all right, thank you very much. and thank you for joining us as well. the "today" show is up nefauci' on capitol hill. good morning stark warning. dr. anthony fauci prepares to tell congress this morning that reopening america too quickly could lead to needless suffering and death. the president >> while his own staff is now ordered to wear masks in the west wing. a live report from the white house just ahead arrest me. a defiant move from elon musk. ignoring lockdown orders and

reopening his tesla plant in california the growing dispute that could land the billionaire behind bars. hate crimesiders new charges in the shooting death of ahmaud arbery as a new prosecutor is named in the case. >> i played the waiting game, and finally it seems like something is getting done. >> this morning, why his family is praising the move. airlines in crisis in an exclusive interview, boeing ceo tells savannah the impact of the coronavirus could cause a major airline to fold. >> you think there might be a major u.s. carrier that just has to go out of business? >> yes, most likely. >> why he says it could take years for the airline industry to get back to where it once was, and the concerns over passenger safety after these images of packed flights. ♪ it's up to you ♪ new york

♪ new york >> some of the state's biggest stars come together for a virtu virtual telethon for coronavirus relief >> $115 million, what a great day to new york. thank you to everyone who gave and gave and gave. >> we'll talk to tina fey live about the success behind those tears today may 12th, 2020 >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and welcome to "today," so happy that you're joining us on this tuesday morning savannah, it's not every day you see tina fey moved to tears. but, boy, last night's event really was so moving >> it was. it was a beautiful event tina actually hosted it and was just blown away when she saw how much money was raised. we're going to check in with

tina, actually, a little bit later, and hear about last night and what she's up to as well >> first, let's get you started on the latest on the coronavirus. all eyes in washington on the senate hearing, all about getting the nation safely back to work and school overnight we learned that dr. anthony fauci is expected to deliver a stern warning on the danger of trying to open the country prematurely. >> nevertheless, new york, the state hardest hit by the coronavirus is set to begin a phased reopening starting on friday >> also this morning, major league baseball owners have reportedly approved a plan to start the season in early july we'll have more on that just ahead, savannah. >> all right as we begin our coverage, let's check in with the latest figures. the u.s. death toll from the coronavirus now approaching 82,000 people. that's higher than any flu season in more than 50 years. >> we're going to begin this morning with that crucial hearing in washington, d.c., today.

nbc's white house correspondent kristen welker has the latest on this hey, kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hey, hoda, good morning to you the top doctors on the coronavirus task force will testify by video conference before a key senate committee today because they're all self-quarantining in some fashion after coming into contact with a white house staffer who's tested positive. among them is dr. anthony fauci, who's expected to make a blunt assessment, reopening the country too soon will cost lives. today a stark warning from the country's top infectious disease expert "the new york times" reporting that dr. anthony fauci will tell the senate today that americans will experience, quote, needless suffering and death if the country opens up too quickly, saying the move would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal that report is coming as president trump is aiming to project confidence about the road ahead the rose garden monday, appearing to declare victory wem

this is an nbc news special report. here's lester holt. >> good morning. we're coming on the air with live coverage of testimony by dr. anthony fauci before the senate health committee on the status of the coronavirus epidemic which so far has claimed more than 81,000 lives in the country. dr. fauci is expected to offer a stark warning on the dangers of reopening the country too quickly. something he told "the new york times" quote to lead to needless suffering and death. also testifying today is the director of the centers for disease control is dr. robert redfield and dr. hahn. and this is unlike any hearing

we have seen with all four witnesses and many members appearing remotely by video conference, zoom. a precaution that is a hearing s go right now. this is chairman lamar alexander. >> our governor bill lee is testing every resident in a nursing home. offered weekend drive-thru testing. specific outreach for low income communities. you can get a free test at the local mental health department. the slogan is if in doubt, get a test. he set the testing goals to the federal government in may. the federal government is helping him make sure he has enough supplies in case he has trouble getting them through the labs and the other commercial sources. as a result, our state has tested about 4% of the

