right now on "america this morning," president trump one-on-one. the abc news exclusive. >> i don't sleep at nights thinking about it. >> what he's saying about the path forward for the u.s. economy and the hardest decision he's made so far. also this morning, the new wave of states beginning to re-open despite new coronavirus cases trending higher and the new accusation from a top government scientist. were his early warnings ignored. ruth bader ginsburg hospitalized. the health emergency that landed her in the hospital this morning. plus, the dramatic video. a high-rise going up in flame. >> out of this world, new details this morning about the tom cruise movie being filmed in space. and on the move. see how this low speed chase

finally ends. good wednesday morning, everyone. 71,000 people in the u.s. have now died from the coronavirus. >> and now president trump is discussing the way forward. during our exclusive interview he said it will be painful, but he said re-opening the country is inevitable. >> 38 states have now started to lift restrictions, but half those states are seeing new cases of the virus trending higher. history made overnight on the new york subway. the system is being closed during the early morning hours for cleaning. also in new york, there's progress in the race to find a vaccine. pfizer has started human trials in the u.s. meanwhile, today is national nurses day. nike is donating 32,000 pairs of shoes to health workers. but we begin our coverage with president trump one-on-one. this morning, president trump opening up about his response to the coronavirus during an exclusive interview with abc

news. >> the american people have to consider themselves now and i am considering them to be warriors. we are warriors. >> reporter: the president discussing when the virus first hit the u.s. from the uncertainty to the difficult decision he faced. >> i think actually the decision to close the country was the biggest decision i've ever had to make and i've said that very loud and clear. i'm not looking to tell the american people when nobody really knows what's happening yet, oh this, is going to be so tragic. >> reporter: among those decisions the call to shut down travel from china. >> when i did the ban they're out there saying -- they call me a racist because i did the ban. they called me xenophobic. if i didn't do that, dr. fauci said this, we would have lost thousands and thousand, tens of thousands more lives. >> reporter: but critics say the president was late in stopping travel from europe. looking forward he said the decision states are making to re-open is a tough one. the president acknowledging there will be more deaths as restrictions are eased.

>> the virus will pass. there will be more death, but the virus will pass with or without a vaccine. it's going to pass. and we're going to be back to normal but it's been a rough process, there's no question about it. >> reporter: the president toured a mask factory in arizona tuesday. and while no tour members were required to wear a mask or follow social distancing guidelines, he made it clear the virus is still a threat. >> the mission accomplished is when it's over. >> reporter: it comes as the white house reveals it's in discussions to disband the coronavirus task force shifting the focus from virus response to re-opening the economy. >> the country is now in the next stage of the battle, a very safe phase and gradual re-opening. >> reporter: preliminary data from johns hopkins warns the death toll in the u.s. could rise to 3,000 people per day by next month if restrictions are lifted too quickly. the president is dismissing that data saying it doesn't account for the mitigations in place. >> we're going to practice social distancing.

we're going to be washing hands. we're going to be doing a lot of the things that we've to do over the last period of time and we have to get our country back. people are dying the other way foo. >> reporter: still the president says he's trying to do what's best for everyone. >> i want to just say to the people that have lost family and have losted loved -- and the people that have suffered so badly and just made it and just made it that we love you, we're with you, we're working with you but at the same time i have to get this enemy defeated, and that's what we're doing. >> the president also said despite the current crisis he believes the economy will be, quote, raging by next year. >> the coronavirus is taking a heavy toll on nursing homes. new data shows 72% of virus deaths in new hampshire have been in nursing homes, other states have similar rates. many facilities say they're desperate to hire for staff. the scientist who was in charge of finding a coronavirus

vaccine, dr. rick bright, said his warnings about the virus were ignored. abc's alex presha has more. >> reporter: this morning, a senior government scientist is claiming the trump administration failed to prepare for the coronavirus before touting an unproven drug as a quick fix. >> i was pressured to let politics and cronyism drive decisions over the opinions of the best scientists we have in government. >> reporter: dr. rick bright had been the head scientist overseeing the production of a vaccine. in a whistle-blower complaint, he claims he was assigned to a lesser role after resisting widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug pushed by president trump. >> i witnessed government leadership rushing blindly into a potentially dangerous situation by bringing in a non-fda approved chloroquine from pakistan and india, from facilities that had never been approved by the fda. >> reporter: bright also claims his superiors rejected his warnings about the spread of the virus, missing an early opportunity to stock up on

