa hospital. the image inspiring people all around the world. >> we are going through the same thing right now and it is a symbol of hope and love. >> it is important we stick together, work together and support each other. >> so many people sounding off about this touching image on social media. gail says thank you for all your hard work, long hours. you are appreciate, sharon says medical teamwork, beautiful. ordinance to graham says beautiful moments, god bless and thank you for your service and we thank you as well. it is 27 minutes after the hour, 2 dozen states are freeing inmates early to help control the spread of covid-19 including massachusetts. thomas hudson warns this will increase crime and joined us next. >> it was essentially a political rally, a political statement. >> thousands of protesters jam

the streets in michigan for operating gridlock. the fight to get back to work spreading nationwide. investing today wherever you are - even hanging with your dog. so, what are you waiting for? download now and get your first stock on us. robinhood.

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rob: thousands of protesters putting michigan's capital to protest the governor's stay-at-home order. shannon: the fight to get back to work is spreading nationwide. people are getting a little antsy. >> reporter: you can hear it in that video, protesters all over the nation broke stay at home orders to get their message across, people in michigan protested tightened restrictions to fight covid-19. signs read liberty lost is lost forever and security calls liberty is called prison.

demonstrators laid on their horns, the governor later responded to the sea of protesters crammed into the streets of capital avenue. >> we know that this rally endangered people. this kind of activity will put more people at risk. >> reporter: lawmakers in pennsylvania passed a bill on party lines to reopen businesses. it goes to the governor's desk to be signed or vetoed. if nonessential businesses open they would still have to follow social distancing guidelines put out by the cdc. if our jurisdiction stick, thousands plan to protest at the capitol on april 20th. society has to accept risks, a portion of what we do all the time even went on to say with the potential outbreak in the future the list of businesses who can stay open has to have structure and consideration it

deserves. in kentucky protesters gathered outside the capital in frankfurt during the daily coronavirus briefing. >> we should reopen kentucky immediately right now. that would kill people. it would absolutely kill people. >> yesterday kentucky thought we 7 new deaths related to the virus with just under 2300 deaths total. a mississippi mayor reverses course on his drive in church ban after attorney general william barr issued a statement siding with the churches. last week police broke up services at two church is issuing $500 fines to each of the congregants. the mayor says churches can go on as long as people keep car

windows open. rob: the names of covid-19 patients must be turned over to police, that the order from illinois judge. the mc henry county health department was refusing to give out the names for privacy reasons. the police department sued to get the information which they say is needed for public safety. there are 274 cases in that country on the illinois wisconsin border, 12 people in that county have died. >> thousands of convicts have been released, 2 dozen states try to prevent the spread of covid-19 behind bars. >> that includes a florida man charged with murder the day after he was released. sheriff thomas hodgson is trying to stay one step ahead of criminals that are returning to his area. thank you for coming on. when this started this was supposed to be low-level nonviolent people being released.

is that happening? >> not at all and it doesn't matter whether they are low-level or not. the person we just spoke about in florida, one day after being released was being held on a low-level nonviolent crime and he walked out the door and within one day murdered someone. this is a serious serious problem having judges releasing these inmates back into our community. we had recently in this past week detainees that were released, some had final removal orders, one was charged with kidnapping, another with rape, armed robbery. these other people that are coming back into the neighborhoods and we have as well our county inmates being released by judges and perfectly capable of handling them. the interesting part of all of this is we have no covid-19 cases in bristol county and haven't had since the beginning of this pandemic with regards to

inmates, prisoners or detainees and in massachusetts only three out of 13 sheriff's offices have any inmates with covid-19 so ten are still operating using our medical protocols we have having dealt with h1n1, size, and these kinds of things. this is ludicrous to have judges releasing dangerous people back into the community to victimize people. one other thing that is important to add, the number of people being left out on drug-related backgrounds are going to start immediately feeding their drug habits. they will be wandering around with compromised immune systems, impaired judgment, they need to keep it going. they don't have jobs when they leave, they don't have medical insurance, emergency rooms and into people's homes, stealing