population. governor hopes to increase that by 7% in may. that's one of the best in the country. this impressive level of testing is sufficient, we believe, to begin phase one of going back to work. as i said last week, it's not nearly enough to provide confidence of 31,000 students and faculty members what we hope will show up at the university of tennessee campus in august when school starts. last week, i talked with ut knoxville chancellor about that. we said what would persuade the 33,000 students as well as the 50 million k through 12 students and other 5,000 other students. what will persuade them to go back to campus in august? that is where the shark tank comes in. we had the hearing about that on thursday. a really remarkable scientific exercise to take a few early

stage concepts that are swimming around in what we call competitive shark tank and see if dr. collins and few new tech scale up and make it more likely that students will go back to school in august. for example, the fda authorized last week its first diagnostic test using saliva that a person provides at home instead of a nose swab or blood. it authorizes the first anti-general test. like the ones used for flu or strep throat. a swabbing of the nose. another proposal not yet approved is to put in your mouth as a lollipop sponge. take a photo of that with your cell phone and send that to your doctor. if it lights up, it's positive. one person would send the saliva

localllipop to a laboratory whi could be a gene sequencing laboratory to deal with thousands of the samples overnight. that same process could occur in a middle school for factory. anyone testing negative one day can test positive the next. such widespread screening of the schools and places of work will identify those sick and trace those exposed. that should persuade the rest of us to go back to school and back to work. in addition to more testing, i expect dr. fauci to talk to us about additional treatments that will be available to reduce the risk of death and the administration's plan to do something that our country's never done before which is start manufacturing a vaccine before it actually has been proven to work in order to speed up the result in case it does work.

those vaccines and treatments are the ultimate solution. until we have them, all roads back to work and school go through testing. the more tests we conduct, the better we can identify those sick and exposed and we can quarantine the sick and exposed instead of quarantining the country. this will require new tests from new technologies. some of these will fail. we only need a few successes to get where we want to go. that's why i said on thursday that what our country had done so far in testing is impressive, but not nearly enough. first squeeze all the tests we can out of current technologies. next, try to find new technologies to help us contain the disease to persuade us to go back to work. one other thing, this is a bipartisan hearing to examine how well we are preparing to go safely back to work and school

and to determine what else's we need to do in the united states senate. such an exercise encouraging finger point. before we spend too much time finger pointing, i like to suggest almost all of us, the united states and so far as every country as i can tell, under estimated this virus. underestimated how contagious it would be and how it can travel silently in people without symptoms to infect other people. how it can be especially deadly for certain segments of our population. the elderly, those with pre-existing conditions and minority population. let me go back to the march 3rd hearing of our committee on coronavirus. six weeks after the first case discovered in the united states, a day when only two deaths were reported in the country, i read this paragraph from "the new york times" two days earlier on

march 1st. much about the coronavirus remains unclear. it is far from certain. this is march 1st. the outbreak will reach severe proportions in the united states or affect many regions at once. with its top notch scientists and modern hospitals and spraling public health infrastructure, most experts agree the united states is among the countries best prepared to manage the epidemic. that was the times on march 1st. a lot of effort has gone in to make our country well prepared. several in response to the bird flu and katrina, mers. major laws to try to help get this country ready for what we're going through today.

these laws stood up to strategic national stockpile and preparedness. it created incentives for the developments of vaccines and medicines that we're using today to strengthen the centers for disease control and prevention and created the organization and thanks to the leadership for five straight years. we increased funding for the national institute of health. this was part of a shared goal. democrats and republicans. presidents and congress members to try to get ready for what we're going through today. whether it was known like anthrax or covid-19. despite that effort, the experts underestimated covid-19. this hearing is about how we improve the response to this virus as well as the next one. during the oversight hearing, i

intend to focus on as i just said the next pandemic which we know is coming. what can we learn from this one to be ready for the next one? what can we learn from the fast tracking vaccines and treatments that we're about to hear about to make it even faster the next time? how can we keep hospitals and states from selling off protective equipment when their budget gets tight? how can we make sure congress does the funding responsibility and how do we provide enough extra hospital beds without cancelling elective surgery and without bankruptcy hospitals? whose job is it to coordinate supply line so equipment can get where it needs to go when it has to go? what is the best way to manage the stockpile? my preacher said i'm not worried what you do on sunday, but it is rest of the week that concerns

