have a good day. i think i'm on the naughty list. breaking news in america this morning, the experimental drug showing new promise in the fight against coronavirus. what we're learning about the drug and when it could be available. plus, a major miamistone in the push to expand testing for the virus. breaking overnight, crowd crackdown. california now set to close all beaches to stop crowds from gathering as new battles erupt from coast to coast over what businesses should be allowed to re-open. the new figures being released today showing just how many americans have now lost their jobs. more changes at the airport. the new machines that take your temperature and the new push to get all airlines to require passengers to wear a mask. close call actor harrison ford's latest mishap on the runway and how he explained it to air traffic control. and from the stolen rhino

worth $5,000 to britney spears accidentally setting a fire, to the special toy collection paying tribute to doctors and nurses, all the trending stories on this thursday morning. good thursday morning, everyone. thank you for joining us. we're learning more about the first treatment to show real promise against the fight against the coronavirus. >> doctors say there's now proof that a drug can block the virus. it comes as we mark another grim milestone in this country. more than 60,000 people have now died from the virus. >> a disturbing discovery in new york. 100 bodies were found outside a brooklyn funeral home. they were in an unrefrigerated u-haul truck. the owner says his freezer had stopped working. from california this breaking headline overnight, the governor is expected to close all beaches in the state beginning tomorrow to prevent crowds from gathering. meanwhile, los angeles is set to become the first big city to offer a free coronavirus test

to all residents. we begin our coverage with that experimental drug showing new promise. this morning what could be a major new step in the fight against the coronavirus. "the new york times" reporting the fda plans to announce an emergency use authorization for remdesivir. a drug first designed to treat ebola. it's now showing significant promise helping covid-19 patients recover. >> what it has proven is that a drug can block this virus. >> reporter: the study from the national institutes of health shows patients taking remdesivir took an average of 11 days to recover from the virus compared to 15 days for other patients and the drug led to fewer deaths. a second study released by gilead, the maker of remdesivir, also indicated the drug is beneficial when it's given soon after infection. >> people who were treated earlier, less than ten days into their symptoms, do seem to be having better outcomes. 62% of those people were able to be discharged at day 14.

>> reporter: doctors in california gave monica yeung arima remdesivir after nearly two weeks in the hospital. she said she started feeling better within days. >> i'm very excited for people that are in the same boat as me possibly. i only say possibly that the drug could be available to more patients. >> it was my morning coffee, i guess. you know, they put it in and then the next morning you get another one and the next morning you get another one. >> reporter: chris cane started taking the drug every morning when he was hospitalized with a high fever and was on oxygen. >> can you remember the moment the medication kicked in? >> i woke up in the morning, and i could breathe. it still hurt, but, you know, it had dropped off quite a bit, so, yeah, it was literally two days later when all of a sudden, i went, wow, i'm feeling better. >> reporter: some are urging caution saying more analysis is needed. researchers in china have already cut one remdesivir study short finding the drug did not speed up recovery. but dr. alex garza the chief medal officer for homeland security under the obama administration believes

the quality of the data from the nih is more reliable than the china study. >> it was a much more disciplined trial that i believe done in china, so that data quality piece, you know, i think is much more applicable coming out of the u.s. study. >> coming up in just a few minutes we'll ask our medical expert about the availability of this drug and how it could change the coronavirus response effort. and now to los angeles where every resident can now get a coronavirus test at no cost. it comes as president trump walks back a claim he made recently about testing. abc's ines de la cuetara has more. >> reporter: this morning, los angeles is the first major u.s. city offering a free coronavirus test to every resident. >> if you think you might have covid-19, want the reassurance that you don't, if you've been around people that you have seen with symptoms, get a test. we can do it. >> reporter: mayor eric garcetti says everyone in l.a. county, more than 10 million people, can now get a test, even people without symptoms. prior to the announcement testing at 34 sites around l.a.

had been restricted to those who were symptomatic. health experts have said a major ramp-up in testing is needed to re-open the country. nationwide the u.s. has now run 5.7 million covid-19 tests. on tuesday, the president said the u.s. will hit 5 million tests per day very soon. >> i hear you say you're confident you can surpass 5 million tests per day. is that -- >> well, we're going to be there very soon. if you look at the number, it could be that we're getting very close. >> reporter: but yesterday the president seemed to walk back that assertion. >> somebody started throwing around 5 million. i didn't say 5 million. somebody said 5 million. i think it might have been the harvard report. there was a report from harvard. >> you were asked -- >> and they said 5 million. well, we will be there, but i didn't say it. >> reporter: meanwhile, president trump says he will end his months' long confinement at the white house next week when he visits arizona to meet with business leaders. kenneth and mona. >> all right, ines, thank you.

