this is "nightline." tonight, record rates. coronavirus infections soaring, the most in a single day. and now the new hotspots and the new face of patients. the icu already filled to capacity and the desperate race to keep the virus from overwhelming hospitals. plus, reality of race. through one man's eyes, his unlikely interviewer and a difficult conversation with the world in black and white comes into clearer focus. >> this is a really important moment for america to start to heal from the heart. >> "nightline" starts right now, with byron pitts. good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, if you thought we were

past the worst of the pandemic, think again. the u.s. today set a record for infections, 39,000 in a single day. cases rising in 29 states. now the front line warriors overseeing this new onslaught of the coronavirus. >> the patients that we are transporting are some of the sickest of the sick covid patients that are out there. there's always an element of a higher level of fear, there's always an element of a time factor. >> texas breaking a record. >> here in california are skyrocketing. >> department of health reporting a worrisome increase in the number of positive tests. >> it's like stepping back in time. the crisis we hoped was fading once again in clear focus. >> we may be tired of the virus, but as someone said, the virus

is not tired of us. >> cases on the rise in at least 29 states. hospitalizations up in 23 as public health officials struggle to control the sudden surges. >> we assume covid until proven otherwise. >> evand in the last 24 hours, nearly 39,000 new cases in the u.s., the cdc warning the actual numbers may be ten times higher than reported, predicting up to 150,000 deaths by july 18th. in florida, long lines for testing, as cases there soar. california shattering records. l.a. county now the highest infection rate in the nation. and in texas, the governor calling the outbreak there massive, today hitting the pause button on the state's reopening. officials calling out complacency and non-compliance as they race against time. >> we don't necessarily have states that are operating with

evidence-based decisions. and so they're getting mixed messages. >> tonight front line workers taking us inside, describing the change in face of the covid surge. young people. >> we're seeing much more less than 50 years old, and they are being admitted. >> anyone who believes that this disease is not real, it's definitely real. it's no joke. >> just three weeks ago, houston resident shamoan thought the worst was in the rear view mirror. and like many in her city, went out after the city reopened for a girls night and birthday party with friends. were you and your friends at all concerned about going out in public to bars, restaurants, packed spaces? >> of course, we definitely concerned, but we trying to be as safe as possible. so the restaurant we went to, they had the tables separated, so it was just six of us at the table. >> you thought based on the rules at the time that you guys were fine. >> right, exactly.

>> a few days later, she attended one of the george floyd protests in support of black lives matter. the very next day, you developed symptoms. did you think was covid? >> no, i was like, oh, maybe this is a summer flu or just a little bug or something. but as the day went on i got more sicker. and more symptoms started to come in, i realized it may possibility be covid. the first three days i literally did not leave the bed. i did not eat. i was literally like walking hunched over, because i was in so much pain. my body was, i was freezing cold, but my body was hot, and i had chills. >> now she's using her story as a cautionary tale. >> i have literally been telling my friends, if y'all want to see me come somewhere i need to see y'all's current negative test results. if you don't wear the mask you

may lose your life.>> dei a pnt contention for some, a new study suggested that if the majority of americans wore masks, it could save 33,000 lives through the fall. >> in the last two to three weeks, what we have noticed in this state, in this city, i am reporting cases, six, seven, eight, 900 in one case over 1,000 cases in a day. >> mayor sylvester turner saying while the death rate remains low compared to other cities, houston must step up and clamp down to combat the rising tide. >> that's what has occurred when you're bringing people back together, when you're not following the proper procedures, people not wearing their mask, they're not engaged in social distancing, they're not exercising proper hygiene. we fell off the horse, and now we got to get back on the horse. >> yesterday mayor turner warning businesses to monitor their crowd flow. >> we're looking at creating

what i would call af shame and working against the rules. >> when you ignore the social distancing and you come together, you are fueling this virus. when you are walking around and you're not putting on your, on your, on your mask, when you're not engaged in proper hygiene, you are fueling, you are fueling the virus. it never went away. it was, it was, it was never n gone in the city of houston. >> we have gone through a lull of not making many covids it seemed like, and now we're making more covids on a daily basis. >> daniel soto is a supervising captain with the houston fire department. he spoke with my colleague, tom llamas. >> you're talking about doing cpr on somebody who has covid, what's going through your mind? >> well, we suspect everyone has covid, especially if we can't speak to them or ask them what