me. the rest of the week between pandemics, we relax our focused on preparedness. we become pre-occupied with other important things. our collective memory is short. just three months ago, this country was pre-occupied with impeaching a president. now that seems like ancient roman history. now while this crisis has our full attention, i believe we should put into law this year whatever improvements need to be made to be well prepared for the next pandemic. if there is to be finger pointing, i hope they are pointed in that direction. fortunate today to have four witnesses at the heart of the coronavirus. i asked them each to summarize remarks in five minutes. then we will have five-minute round of questions from each senator. we will end our hearing about 12:30. after we have a full round of

questions. every senator will have a chance to have his or her five minutes. senator murray will have an opportunity to ask the last question or close the hearing and i will then close the hearing. there will be other hearings to follow this hearing. senators may submit questions in writing within the next ten days. staying at home indefinitely is not the solution to this pandemic. there is not enough money available to help all those hurt by a closed economy. all roads back to work and back to school lead through testing, tracking, isolation, treatment and vaccines. this requires widespread testing. millions more tests. created by new technology to identify those sick and who have been exposed so they can be quarantined and by containing the disease in this way, give the rest of america enough confidence to go back to work

and school. the near term, help make sure the 31,000 ut students and faculty members show up in august. we need widespread testing. millions more tests created by new technologies to identify those sick and exposed so they can be quarantined and contain the disease this way to give america the con if kocondense f back to school. >> thank you, mr. chairman. we all wish your staff member a speedy recovery. as everyone works to take safety precautions today, i would like to thank our witnesses for joining us today, but also our committee staff for working to set up a safe format for members and witnesses and public to

participate in this hearing remotely. families across the country are about the covid-19 clear they will not get it from president trump. truth is essential. people have the facts. so they can make decisions for themselves and families and communities. lives are at stake. if the president isn't telling the truth, we must and our witnesses must. we are counting on you today. families need us to take this opportunity to dig into the facts about where things should go wrong so we can finally get them on track because the trump administration's response to this pubc so far has been a disaster all on its own. delays, missteps have put us behind where we need to be on

diagnoseti diagnostic tests and allow antibody tests to flood the market. impeded efforts to get personal protective equipment and prom e promoted unproven treatment. we recently learned that after expert as the the centers for disease control and prevention spent weeks developing a detailed guide to help communities understand how to safely reopen when the time comes, the trump administration tossed it in the trash bin for being too descriptive. this is far from the first time the administration silenced experts doing their jobs and putting public health first. the fact of the matter is, president trump is more focus t. americans have sadly paid the price. since this committee last heard from these witnesses on march 3rd, we have seen over 900

deaths in my home state of washington. over 80,000 deaths nationally and the numbers continue to climb. still, president trump is trying to ignore the facts and ignore the experts who have been very clear we are nowhere close to where we need to be to reopen safely. my hope today is that we can cut through this and have a serious discussion about what is needed to safely open. how close we are as a country to meeting those needs and how we actually get there. one thing that is abundantly clear, we need dramatically more testing. it is unacceptable we don't have a national strategic plan to make sure testing is free, fast and everywhere. that is why i sought to make sure the last covid-19 package had $25 billion testing fund and

requirement that the administration submit a plan by may 24th. when i say a plan, i don't mean a pr plan. i mean a plan with specific timelines and the goals for supply and funding needs. one that addresses the issues we are seeing on testing capacity and distribution and disparity and building out the public health system. and makes clear to states and tribes and employers and american people what they can expect and what the administration will do to keep americans safe. testing alone won't be enough to reopen our country. we still need far more personal protective equipment that has been available for the health care workers on the frontlines. we will need more for workers as we reopen. so we desperately need the administration to step up and get that equipment to states with who are doing everything in their powers to purchase