a state court has sided with michigan's governor saying her stay-at-home order does not violate the constitutional rights of michigan residents. in ruling against the plaintiffs, the judge said the governor has the broad power to act during a health crisis. gretchen whitmer is still facing a similar lawsuit by a business group. arizona and nevada are now extending their stay-at-home orders, but many other governors are pushing to re-open as they face growing economic pressure. abc's kimberly brooks reports. >> reporter: this morning florida is the latest state announcing plans to gradually re-open. >> i deliberately erred on the side of taking measured steps, kind of even a baby step, to return to not normal where we were but to start us on the road to a brighter day. >> reporter: beginning monday restaurants and retail stores will be allowed to re-open but only at 25% capacity, and they'll have to maintain social distancing. but the re-opening plans exclude

three hard hit counties in south florida including miami-dade. nationwide 11 states have already lifted restrictions with seven more to follow by the end of this week. amid these difficult decisions, the economic tension is getting thick. >> i can guarantee to continue a five-figure loss every month. >> reporter: this morning the labor department is expected to report that another 3.5 million americans filed for unemployment benefits last week bringing the total to more than 30 million people since the pandemic began. in the states that remain closed, many business owners say they're fed up. >> i'm not really a big fan of people telling me what to do. >> reporter: this hairstylist in north carolina is re-opening despite the governor's stay-at-home order. >> i've got my clorox spray, my wipes, my disinfectants, i got barbicide wipes. i have all of the things that i'm supposed to do to keep people healthy. >> reporter: in san francisco, similar concerns. >> i am more worried about the guaranteed loss i'm going to take if i continue to stay

closed. >> reporter: in texas this salon owner opening despite a court issued restraining order, but owners know that opening up shop won't alleviate legitimate fear among their employees. >> when i've talked to my employees, obviously they're afraid. i'm afraid, and i think that we should be. we'll see how it goes. >> reporter: many states that have re-opened are now telling workers they'll lose unemployment benefits if they refuse to return to their jobs. meanwhile, in states like illinois, still in the grips of this crisis, medical workers on the front lines see it with their own eyes. people are growing restless. >> we've got all these people that want to get out. they want to get back to the norm of what society was before covid-19. people aren't realizing because they don't see what we see on a day-to-day basis. we work so hard to keep that line down, to lower it, and is it going to be worse because we're opening things up? >> reporter: now people are certainly looking forward to summer, but this economy will make things feel different.

here in new york, the mayor is already saying that even if things turn around in the warmer months, the city doesn't have the plans or the money to open staples like beaches or pools. kenneth, mona. >> all right, kimberly, thank you. some of the smallest companies applying for coronavirus relief loans got a chance to move to the front of the line. the small business administration's online portal temporarily stopped accepting applications submitted by big banks. for eight hours last night it was open only to community lenders. all right, it's time now to check your thursday morning weather. at least one child has been killed, and four kids were missing overnight after being swept away by floodwaters in northeastern kentucky. police say the kids were traveling in a buggy when the horse stumbled causing the buggy to overturn. the current radar shows storms in the eastern third of the country with showers from florida to the carolinas and rain from virginia to new york. checking today's high temperatures, 60s on the east

coast, 70s in memphis and kansas city. 104 in phoenix. a heat warning in place there. coming up, a big change for customers at costco. also ahead, a close call at the airport for actor harrison ford. the air traffic control tower was not happy. you'll hear what happened. and later the news about michael jordan and the soaring price of his memorabilia.

you may not be thinking about blood donation, but blood is needed to save the lives of people who are sick with a range of illnesses. it's easy and safe to give. if you are in good health, please donate. we need heroes now. visit red cross blood dot org to schedule an appointment. back now with changes at costco. beginning monday the company will become the largest retailer in the u.s. to require all workers and customers to wear a mask. the only exception will be shoppers with certain medical conditions and children under 2. lawmakers are pushing for a federal mandate requiring everyone on u.s. flights to wear

