on this first monday of may, more than 146 million americans will see an easing of coronavirus restrictions and over two dozen states. this as some places continue to see a rise in cases. we have new developments this morning involving joe biden. his accuser says what was reported when she says the incident occurred. take a look at this. that's a giant carnivorous murder hornet. these critters are now a threat to american alture the rush to stop them.

a scare in the air as a brawl breaks out mid-flight forces an emergency landing. we have the latest details it's monday, may 4th, "early today" starts right now. good morning, monday morning. with this week, we're mauving into a new fizz of the coronavirus pan dem you can as more states lift lockdown restrictions more than 1.1 million infections have been confirmed in the united states. the death toll has risen to over 68,000 according to johns hopkins university, 180,000 people have recovered from covid-19 in the u.s. >> some cities might be easing restriction, new mexico is making them tighter. an emergency declaration has been extended until thursday it puts a curfew on businesses there's been 73 deaths related to covid-19. in arizona, cars lined up for what's being called a

testing blitz. over three saturdays, officials hope to test 60,000 people for coronavirus. the rapid testing will help slow the spread now to hawaii where traffic was backed up for hours while people waited for food a company was giving away enough produce to feed 500 families, but several times that many showed up and then police had to help with crowd control. and ryan reynolds is helping feed the class of 2020 he delivered a virtual commencement speech for the vancouver area school where he graduated. he was gifting every student one large pizza from his favorite local pizzeria a grim new prediction from president trump this morning during a virtual town hall with fox news, the president says he believes 100,000 americans could die in the pandemic. capitol hill correspondent tracie potts joining us now with the latest the president also defended his administration's response to the outbreak >> the president is defending the administration's response despite the fact we're seeing

this risen death toll. now over 68,000 as of this morning. but president trump said in that town hall broadcast on fox news channel last night that we can do both. we can protect american's health and protect the economy. he's predicting an economic bounceback and a vaccine by the end of the year. >> certain states will have to take a little more time in getting open and they are doing that. some states, frankly, aren't going fast enough we're confident we're going to have a vaccine by tend of the year. i just want to get a vaccine that works i'll take my hat a off to another country. >> vice president pence admitted he should have worn a mask when he visited the mayo clinic he was the only person not wearing one. the vice president said at the time he repeatedly tested and sure he didn't have the virus.

>> still a lot of people wanting him to set an example in a situation like that. thank you. as states relax restriction, there's a new warning that new covid cases and deaths will only get worse across a big part of the country. kat crist thi park has more. >> reporter: good morning, the u.s. begins to ease some restrictions, some health experts arement coing out with a warning talking about the reach of the virus here in new york, a number continue to trend downward and doctors are seeing progress too. troubling data from the world health organization. the u.s. marked deadly last week with 2900 lives lost to covid-19 >> the number of deaths on a daily basis tell you what was happening three or four weeks ago in terms of new infections we'll see deaths continue to rise, even as the epidemic starts to peak >> reporter: the former commissioner warning when you take the new york trice state

out of the equation, the spread is more per sintd. >> there's 20 states with a 234ur78 of new cases increasing and the overall trend fashlly is towards more hospitalizations and new cases. >> reporter: the virus has a firm grip on new mexico. it's so bad the governor closed all roads in and out of one city >> they are turning people around >> reporter: this resident got through. >> i did make it through the road blocks. so you do have to have some proof of resident dcy >> reporter: michigan now topped 4,000 and has the highest fatality rate in the country detroit the hardest hit. in worcester, massachusetts, a top doctor reported 107 patients in his icu friday calling it the worst day we have ever had cases continue to climb in new jersey, but hospitalizations are down the garden state joining new york and a a northeast cou

consortium to boost buying power. hospitalizations dropped below 10,000 for the first time since mid-march. during the height of new york's outbreak, we met doctors fighting to save lives >> what can i say? it's the end of the shift. saturday, april 4th, just a horrendous shift we have right now 21 ventilators running here in this emergency department the hospital we have roughly 90 ventilators running. and we only have a few left to spare. >> i just got out of my ten-hour shift and it feels like playing domin dominos. feeling like any one of your patients is about to collapse. >> reporter: a month later they are seeing progress, but the victims still weigh heavy on their hearts >> i did recall a few who were dying. the last person that was with them when they died was me