supplies, but cannot get enough. because the reality is unlike states, the federal government has the tools to fix the problems. it if only the administration would use them. not weeks later when people may have been exposed. just as importantly, we can't expect people to go back to work or restaurants or confidently send kids to school if there isn't clear, detailed guidance about how to do that safely. schools, from early childhood through college, need to know how to keep students and staff safe. when do you wear a mask? how do you run a cafeteria and school bus? if you can't reopen classrooms, families need to know we are working to ensure every student gets an education. tools like online learning can get us so far if we don't

address the digital divide so every student can access them. then there will be learning loss that could be existing educational disparity with low-income students and students with disabilities and english language learners if they don't have equal access to support. schools are not the only workplaces we have to be thinking about. we need to make sure that industries across the country know how to safely reopen and people know their workplace is safe. secretary scalia needs to stop dragging his feet and have the department of labor s option. mr. chairman, i hope the committee can hear about the critical issues from secretary scalia and other experts in the space in the days ahead. this is especially important to protect workers and residents at nursing homes and other

congregant care facilities where we have seen the deadly outbreaks. and the rash of outbreaks at the meat packing plant shows, it is not just an issue for the public, it is an issue for everyone. we need a plan well before we have a safe and effective vaccine to guarantee we can quickly produce and distribute it on a global scale and make it free and available for everyone. so i'll be asking about our progress on those issues today. today, safely reopening our country may be a way off. the administration's planning may be way behind. there is still a lot that congress needs to do. there isn't time to spare. some including in the white house say we provided enough economic relief. my question to them is what good is a bridge that gets you to the middle of the river?

we don't need to wait around to see if people need more help. we know they do. we need an aggressive relief package and make sure the priorities in the bill are protecting our workers and students and families and addressing this public health crisis. not bailing out big business from accountability. people across the country are doing their part. they are washing their hands and wearing masks and social distancing and staying home. they need the government to do its part. they need leadership. they need a plan. they need honesty and they need it now before we reopen so they can rest assured we are doing things safely and confidently with their help and well being at the top priority. thank you, mr. chairman. >> it's an important hearing and i know many are watching for the first time. if they are, i hope they notice

that we have 23 members of the committee. one more republican than democrat. we have very strong views, but able to work together and express views and respect each other and witnesses. a big part of that goes to senator murray and her staff. thank you for that. each witness will have up to five minutes to give his testimony. thank you for making an exception in agrees to testify by video because of the unusual circumstances and thank you for what you are doing for our country. our first witness is dr. anthony fauci. he is director of the national institute of allergy and diseases of the national institute of health. he held the position since 1984. he advised six presidents and worked on aids and influenza and other infectious diseases. he treated ebola patients at nih

and worked on trials for hear redfield. he is the head of the centers for disease control and prevention. more than 30 years he's been involved with clinical support with chronic human viral infections and infectious disease especially hiv. he spent 20 years with the u.s. army medical corps. third, admiral brett is assistant secretary for health at the u.s. department of health and human services. that puts him in charge of development of public health policy and recommendations. he has taken on the responsibility for coordinating testing and focused on the increasing number of tests that we can do with existing

technology. his federal service includes a variety of activities with our defense department in advanced research and threat reduction. he was part of the blue ribbon panel to reform the u.s.terans . and finally we will hear from dr. steven hahn. he was the chief medical executive of the university of texas md anderson center. he was the chair of the department of radiation of the college of university of penn. the seen ysenior senior investi. following that, each senator will have five minutes for questions and answers in order of seniority. dr. fauci, let's begin with you.

welcome. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. ranking member murray, thank you for giving me the opportunity to discuss with you today the role the national institutes of health and research addressing covid-19. the strategic plan we have is four-fold. improve the knowledge of the disease. and to develop new point of care diagnostics. next, characterize and test they're puti therapeutics. as you probably heard from dr. collins last thursday, the nih developed a rapid diagnostics program with an award to the specific program, $500,000 to support the development of covid-19 diagnostics. it is a national call with

technologies that will be evaluated in a shark tank process to get to successor failure rapidly. moving on to therapeutics. i'll talk about the remdesivir success anti-viral in a second. there are a number of anti-virals in various stages of testing. in addition erks , we will look convalescent plasma. to be used in passive transfer either in prevention or treatment. in addition, we will be looking at immunotherapies. let me take a moment to describe the remdesivir random trial