kind of symptoms they have. if they are in arrest and you need to get down and do cpr to save their life. today i made two runs, the first one was a cardiac arrest, a young man who needed cpr and potential covid. so we don't know for sure he had covid, but the family had said that he'd had a cough for several days as well as body fatigue. definitely on the lookout. >> the young lady. >> she's 35. >> she's all young. >> all young. >> 35 is young. >> they're all babies, you know. >> at houston methodist, one of the largest hospitals in the city, doctors have been surprised by the change in the patient population, the first surge they saw this spring. >> these people don't get admitted, and they are otherwise healthy. >> dr. masued is the medical director of critical care. >> if they had followed all the

social distancing and mask, they would never be in the hospital. >> don't look great, eric still want its us to push for ex-tubation since she's young. >> she's also seeing another disturbing trend. >> we're seeing families. so it's not just a husband, you know, who's ill and the spouse is at home. we're seeing a husband, the spouse, the sisters, the whole family is being coming up positive with the covid. >> you're seeing entire families test positive. >> that is correct. >> and now are in the hospital. >> yes, that is correct. >> and what hurts the most, riley says is that so many of these infections may have been preventible. >> the hardest part is just the compliance of the community and they're just not getting it. i ask anybody to come walk in my shoes for one day and just see what i see. you know, when you have a patient in the critical care, and unfortunately, when they don't survive, knowing that we did everything we possibly could to restore their, okay, you're

going to make me cry now. i have a hard time talking about it. this is the hardest part about the whole thing. i'm sorry. we're so used to comforting and having the families at the bedside and just giving them that additional support that they need and just not being able to do that or have them there with the patient, it's hard. so we've become part of their family to make sure that their loved one is dying peacefully and getting through this. >> coming up, how a difficult talk on race and racism sparked a movement to listen and lift up our neighbors. a convenient time wait for or for hospitals to get back to normal again. that's why, at cancer treatment centers of america, we aren't waiting. we're right here, still focused on the only thing we do,

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sometimes the greatest growth comes when you step far outside your comfort zone. one woman in south carolina finding that to be true first hand. after an unexpected talk on race and racism in america, one that has since gone viral, inspiring

thousands to lean in and learn, a conversation long ignored in this country. >> ernest, aernest, aernest, aea to carolyn's house. she asked him what it was like to be a black man in america. caroline posting their interaction on facebook, hoping it would inspire others to open up the conversation, writing that ernest told her he gets pulled over in myrtle beach at least six times a year. he doesn't get pulled over for traffic violations but on the suspicion of him being a suspect in one crime or another and three doesn't work past dinnertime, not because he doesn't need the business, but because it isn't safe for him to be out after dark. this information shocked her. caroline reflected on this experience, adding to her post, i could begin healing our country by talking frankly with african-americans in my world, by listening to their lived experience and speaking up. let's start by listening and

lafting up. it's that simple. her post going viral, receiving more than 180,000 shares. but in the comments, people expressing their fear to have these uncomfortable conversations. earlier today i caught up with ernest and caroline. here's what they told me about that eye-opening conversation. so caroline, first question to you. what made you decide to put this on facebook and what impact did you hope the story would hope? >> the minneapolis riots were ratcheting up, and there was a lot of tension, and everyone was feeling a lot of different emotions. when he came to the door i asked him how he was doing and what's been his experience in terms of police interaction, and he just started talking and it was very surprising to me. >> so it sounds like you helped caroline get woke. >> i believe so. >> how do you go from, is the dishwasher working to what does it mean to be black in america. how did you phrase that first question? >> what i did was i greeted him at the door and i said how are you feeling?