>> reporter: dr. patti shirting lessons learned. >> there's a reason why i'm so happy. i can tell you that. >> reporter: with hospitalizations starting to stabilize here in new york, the temporary field hospital behind me here in central park will stop accept issing new patients starting today and we're also told that in total 191 patients were treated for covid-19 since april 1st >> thank you the nation's social distancing guidelines have now expired and more states are loosening restrictions that means the reopening of businesses, parks and malls in more than half of states beginning today. among the latest include arizona, florida, indiana and missouri both washington and kentucky are set to join in a about a week. this is the country continues to see a record number of cases and virus-related deaths beaches are reopening at a swift rate earlier last week,

beaches in galveston, texas, partially reopened with some restrictions, but over the weekend, those restrictions were lifted >> reporter: officials tell me a few hundred thousand people turned out the beaches here in galveston, texas, this weekend that as the beaches across the state of texas have reopened and that they state at home order has been lyfted. people have been trying to abide by guidelines and marking sure they are keeping that six foot distance from family thas don't know, but that can be a challenge as more people come on to the beach that's something that i saw some people complaining to the lifeguards about the problem is there's nothing the lifeguards can do to enforce those social distancing guidelines because they are only recommendations. they are no long er by state order. another thing we're seeing is while the beaches are are packed, many restaurants on the seawalk can only operate at 25% capacity and so that means that we're seeing lines outside where

people are beginning to crowd and bunch up that comes as the number of patients here in texas is steadily rising. dallas county this weekend reported their highest numb of cases and so we're not seeing that decline in cases that the white house says they would hike to see before these reopenings begin in earnest >> we need to see a sharper look thank you. new developments this morning concerning an allegation made against the democratic nominee. joe biden's accuser tells us about what she did and did not report when the incident occurred >> reporter: former staffer tara reid, who alleges that joe biden sexually assaulted her when he was a senator reiterating she never used the word sexual assault in a complaint she filed in 1993. biden flatly denied her allegation >> i'm saying unequivocally it never happened, period >> reporter: reid cancelled an interview with fox news sunday

citing threats against her and her family she said she's not sure what, ple sit words she might have used in the complaint. reid said it was regarding harassment she experienced in biden's office, not the alleged sexual assault she also told the associated press she was, quote, too scared to write about the sexual assault. biden has asked for those documents to be released >> if that document exists, it would be stored in the national kooifs >> reporter: there's mounting pressure to open his sealed documents stored at the university of delaware >> this is like the hillary e-mails. because there was never nothing. >> reporter: several obama administration lumbar nigh say no allegations surfaced during his vetting for the 2008 ticket. meanwhile, conservatives point out the response to reid stands in stark contrast to the the way democrats rallied around brett kavanau kavanaugh's accuser. >> there should be a presumption

of innocence however, you can't just apply it only to people you agree with politically. that's a problem >> reporter: during the kavanaugh hearing, biden said dr. ford should be given the benefit of the doubt nbc news, washington as if we didn't have enough to worry about now, add giant carr n carnivorous hornets to the list. according to officials, they also have a slaughter phase where they kill honey bees and destroy entire beehives. authorities are working to find nests and destroy them before they can reproduce i i can't wait until one of them finds out they can carry coronavirus. on top of all this you're seeing sunnier things with janessa webb. >> good morning. it's very scary situation. us i know many scientists are hunting those hornets. it could be dangerous across the

united states. we're going to be watching that closely. let's talk about some good news. the weather was fantastic over the weekend. our temperatures above average we're currently in the 60s to lower 70s from the south to southeast. a good burst of rain is making its way awe cross washington, d.c. it will continue to push offshore allowing more sunshine into the afternoon this is the exception of the country where we'll be watching the severe storms picking up this afternoon across the southern territory. in the northeast, around the 80s this afternoon we're back in the 60s, above average. >> watch that severe weather

this afternoon and finally things will be pretty clear. >> finally i like it. good news. thank you so much. still to come, an alabama man is busted for making a home out of the happiest place on earth. and turbulence aboard a flight a as a brutal brawl breaks out between passengers. "early today" back in two. and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surfaces. for 45 days.