which was done internationally with a panel of 1,000. it was in hospitne hospitalized with lung disease. the result was significant, but really modest. we must remember it was a modest result showing that the drug made of 31% faster time to recovery. we hope to build on the modest success with combinations of drugs and better drugs. moving on to vaccines. there are at least eight candidate covid-19 vaccines in clinical development. the nih has been collaborated with pharmaceutical companies at various stages. i will describe one briefly that we have been involved and heavily developing with a messenger rna. you may recall in january of

this year, i said it would take 12 to 18 months if we were successful in developing a vaccine. the nih trial moved quickly. on january 10th, the sequence was known. on january 174th, we started th vaccine development. 62 days later, we are now in phase one clinical trial with the two doses. they will be animal safety. this will go to phase two and three in late spring and early summer. if successful, we hope to know in late fall and early winter. the most important issues in covid-19 vaccine development. we have many candidates and hope to have multiple winners. in other words, multiple shots on goal. this will be important because this will be good for global

availab availability. as the chairman mentioned, we will produce vaccine at risk. we are investigating considerable resources in developing doses before we know any given candidate or candidates work. i must warn that there is also the possibility of negative consequences or certain vaccines can actually enhance the negative effect of the infection. the big unknown is efficacy. is it present or absent? and the nih has a public-private partnership. the purpose of that is to prioritize and accelerate clinical evaluation of therapeutic candidates with potential. hopefully our research efforts will get us quickly to an end to the terrible ordeal we are all

going through. thank you very much. happy to answer questions later. >> thank you, dr. fauci. dr. redfield. >> good morning, chairman and members of the committee. our nation is confronting the most serious public health crisis in more than a century. yet, we're not defenseless. we have powerful tools to fight this enemy. we have tried and true public health interventions such as early case identification and contact tracing. combined with the important mitigation strategy like social distancing and face covering and hand washing. this will continue to slow the spread of covid-19. i appreciate the opportunity to provide a brief oversview of th ongoing work the cdc is doing. the cdc emergency operation center is supporting public

health partners with work force and laboratory. conducting surveillance for covid-19. community mitigation teams are providing guidance. reporting seralogical testing for asymptomatic communities. they will require varying degrees of federal support. each location will face unique circumstanc circumstances. cdc has conducted a state by state assessment of testing, capacity and contact tracing capacity as well as surge plans. cdc providing technical assistance in the supplemental cares act and health care enhancement act. we are working with the state

public health leaders for their needs and testing and testing supplies and manpower and surveillance and data collection and reporting and contract tracing and infection control and outbreak investigation. i want to spend a moment to focus on several key elements. first, testing. rapid, extensive and widely available timely testing is essential for reopening america. cdc's role in testing continues to support diagnosis and contract tracing and outbreak surveillance. when we work with the public health partners to define the testing strategy and jurisdiction and address the testing components of the response in greater detail. contact tracing. increasing state, tribal and local testing capacity is critical. a critical part to stop the chain of transmission and prevent the occurrence of sustained community

transmission. cdc role is to provide technical training and assistance and support as they hire and build a work for necessary to be prepared to face the challenge of the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. this will be an expansive effort. surveillance. our nation's program is build on an a combination of systems, including existing influenza and viral disease surveillance systems combined with commercial and research lab platforms and case reporting form system. cdc is adapting these to have a surveillance system in response to covid-19. in light of the occurrence of asymptomatic infection, this becomes an important public health tool for early case identification. cdc is working with each public health jurisdiction to develop a

program to include active surveillance most vulnerable. those in long-term care facilities and homeless shelters. we need to rebuild our nation's public health infrastructure. data and data analytics and our nation's public health work force. now is the time to put it in place. for the generations to come. not only for the public health system that our nation needs, but for the public health system our nation deserves. i want to recognize the tireless commitment and dedicated cdc staff deployed to every corner of the nation to fight covid-19. more than 4,000 employees have deployed here and globally. science and data continue with the ex-ppertise to be the backbe of the cdc and u.s. response. i extend my gratitude to the health care workers and