critical supplies. %-p bright was transferred to work on coronavirus testing, and the department said, we are deeply disappointed that he has not shown up to work on behalf of the american people and lead on this critical endeavor. in the meantime, president trump's nominee for inspector general of pandemic relief funds answered questions on capitol hill tuesday. brian miller is a former lawyer in the white house counsel's office. if confirmed, he would oversee part of the $2 trillion stimulus package. he vowed to be independent. >> i will conduct every audit and investigation with fairness and impartiality. i will be vigilant to protect the integrity and independence of the office of special inspector general. >> reporter: one other story making millions in washington it involves the government's efforts to buy hospital equipment. an anonymous complaint claims fema used inexperienced volunteers to find protective equipment as the virus spread. now, jared kushner was put in

charge of leading that procurement effort. he did not respond to our request for comment. kenneth and mona. >> thank you, alex. despite social distancing guidelines they were out celebrating cinco de mayo. this is video from atlanta. abc's megan tevrizian reports on the other states and school districts looking to re-open sooner rather than later. >> reporter: this morning, texas becoming the latest state to announce new plans to re-open. >> i'm kind of excited for it. i was always waiting for it to open up. i was super bored at home. >> reporter: the governor saying barber shops and hair and nail salons can re-open friday. the eased restrictions come one week after restaurants re-opened at a 25% capacity. >> it's been difficult for me to run business because i have to shut down all the restaurants and i don't know why. what is this? what's going on? you see the people in the street. nobody wearing a mask. >> reporter: now frustration is growing among business owners in other states and regions that haven't lifted those restrictions yet. south florida barber daniel

liriano says he can't stay home anymore. he's choosing to see clients while breaking the law. >> basically we're just starving. we have to pay our bills. i have kids. i have a family. >> reporter: in idaho a private high school has re-opened for in person classes. but the new school day is anything but typical with shortened class time, modified passing periods and assemblies and cafeteria lunches canceled. 30% of the students didn't show up on the first day back. >> because we're small, because we are a private school we were able to make those decisions on what's best for our families right here. >> reporter: this morning 38 states have now eased restrictions, but at least 19 of those states are seeing an upward trajectory in new cases of coronavirus. in colorado one father passed away days after being sent home from the hospital. >> i can't put the blame on the hospitals. i can't put the blame on the doctor, but i can just make people aware of it's not okay for hospitals to turn people

away. >> this nurse in california has a warning for people not taking the virus seriously. she says the virus claimed the life of her seemingly healthy father-in-law. >> you may feel like your rights are being violated or taken away but at the end of the day, you have a family to go home to. we don't. we lost our father. >> reporter: and here's some crucial information. while the new york metro area has seen a drop in coronavirus infections, the u.s. infection rate outside new york is still on the rise. kenneth, mona. >> all right, megan, thank you. a remarkable survival story from wisconsin. army veteran arvin mccray is home after spending 50 days in the hospital with coronavirus and spent 18 days on a ventilator and said beating the requires is like being born all over again. time now for a look at your wednesday morning weather. some ominous scenes in the skies over south carolina.

those are called shelf clouds. take a good look at them. they were seen just before severe storms rolled in. luckily there won't be anything like that across most of the south today where sunny skies are in today's forecast. checking today's high temperatures, 69 degrees in atlanta, only in the low 40s across the northeast, record heat in the southwest. 107 in phoenix. 90 in los angeles. much cooler in the northwest and around the great lakes today. coming up, supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg in the hospital. also ahead, the racially charged shooting caught on camera in georgia. an unarmed black man jogging down the street is killed. the governor weighs in overnight. and a

it's hard to be stuck at home right now... but we want to say thank you... because you're being a big helper. when you stay home... you're protecting other people from getting sick. by calling a someone you love who's stuck inside, you're giving them a smile... and they need it! when you wash your hands- for like the hundredth time today... you're keeping your family safe. and by being brave... you're helping us all be brave. we know it's not easy... but helping will make everything go back to normal again as soon as possible. you're part of a big family of helpers around the world. and you're making a big difference.