masks, but it's unclear which government agency has authority. the faa says it's not a public health agency. others like transportation and hhs have been mostly silent. an airport in washington state is now checking passengers' temperatures. payne field in evert is using thermal cameras to screen travelers before the tsa checkpoint. if a fever is detected, the airline determines whether the passenger can board. and a big scare at the airport for harrison ford after another close call on the runway. this time the actor and pilot got a talking to from air traffic control. >> get off my plane. >> reporter: this morning actor harrison ford under investigation by the faa. authorities say the 77-year-old was involved in a runway incursion at hawthorne airport in los angeles last week. taxiing across the runway as another plane was taking off. angering the air traffic controller. >> get across that runway now. i told you to hold short. you need to listen up. >> excuse me, sir, i thought

exactly the opposite. i'm terribly sorry. >> reporter: the two planes were never close, but authorities are investigating this real-life snafu by the actor famous for flying the millennium falcon. >> you said you want to be around when i made a mistake. well, this could be it, sweetheart. >> reporter: ford has had several incidents while flying. three years ago he mistakenly landed not on the runway but on a taxiway of a california airport. in 2015 he made an emergency landing onto a golf course and was hospitalized. and back in 1999 he had to make an emergency landing while flying a helicopter. >> what attracted you to flying? >> i hadn't learned anything. i mean, i'm always learning how to, you know, try and do this better. >> what happened to your helicopter? >> it -- it broke. [ laughter ] >> a spokesperson for the actor says ford misheard radio instructions from the control tower, and he apologized. coming up, how an american toy company is honoring doctors and nurses for their fight against coronavirus.

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and learn how janssen can help you explore cost support options. remission can start with stelara®. back now with the toys honoring frontline workers. take a good look at them. mattel has unveiled a thank you heroes collection that includes doctors, nurses, emts, grocery store workers and delivery truck drivers. proceeds will go to charity. shutdowns and staff reductions at meatpacking plants could mean a lot less boneless chicken at the market. "fortune" make magazine reports that the poultry industry is moving away from deboning chicken legs. officials say the process takes too long. just this week president trump signed an executive order requiring meat processing plants to stay open to prevent a food shortage, but many employees say workers will not be showing up. thousands of them have been infected while working in close quarters. unions are demanding more safety restrictions. back now to that promising experimental treatment for

coronavirus. a new study found that patients taking the drug remdesivir had shorter recovery times. earlier i spoke with emergency physician ryan rivera. i asked about the potential for a second wave and whether remdesivir is a game changer. >> it is definitely an encouraging study. i mean, it has a lot of the features that you want to see in terms of it being a randomly controlled trial. it's multisite including international sites as well, over a thousand patients in the trial. i think notably it showed a statistically significant difference in terms of time to recovery but not necessarily in terms of death rates, at least not yet. i know they're continuing to analyze the data. now, i know they haven't released all of the data yet, so it'll be interesting to see when that comes out, but preliminarily it does look good. >> it seems like there has been a resurgence in cases overseas after lockdown restrictions from germany were eased, for example. even new york governor andrew cuomo has said today he is seeing caution signs from other countries. did some countries jump the gun

in your opinion, and what can the u.s. learn from this? >> loosening measures is obviously not a binary thing. certainly if we were to eliminate a lot of these restrictions completely, i mean, we would absolutely see an uptick. so it's really -- i think it's not as simple as saying, oh, if we release measures we might see a problem. i think it's really a matter of how we do it and what type of backdrop we have in terms of testing and contact tracing as well. >> and, dr. rivera, as a medical professional on the front lines, what are you seeing in hospitals right now, and do you share the concern about a potential second wave? >> we here in santa clara county were one of the highest infection rate counties in america during the early stages of this. we have at least in our area successfully flattened the curve a bit to the extent that now even those coronavirus patients are starting to tick down, and so now we're at a point where actually i think our hospital is operating in a way that we can manage more patients than we're seeing. you know, as far as a second

wave, i mean, i think all of us have some reservations, having seen what it was like before the shelter in place measures, that we might return to a situation like that again. i think it's a matter of how we do it. if we have abundant testing available, if we have expeditious contact tracing, if we are very careful about implementing strict measures for those who are infected and those who have been in contact with those who are infected, i think we've seen that that's been a strategy that's been successful. and if we do that with careful easing of measures, then perhaps we can do that in a way that doesn't lead to a second wave. >> and our thanks to dr. rivera for his insight. coming up, a bizarre crime. the story of the stolen rhino. also how britney spears says she accidentally burned down her gym. these are real people, not actors,

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we are back now with a we are back now with a brazen robbery at this garden center near miami. three suspects are seen there putting a 300-pound rhinoceros sculpture into the back of the truck before taking off. the store owner says the same crew also stole a ram and a dinosaur sculpture. he says all three are worth about $14,000. someone call ace ventura. >> savage. also worth a lot of money these days, some michael jordan trading cards. >> a mint condition jordan rookie card recently sold for more than $51,000. a new record. and last night another copy of the card went for 41,000. prices are soaring after espn's new documentary on jordan. nike's newest sneaker has a 7-eleven look.