emergency personnel and american people to say thank you for adhering to the stay-at-home orders and protecting the most vulnerable. it is important to emphasize we are not out of the woods yet. we are more prepared. we need to stay vigilant with social distancing. it remains imperative. we are a resilient nation and we will emerge stronger together. thank you. >> thank you, dr. redfield. admiral, welcome. >> towith an update. on march 12th, i was asked to lead the efforts of the fda and cdc. since then, the nation performed more than 9 million covid-19 tests. a number far greater than any

other country and double the per capita test performed to date in south korea. to reach this point, we had a phased approach during mitigation and now during phase one reopening of america. beginning march 20th, we pion r pioneered drive-thru testing sites. these sites have been a propfoud success. demonstrating a prototype duplicated in nearly every state. the administration leveraged retir retailers like cvs and walmart and kroger who is providing tests. 39% of which in communities with moderate to high social vulnerability. to meet the collection supplies, we first secured the global

supply chain through military air bridge. we worked directly with manufacturers to increase production. we collaborated with the fda and private sector to get media type to vastly expand supplies and minimizing the need for ppe. finally, we used title 3 of the defense production act to invest in manufacturing to prepare for reopening. to support the need for surve surveillance testing for reopening, on april 127th, we issue ad a framing network for y reason including screening of a symptomatic individuals. next, our federal multidisciplinary team conducted multiple calls from leadership from each state to set state specific testing objective.

collectively, states and territories established an overall goal to perform 12.9 million tests over the next four weeks. the federal government is able to and will support the achievement of this goal. specifically, the federal government is shipping to states 12.9 million swabs and over 9.7 million tubes of media in may alone. last month, we detailed the location and capacity of every lab machine in every state that could run covid-19 and our team has worked with test suppliers to match agents to the machines. looking forward to now to the end of 2020, we will have 132 million tubes of media and deliver to states as requested to supplement the commercial supply. we anticipate marked increases in current tests as well as the

dramatic expansion of care tests like the first antigen test. we anticipate 300,000 tests per day within a few weeks. by september, taking every aspect of development and supply chain into consideration, we project our nation will be capable of performing 40 million to 50 million tests a month if needed at that time. if new technology is authorized or any novel solution uncovered by nih diagnostics, that number will be higher. i want to acknowledge and express my gratitude to the officers of the u.s. public health service commission corps. unform

3,471 men and women deployed in support of the pandemic. on the cruise ship in japan, to the military bases repatriating americans and international airports, to fema and task force. to nursing facilities and king county, washington, and field hospitals across the nation. i thank each and everyone of the officers and families and on their behalf, i thank the members of the committee for supporting our training needs and the establishment of the ready reserve to supplement ranks in future national emergencies. thank you. >> thank you, admiral. now dr. stephen hahn. >> chairman alexander, ranking member, members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to participate. i want to start by thanking the

american people for the efforts of mitigation and extend condolences to those who lost loved ones. from day one, the 18,000 fda employees are incredible scientists and doctors answ s a nurses and have taken an active role. fda developed the measures to diagnose and prevent covid-19. we worked with manufacturers and product developers and federal partners and companies. companies that don't make medical products to pitch in. every decision we have made has been driven by data with the goal of protecting the health of the american people. in the public health emergency, however, our response is balanced the urgent need to make medical products available with the provision of the level of

oversight to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the medical products. i would like to take a few minutes to tell you what the fda is doing to help the country at this point and assure americans it is safe to return to work and school. it starts with testing. fda worked with developers who will or have submitted requests for covid-19 tests. this includes newer technology that have not been used as part of diagnostic tests in response to a pandemic. we issued 92 emergency user authorization kits. we have been informed by 250 laboratories to begin testing under the conditions we outlined in march. we are conducting rolling reviews of ua submissions to authorize tests in which the data support.