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we couldn't believe what was happening. >> reporter: spirit airlines passenger captured this shocking footage showing passengers punching each other. the fight triggered by a noise complaint. the plane three quarters full. >> it was really scary so we were all just like, oh, my gosh >> reporter: the flight maden a emergency landing in des moines, iowa the brawl hpd over nebraska. spirit airlines rerepiece leasted a statement saying we to not tolerate physical altercation on board the aircraft appropriate action will be taken. a covid-19 crisis taking a a toll on passengers and the industry spirit announcing passengers must now wear masks following similar announcements from del tarks american, jetblue and others after flight attendants spoke out about the lack of ppe to nbc news. >> it's a sense of relief when we come to work. we're risking our lives. it's going to keep us safe while

we're at work and feel more confident coming home to our families >> while air travel is down 90%, passenger count reached 171,000. still nowhere near the 2.5 million on the same day last year it it's seeing signs of pent up demands. >> it's higher this year than this time last year. >> reporter: but at southwest airlines, 400 parked a airplanes and plenty of worries. >> i don't think june will be a good month, but hopefully better than may and we're looking forward to july and august. we'll just have to see there are bookings in place, but those could easily be cancelled. if things don't improve, we'll have to downsize >> if you're worried about packed planes, an airline official says his airline is running 45 to 50 flights a day

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in today's quick hits, the national rifle association is checking operation ace mid-the coronavirus pandemic the organization laid off dozens of employees, imposed a four-day workweek and cut salaries a

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into the last, here comes secretariat in the middle. here's the finish. secretariat has won it >> in the virtual run for the roses, secretariat reigned supreme. the 1973 triple crown winner beat all former horses in a virtual kentucky derby on saturday the real kentucky derby is postponed until september. in case you're wondering shs you could bet on it and secretariat was the favorite >> that sounds shady >> the restaurant industry has been plrly hit hard by the p pandemic many businesses hope to soon

serve customers again, but with safety on everyone's mind, the atmosphere will be different here's nbc's chris clackum >> reporter: some restaurants aren't that optimistic about recovering from the shutdown >> i can't envision a restaurant where people have their mouths covered and everyone is wearing gloves >> reporter: there will be changes going forward. and some for the better. >> the fact of the more sanitary i think that's a good thing. >> i'm wondering how many will be able to deal with the better delivery system, better online ordering >> reporter: many if not most restaurants are doing takeout or delivery only right now while planning operational changes to be ready when the lockdown is lifted like at the this wood fire grill. >> we would hold the dor open for you so you're not touch iin the handle we're evaluating shields you sit down and there will be

nothing on the table you'll be handed a dispoable menu that we'll recycle. >> reporter: there will be physical changes >> we're certainly suggesting our restaurants pay attention to six foot distancing and make sure group of certain size is sufficient >> reporter: the industry is also asking its army of servers to be patient. hopefully for only a short while longer chris clackum, nbc news. "game of thrones" actor who portrays the mountain just set a world red lifted 1,104 pounds. and he did it barefoot he the beat the record by 2 pounds the 31-year-old competed in the event over the weekend he broke the previous record from 2016. he was very happy a about it the mountain stands at 6'9" and weighs 425 pounds.

a couple years ago in 2018 he won the world's strongest man competition. mountainrprise, he's called the >> tha nk

right now at 4:30 relaxing the rules. it's now week eight of sheltering at home, the new restriction changes will start rolling out this morning. what you can do and not do starting today and the impact on local businesses. plus, wearing mask s on planes are no longer up in the air. the new transportation rules taking effect in the air as well as on the ground. thanks so much for joining us this morning here on "today in the bay." i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm laura garcia. i hope you're coming off a great weekend. it was gorgeous. did you do anything fun? >> i went bike riding. >> i played pickle ball. >> me, too.