and he thought i was talking about the coronavirus. and i said no, how are you feeling with what's going on with these riots, and then he started to talk. and, you know, he started to tell me his feelings, and i tn said can you give me an idea if this happens to you? what's going on with the police here in myrtle beach, and that's when we just started talking. >> ernest, your spirit was open to having the conversation. >> when you're sitting here with two degrees and never been in trouble with the law, and then you know you're back against the wall, and it's hard for us to survive out here, and speaking with caroline, you know, we all, all we want to be is heard. >> what was your reaction when a white woman asks you how did it feel to be a black man in america? >> oh, devastating. i was supposed to be coming here to work on her apply anse, but it seemed she was more interested in how it is to be black, and that, when i looked at her, she showed me that she

was sincere. >> you have a number of clients now, you're doing well. you take care of them. but after dark you check taking jobs around. tell me about that. >> when we get pulled over for no reason, and it's dark, you know, you're terrified. that's a concern that we have, am i going to be able to make it home or see another day. >> what do you say to a number of people who are uncomfortable to cross the color line, if you will, to have these difficult conversations? what would you say to them? >> i would just say to open up their hearts and to start to tune in to their heart's wisdom and what their heart is saying. >> and you know, if you make a mistake or say the wrong word, that's okay. these are tricky conversations. just be open and honest. >> so from your perspective, in this conversation that you all had, what's next do you think for you? >> hoping things get better. it's overwhelming, you know, i'm getting a lot of love, and that

means a lot. and i just want people to get to know me. once you get to know me, just like carolina did, you'll see i'm not a bad person. >> it sounds like, caroline, that ernest is saying you weren't just color blind, you chose to be color brave. >> i think that this time in our nation's history and in the world is about the heart. i think sometimes we can push for policies and laws to protect the most vulnerable and to dismantle parts of the system, and that's really important, but in the south there also needs to be some heart healing. i don't want to see another four or five generations going by with these issues. we all benefit when we have interactions with each other that are deeper. >> carolina didn't know anything about me, but she took a chance, african american guy, to dcome into her home, didn't know me from adam and eve, but she allowed me to come in, work on

her appliance, and she was difficult stat devastated the whole time and showed much respect. and when i get that from customers i go the extra mile. >> i call that a good day. thank you so much, thank you for your graciousness, your eloquence, thank you for your witness. i wish both of you continued grace. >> thank you, sir. and up next, coming back to life in the city of light. ♪ [shouting] [clapping and shouting] [cymbals clanging] [knocking] room for seven. and much, much more. the first-ever glb. get 0% apr financing up to 36 months on most models, and 90-day first-payment deferral on any model. frto baking fails...inters...

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and finally tonight, a welcome back to the jewel of paris. heres's abc's maggie rulli. >> reporter: the symbolic heart e. paris is once again very well ke mosf euro, fnc was hit hard by the coronavirus, triggering the government to impose one of the strictest lockdowns in the region, but today, as the iconic monument reopened its doors, many told us being here was about much more than just the view. >> it's definitely a piece of

free tomorrow aft freedom. >> reporter: freedom and the hope that it will last. up on the eiffel tower there are strict covid implementations in place. >> there are 674 steps. >> i'd do it again in a heartbeat. >> reporter: more than 1300 stickers have been added to encourage social distancing. high-touch areas are cleaned every two hours, and all visitors over 11 years old must wear masks. changes are seen all over the city but many are saying it's for the better. >> it's beautiful out. >> reporter: monica is a fashion journalist in paris. she says in her neighborhood, cafes spill out into the streets to make more room for outdoor tables. and there's a new sense of community felt throughout the small winding streets. glimmers of hope as fears of a free falling economy and the

second wave remain high. but the city of light is shining bright again. i'm maggie rulli in paris. >> thanks to maggie. that's "nightline" for this evening. we'll see you right back here tomorrow, same time. thanks for the company, america, good night. ♪ pa-da-pa, pa-da-pa, pa-da-pa ♪ pa-da-pa, pa-da-pa, pa-da-pa ♪ jimmy kimmel live >> this is ridiculous. from his house! >> jimmy: hi. i'm jimmy kimmel. here we are again, you in your

house, me in mine. i hope you had a successful mother's day, this is probably the strangest mother's day ever, especially for me. i spent some of my mother's day in a twitter feud, you know that weird baby that lives in the white house, the one with the orange face? well, he is in a mood, and apparently, part of the reason for that mood is because of something that i did. on thursday night i showed a video, one of these embarrassing photo ops of mike pence, the vice president, carrying boxes delivering ppe to a facility for senior citizens. it was a publicity stunt to show how much they're doing, but that happens in politics, okay, fine. the trouble started because at one point in the video, mike pence finds some empty boxes in the back of the van, why there were empty boxes in the back of the van, i don't know, he finds them, and he says can i carry the empty ones just for the camera, which turns out he was joking. how anyone can tell when mike pence is joking, i don't know,