in the public health emergency, this is important for the individual patient, but patient at large and public at large. fda is ensuring the availability to provide accurate answers. we monitoring the marketplace and taking appropriate actions to protect the public health. we are working to provide more clarity about which tests have been reviewed and authorized by fda and which have not. serologic tests will play a role in recovery. seroligic tests identify the protein in the blood when the body is responding to the infection of covid-19. these tests can identify individuals who have been overcome an infection and developed an immune response. we will continue labs and manufacturers and across the government to find a balance with the assurance that the antibody test is accurate and timely access to such tests. of course, the way we will beat

this virus is with a vaccine and fda is working with the fed partners, including the nih. testing with experts across the globe. we intend to use the regulatory flexibility to ensure the most efficient development of the safe and effective vaccine to prevent covid-19. until a preventative vaccine is approved, we need measures to bridge the gap. fda has been working for several months of therapeutics as expeditiously as possible. we created a program called the coronavirus treatment acceleration program. we assigned staff to work with urgency requests and using every available authority and regulatory flexibility that is appropriate to facilitate the development of the products to

treat covid-19. variety of areas are evaluated as stated by dr. fauci as well as convalescent plasma. as dr. fauci mentioned, we recently announced the positive results of remdesivir and issued an eua of the treatment of hospitalized patients with covid-19. two other promising treatments are the antibody rich products. i am certainly willing to go into more detail if members of the committee have questions about this. we are working aggressively and closely with stake holders to facilitate the development of the antibodies. which if safe and effective, could act as a bridge therapy. we realize this needs to go

hand-in-hand for the sufficient supplies for the country. we are working with manufacturers to make sure this is robust. mr. chairman and ranking members of the committee, please know you have the dedicated team of scientists and professionals. we are guided by science and data and we won't let up until we facilitate the development of products that our nation needs to get back to work. i look forward to your questions. >> thank you, dr. hahn and all four of you for your expertise and dedication to our country and hard work. we will begin a round of five-minute questions from each senator. alternating between republicans and democrats. each senator has, video conference, you have a time clock at the bottom. i ask you to try to stay within five minutes for questions and answers. i will start. i have a question for dr. fauci

and then admiral. doctor, let's look down the road three months. there will be about 5,000 campuses across the country trying to welcome 20 million college students. 100,000 public schools welcoming 50 million students. what would you say to the chancellor to the university of tennessee knoxville or the principal of a public school about how to persuade parents and students to return to school in august? let's start with treatment and vaccines first. dr. fauci, if you save half of my minutes for admiral, i would appreciate it. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i would be realistic and tell him thinking in terms -- >> it's a her in this case. >> -- i'm sorry. in this case, the idea of having treatments available or a

vaccine to facilitate the reentry of students into the fall term would be something that would be a bit of a bridge too far. as i mentioned, the drug that has shown some degree of efficacy was modest and in hospitalized patients. not yet or maybe ever to be used as treatment. if the issue is that the young individuals going back to school would like to have comfort and there's a treatment, probably the thing that would be closest to utilization then would likely be passive transfer of convalescent serum. we are not talking about necessarily treating a student who gets ill, but how the student will feel safe going back to school. if this were a situation where we had a vaccine, that would be the end of that issue in a positive way.

as i mentioned in my opening remarks, even at the top speed we're going, we don't see a vaccine playing in the ability of individuals to get back to school this term. what they really want is to know if they are safe. that's the question that i have to deal with over what we discussed with regarding testing earlie earlier. i would like to pass the baton to admiral to address the question of availability of testing and the role it is returning to school. >> thank you, dr. fauci. admiral, you said while we're doing about 10 million tests this month, we might be as high as 40 million or 50 million by september a month which is a significant increase. if i'm chancellor of the university of tennessee, could i develop a strategy where i say to my students we have an

antigen test. you take it once before you begin school? that would let everybody know on that day we isolated anybody who is positive and then we can continue to monitor. is that strategy possible in august and september? >> so, thank you, mr. chairman. i may reserve 20 seconds for dr. redfield as well. the strategy that is going to be employed really depends on what is the community spread at that time. if there is no community spread, the strategy will be different. if there is high community spread, it will be different. technically, we will have the ability and your chancellor will have the ability. we expect there to be 25 million to 30 million point of care tests available. it is possible to test all of the students or it is much more likely that there would be a surveillance strategy done where you test some students at different times to give assurance there is no circulation. that would be done in