find ways to help children feel safe at unicefusa.org/covid19. that's unicefusa.org/covid19.

we are back with this dramatic video of fire spreading through this high-rise building in the united arab emirates. balls of fire were falling from the 48-story building near dubai. at least seven people were hurt. no word yet on the cause of the fire. breaking overnight supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg is in the hospital. the 87-year-old underwent nonsurgical treatment for a benign gallbladder condition. but today she still plans to take part in oral arguments from the hospital by phone which is how the court has been conducting business because of coronavirus pandemic. she's expected to go home soon. new video from georgia shows an unarmed black man shot and killed after a confrontation with two white men but the images seem to contradict what the two men told investigators. warning that video is it is graphic. [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: this morning, outrage after new video shows an unarmed black man shot and

killed in brunswick, georgia. these are the final moments of 25-year-old ahmad or barry's life jogging on a sunday afternoon in february. a truck is parking ahead of him with one man in the pickup bed an another standing next to the open driver's side door. arbery is confronted by two men later identified as gregory mcmichael and his son travis. in the span of seven seconds there is a struggle between arbery and travis mcmichael. gunshots go off and arbery collapses. the third district attorney on the case after the first two recused themselves says after a full review of the evidence, the shooting should now be presented to a grand jury. >> they inserted themselves in his path with using -- wielding weapons, and he had no other choice but to clash with them and he was killed. >> reporter: the father gregory mcmichael is an ex-cop and former investigator with the local d.a.'s office. he and his son have not been charged. at the time of the shooting gregory mcmichael told

investigators he thought arbery was a burglary suspect and ordered him to stop claiming his son got out of the truck and then arbery began to attack him. a lawyer says the mcmichaels are using a citizens arrest statute in georgia to justify the shooting. >> what my client was told, the mother of ahmaud arbery was that he was involved in a burglary and that the homeowner deadly force to stop him. obviously that's not what happened. >> reporter: arbery's mother is demanding justice. >> how they could allow two men to kill my son and not be arrested. i mean, that's what i just can't seem to understand. >> reporter: georgia's governor is promising a thorough investigation. and coming up, new research on how easily children can transmit the coronavirus. also ahead, the fast food restaurants being forced to take burgers off the menu. the latest on the meat shortages nationwide and rising prices. ♪

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we have an update on this story that we brought you yesterday. a man in michigan is accused of wiping his nose on a store clerk's shirt after being told he had to wear a mask inside the store. he's now been arrested. he's due in court today to face assault charges. new figures show beef and pork production in the u.s. are down 35% from this time last year because of coronavirus. nearly 20% of wendy's restaurants have sold out of beef products. the company says the shortage is only temporary. one report finds beef prices are up 25%. meanwhile, one of the biggest pork processing plants in the country will partially re-open today in iowa following a virus outbreak. and a new study is raising questions about how children are spreading the coronavirus. earlier i spoke with dr. alok patel about the new research and i asked him what schools could look like when they re-open. >> children seem to be the mystery link in how the virus can spread without large symptoms, so two studies are being referenced right now. one coming out of china looking

at several populations. they found that even though children are one-third as susceptible to getting covid, when they're introduced into schools, they're coming in contact three times as much and so without schools even being open, we still see a lot of transmission. so that study is basically warning us about increased transmission once kids are in contact with one another. >> a top medical group released a new statement about schools re-opening. what do parents need to know? >> we'll likely see large changes. two big variabilities. schools have to pay attention to the physical distancing and ways to keep crowds at hand. on top of that they will have to implements things like masks potentially, cleaning down shared surfaces and passing out hand hygiene. i've heard ideas about staggering classes, about shortening periods. i've even heard an idea about keeping kids in one class and having the teachers rotate. you have to add that into the fact that when kids get into school, especially young kids, they are going to fester so

many germs by touching one another and hanging out together but all in all this is going to vary based on school district, resource, geographical spread and all know it has to happen because schools are very important. >> in the race to find a vaccine there is some promising news regarding pfizer. the drug company has now started human vaccine trials. how much progress is being made here and is the time line moving up at all? >> i think the progress and the scientific kind of questions and communication is a good thing. now, i alongside a lot of other experts i talked to are skeptical about the time line. people saying we'll see a vaccine by september or late 2020. it may be longer. >> reporter: and dr. patel says new technology could help produce a vaccine in record time. coming up, the big announcement from disney. plus, a ceremonial first pitch like we've never seen before.