that's right, 7-eleven. the sb dunk lows are orange and green with the 7-eleven logo on the heel reminiscent of the 2008 dunk highs but the new shoes are part of an official collaboration. well, next to a confession from britney spears. the singer says she accidentally burned down her home gym. >> spears fessed up on instagram last night after burning down her gym months ago. she says the fire started after she left two candles burning. mona, you want to take this next line right here? >> spears says, quote, by the grace of god the alarm went off and nobody got hurt, y'all. >> that's perfection. an elementary school worker now unemployed because of the coronavirus has found a way to keep busy and make some money, make money at the same time. she's selling picnic tables for squirrels. she enlisted a neighbor to build the tables and she does the decorating. business is booming. >> pretty cool. and it's almost friday, so we had to show you this video of a labradoodle in louisiana. saw himself on the local news. his owner says 2-year-old braun

gets hopped up any time he sees himself on tv. v. for early mornings, late nights, double shifts, and overnights, for calloused hands and skin scrubbed raw. and for being brave enough to go to work today. thank you, from all of us cheering you on. [overlapping applause and cheers] sensitivity it's very common to have a gum health concern as well. but if you have sensitive teeth, you probably aren't going to brush your teeth as effectivity because it causes pain. and if you see blood you should do something about it. you know, i talk to dentists every day and they're able to recommend one product, new sensodyne sensitivity & gum, to address both conditions at the same time. if we only treat one versus the other, the patient's mouth is never going to be where it needs to be. it's really good dentistry to be able to recommend one product for patients that can address two conditions.

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now your health, your safety, this is abc7 news. making news at 4:27, governor newsom is taking action to put an end to scenes like this. he is set to announce a major change to parks and beaches today. and confusion this morning about when the next school year might start. governor newsom said it could be july. california school chief says maybe not. and apple and google want to turn your smartphone into a tool to track coronavirus but skeptics say, can we really trust them? good morning, everybody. it's thursday, april 30th. we'll get to all those stories very shortly but first checking in with meteorologist mike nicco for a look at what our day has in store for us. happy friday eve. >> yes, ma'am. happy friday eve. it sounds like you have it ready

for the weekend. i miss your smile. i'll see you here in 20 seconds. let's take a look at what is going on. yes, we made it to thursday and a brighter day and slightly warmer one. if you missed the sunshine yesterday, i got you today. here's a look at live doppler 7 and little cloudy out there and a lot of that is more high clouds than low clouds and low clouds filling the bay and little fog along the coast. as we head into the afternoon hours, look how much sunshine we're going to get and temperatures will respond. 59 and breezy along the coast and 66 in san francisco and you can see upper 60s around richmond and san mateo and the rest of the bay in the upper 70s and south bay, east bay and north bay mid to upper 70s. we'll talk about that weekend forecast and a chance of sprinkles still lingers sunday and that is coming up soon. here is kumasi with more news. the battle against coronavirus is about to hit california's beaches and state parks. governor newsom is ordering all

of them to be closed starting on friday. newsom wants to stop a repeat of this. thousands of people packed beaches this past weekend, it was really nice and warm out outside. the california police chief's association issued a warning, a memo that was warning police departments about this coming order. but many counties have been doing partial closures already. they have struggled with overcrowding. julian glover will have much more on this story coming up in our next half hour. here in the bay area, our shelter-in-in place is until may 31st but some are letting up. amy hollyfield has details. >> see these locks here on this tennis court at heather farms, these will be able to come off next week. tennis will be allowed as restrictions will be loosened a bit. skate parks are also reopening. officials are letting more outdoor activity to take place

that includes construction projects. they will be allowed and they still have safety measures in place they have to follow, especially depending on the size of the project. social distancing will remain a requirement except in cases where it is unavoidable to carry out a certain task. this announcement met with great relief from contractors who are eager to get their employees back to work. >> knowing the men and women who rely on our company for food on their table and a roof over their head can't go to work and there's not a thing we could do about it. it's been brutal. it's been absolutely brutal. >> child care, summer camps and other educational programs can reopen to provide supervision for the children of essential workers. this is as long as certain guidelines are met. the new order also allows the use of shared outdoor facilities such as some golf courses, the skate parks, tennis courts where we are as long as everybody fo