things to keep their habits ongoing. shannon: i want to get to these facts, there are 17 states that are releasing criminals, in massachusetts there have been 367 prisoners released. the person you were talking about in florida, he was arrested 35 times, previously convicted of burglary in several misdemeanors and charged with second-degree murder, charged with possession of a gun and drugs. if this is in the answer than what is? >> it is keeping them inside our facilities. we have the capability, 76% capacity, i have an isolation chamber, we put him in a negative pressure chamber, we have other places we can isolate people. that is what sheriff's are hired to do. this isn't something new to us

that it isn't by accident in bristol county ten of our sheriff's offices have none. it is all about protocol and managing the population by not putting them out in the community. rob: a quick reaction to talk about illegal immigration, the governor of california announcing 125 million in his state as a stimulus check to go to illegal immigrants who are not getting stimulus money. what do you make of that? >> absolutely wrong. i can't believe the progressive group giving taxpayer money at a time when people are out of work, the american people deserve these benefits, not people who came here illegally, that is why they continue to come. jillian: appreciate the time this morning. it is 38 minutes after the hour. neighbors helping neighbors,

running a food pantry out of the driveway to make sure no one in their community comes to harm.

shannon: we are back with fox news alert, germany the latest european country to strategize reopening the economy after a weeklong shutdown. >> and report claims deaths are being grossly underreported in iran. live in tel aviv, israel, the imf issues a stark warning. >> we have reached a point in the global pandemic time i wear countries around the world are taking vastly different approaches to how and when they will reopen for business starting first in germany. we've seen this country begin to reopen his hospital see a rapid decline in new cases, small german businesses will start working again in four days in schools will begin to open on

may 4th. social distancing measures will stay in place until early man large gatherings will be banned until the end of august. angela merkel stressed this will be a gradual return to normal life, israel's lockdown will be partially lifted allowing more essential workers to return to their offices. overnight police moved roadblocks from the hardest hit areas, an orthodox neighborhood near tel aviv. 's reports 12,000 cases of coronavirus. in india the country has seen some social unrest as a result of covid-19, doctors being attacked in the central part of the country is the imf is one using india as an example the widespread social unrest is possible amid the global economic downturn. finally to iran where lawmakers say the death toll is twice the figure being reported. iran is counting 8500 deaths, more than 700,000 infections. the regime does continue to call for sanctions relief amid the

spread of covid-19 though humanitarian aid is not directly affected by the international economic pressure on the islamic republic. one thing to remember is amid the outbreak there are a number of pockets of unrest and conflict in the middle east. as we have been covering the story this week there have been a number of flash points on his relapse borders between iranian proxies, the united states and its allies. rob: joe biden slamming the president for going in public without wearing a facemask. >> a bizarre thing to say. i have one, i wear it every time i step outside. everyone should be wearing a facemask and face covering in public and in general. all across the country. there should be a unified message from all our leaders. >> some cities in the state of

new york are requiring all citizens to wear a mask in public. fresh offer endorsement for joe biden elizabeth foreign revealing she would say yes if biden wanted her on his ticket. >> we want the same thing, we want this country to work and work for everyone. i will fight in any way i can. >> biden has pledged to pick a woman as his vice president. shannon: two wisconsin mothers organize a neighborhood food pantry out of the driveway, the duo teaming up to fulfill their community's needs during the pandemic and the women behind the operation join me live with more, good morning, thanks for being here. i know this was your idea to start, you went out and bought a bunch of things. tell me where it went from there. >> it really just word of mouth,

it was only a matter of days before we had so many people donating items, people stopping to grab what they needed. i did the initial grocery shop and stacked some items, got things going and now we just have people stopping every day and providing items that are needed. shannon: you look at the numbers, there has been a 40% increase in demand for the food banks, heartbreaking when you see those numbers and realize people can't get out to get food, having a hard time getting out of their homes to get it. tell me how the process is working in the neighborhood. >> we have been spreading word on social media and facebook and letting people come and take things as they need, donate if they can. it is incredible seen people