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back now with hollywood going out of this world, nasa confirms that it is working with tom cruise on plans to shoot a movie on the international space station. it did not provide any more details about the movie or when production will begin. spacex is also reportedly involved. they knew about movie sets, right? >> we can make it look like outer. they did it for "men in black." a young fan on the roll to kick off baseball season in south korea. >> the 9-year-old became the ceremonial first pitch by walking or more like rolling up to the home plate inside a giant baseball bubble. one batter even took a swing at him. >> rolling, rolling, rolling. the opener was played in front of pictures of fans instead of real audience due to social distancing rules. >> shanghai will be the first disney theme park to re-open by things will look different. everyone will be required to wear a mask except the

characters but mickey and the others won't be hugging anyone and capacity will be limited to less than one-third of the normal crowd. back in this country a top health official in washington is offering a special thank you to all his employees. >> dr. francis collins from the national institutes of health put his own twist on the john lennon classic "imagine." take a listen. ♪ imagine all the people wearing masks outside ♪ >> so much talent. collins said his employees are saving lives and we're going to get through this. we often tell you about high speed chases. but this chase, this one was a low speed chase. >> a low, low speed one. it looked like the rodeo had come to town near syracuse, new york. police spent hours chasing these cows that escaped from a trailer on the highway. legend-dairy. the animals kept social distancing from the police until

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making news right now at 4:27 ramping up the battle against coronavirus. santa clara county is opening two more testing sites. shelter-in-place cinco de mayo celebration. crimes of tubt during the pandemic. the postal service is warning about a sudden spike in mail thefts. we'll get to all those stories in just a moment, but, first, we want to check in with meteorologist mike nicco for a look at the day ahead. >> good morning, kumasi. how are you? >> i'm well. how are you doing? >> i'm doing well. glad we made it to wednesday. i know you like the warm temperatures, i may have you over later in the week and

experience 90s in the inland valleys. today is the transition. a few high clouds showing up on live doppler 7 and a few low clouds along the coast and they will be short lived as dry air is infiltrating right now and they'll take away the cloud cover and you can see from the exploratorium camera clear on the bay side and 73 this afternoon and pretty comfortable. mid 70s to near 80 around the bay and look at the mid 80s in the inland neighborhoods and even 67 at the coast and we'll talk more about that heat coming up. now on abc7 news live desk update. at the live desk, there is an investigation under way on the peninsula after san mateo county sheriff deputies shot and killed a woman in half moon bay last night. here's what we know this morning. investigators say a woman in her 30s or 40s was carrying a rifle and alcohol on main street near the pasta moon restaurant around 7:30 last night. deputies say they asked her to

drop the gun. according to officials, the woman shot at them and deputies returned fire striking her as she was taken to the hospital where she died. >> thank you, jobina. two new covid-19 testing sites are opening up in santa clara county and part of an effort to do more testing in underserved communities. julian glover is live in san jose. julian. >> hi, kumasi, good morning. as you mentioned, yes, this is all about getting to those underserved communities where not enough testing is happening right now. that's why here in santa clara county those two new sites are opening up. this one in east san jose and the other in gilroy. james lick high school and the other opening at christopher high in gilroy. this is a public private partnership and that's a health service company now operating 80 testing sites throughout the state of california. testing will be by appointment only monday through friday 7:00

a.m. to 7:00 p.m. anyone can come get a test and people with symptoms and also first responders asymptomatic or without stnls those folks will be prioritized. the number to call is up on your screen right now. you can find the website on our website abc7news.com. here's health officer sarah cody on the importance of expanding testing. >> we are looking for a level of at least 200 per 100,000 and we're about, you know, 20% of the way there. so, we have more progress to be made. >> about 130 tests will be conducted at each of the new sites opening up. the two new sites are the second and third new sites to be opening in santa clara county just this week the first one opening up at pal stadium earlier this week on monday that being a drive-thru testing site andhe