come and take things and what it is doing for the community. shannon: this is rain or shine. you had a little bit of snow, sunny 70 degree days, you've had people coming up with cartload of stuff to donate. >> yes. we've had some crazy weather in wisconsin. as much as i can get it up, if you windy days, we had to wait a few hours to get things out but otherwise the stuff is out there in the morning and then taken down before dark. we tell people when we are promoting on social media that if they want to drop off a donation, don't have stuff set up yet they can always drop it in the tent we have outside or on one of our front porches and we get the items out. shannon: what do you find is the most in demand item or items? >> a lot of toiletry things, toilet paper, paper towels, baby items seem to be going fast.

not everyone has resources to drive around to big stores looking for a pack of toilet paper like others do. it is really nice to have some of those items, cleaning supplies are a big thing. shannon: i'm sure it feels good to help community and neighbors who are struggling. of other people are watching and want to help how can they? >> they can connect with us. we are both on facebook if they can reach out. otherwise just come over. we are on 100 twentieth and morgan. come by, drop stuff off if you can, take things if you needed, we are here. shannon: you are doing such good work. thank you for sharing your story. we will be right back, stay with us.

>> welcome back, the nfl set to kick off in september but the league is planning for all scenarios including playing in empty stadiums. >> red allen is the first nfl players who test positive with coronavirus.

carley shimkus is here with reaction online. what are they saying? >> all options are on the table including a shorter season or playing without any fans in the stand. and nfl insider told the washington post the nfl is planning for everything from playing without fans to playing in stadiums, there's a push from the federal government to open things up but the other leads have to go first. sporting events heavenly on the mind of the coronavirus task force, doctor anthony fauci outlined a plan where fans start playing over the summer but in empty stadiums and undergoing frequent testing. how do fans feel about this? social media is divided. barb on twitter says playing in empty stadiums would be better than no season all but another twitter user says football would not be the same with empty stadiums. this suggestion says zoom in the fans, very crowded zoom,. we don't know what the fall is

going to look like. only time will tell. >> no audio, no fan audio, no crowds. >> a lot of people are not thrilled with apple's time of revealing the new iphone. >> some conspiracy theorist criticizing apple because yesterday the company unveiled their new phone, the iphone is see and they did that the same day some people got those stimulus checks and people on social media definitely noticed, one twitter user says they know exactly what they're doing, apple once those checks. dylan shining and saying apple dropping it when everyone gets their stimulus check. and clyde says what else are you going to use that extra money

for, right? it is the most affordable phone yet, $399 but it has some of the same features of the iphone 11. rob: this one is hilarious, anthony fauci being named the sexiest man alive. >> a petition asking people to sign to name anthony fauci the sexiest man alive and it is gaining traction, there are 15,000 signatures so far. yesterday he was asked about it and he responded when they show this to me at my age i see where were you when i was 30. a humble response from the good doctor. he definitely has a lot of fans. tiffany on twitter says anthony fauci is my tight. another person called him a silver fox. blake has a halloween costume idea. by the time halloween rolls

around my sexy anthony fauci costume, he is a no-nonsense guy, he has no time for these kinds of things. he is all business. >> he engages, it is funny to watch. >> what was this when i was young and single. he could have used that to a great extent 25 or 30 years ago. >> coming up in the next hour beijing under fire for hiding information about the covid-19 that. what will it take to get answers? our next guest says that other leads have been getting wrong about china for a long time. gordon chang joins us live. >> old american flags and cheering, it was amazing. rob: and afghan war veteran getting hero's welcome modified for these uncertain times.

>> when it comes to this wuhan outbreak the chinese communist government has direct responsibility, direct culpability for silencing, covering it up. >> the chinese government needs to come clean and claim what happened. >> thursday april 16th, bombshell evidence now puts china directly at the center of the coronavirus cover-up. >> live with breaking details just revealed to fox news that appears to show