conjunction with the cdc and local health department. there is a strategy that needs to be developed. we know 10 or 20 samples can be pulled from labs. one test can test 20 students. finally, there are experimental approaches that look interesting if not promising. for example, waste water from the entire dorm or campus could be tested to determine where there is coronavirus in that sewage. waste water. there are other strategies being developed. i like to give 20 seconds to dr. redfield who will be working on the strategy of how to employ the task given the community spread. >> dr. redfield. >> quick comments, sir. it is really important to evaluate critically the role of changes and social distancing on college campuses and schools and situation. not to forget the importance of what we learned.

clearly also developing aggressive program for wellness education. making sure people understand when they are symptomatic. they need to seek the valuation. we will have to look at the role of testing. there is going to be an important role of testing in the circumstances. i think it will be individual e individualized based on where the schools are and how much infection in the region. >> i'll wrap it up there so i can set a good example for the other senators with the five minutes. senator murray. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. thank you to all of the witnesses. dr. fauci, you have warned of needless suffering and death if we push to reopen too soon. the president has been sending the opposite message. i want to ask you today what is the most important message you have for communities and states that are reopening even if

public health experts make it clear it is too soon? tell us what the consequences are? >> thank you very much for that question, senator murray. as i said many times publicly, what we have worked out is a guideline framework of how we safely open america again. there are several check points in that. the gateway first of showing depending on the dynamics of the outbreak in a particular region, state, city or area. that would really determine the speed and the pace with which one does reenter or reopen. so my word has been and i have been very consistent in this. i get concerned if you have a situation with the dynamics of the outbreak in an area that are such you are not seeing that gradual over 14-day decredits to crease to allow you to go to phase one. then pass phase one and go to phase two and phase three.

what i expressed again is my concern that if some areas or cities or states or what have you, jump over the various check points and prematurely open up without having the capability to respond effectively and efficiently. my concern is we start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks. i have been very clear in my message to try to the best extent possible to go by the guidelines which have been very well thought out and very well delineated. >> so if the community or state or region doesn't go by the guide lilines and reopens, the consequences could be dire? >> the consequences could be really serious. particularly and this is something we should pay attention to. states even if they are doing it at an appropriate pace, which many of them are and will,

namely a pace that is commence with the outbreak. they have the ability and when there are cases, there is no doubt under the best of circumstances when you pull back on mitigation, you will see so cases appear. it is the ability and capability of responding to the cases with good identification, isolation and contact tracing will determine whether you can continue to go forward as you try to reopen america. it is not only doing it at the appropriate time with the appropriate constraints, but having in place the capability of responding when the inevitable return of inflectife occurs. >> thank you for that. in order to do that, we need knowledge which is about testing. for months this administration's approach to testing has been

plagued by unrealized goals and problems within the supply chain. last week, an average of 250,000 tests per day in the united states. that is a small fraction of what we need. yesterday, president trump had the gall to declare the u.s. had quote prevailed on testing in the press conference that was filled with misinformation and distortion. dr. giroir, i'm glad you finally committed my home state of washington to meet their goals for may and june. this administration has had a record of giving us broken promises that more testing supplies are coming and they don't. we know, by the way, that testing is going to need to persist long past june. i wanted to ask you today, will the administration's forthcoming

strategic plan required under the covid package passed in his law, will that include specific numeric targets for testing capacity, supply chain capacity and projection of shortages? >> thank you for that question and statement, senator murray. we continue to have a work in progress as we build the testing capacity. we have established the targets with the states of over 12 million tests over the next four weeks. we think targets will be good in may and june. as dr. fauci said, we really have to be evidence based. we expect the targets to go up as we proescommunities go throue and phase two. certainly those numbers need to go up in the fall when we potentially have influenza

circulating with covid. yes, there will be targets. it will change based on the evidence that we see. we are highly committed to securing the supply chain. we work daily with every manufacturer. i'm pleased we are in may and june able to get ahead of the states to supply them what they need to have the assurances. you will given give us the specific target, correct? >> i will say, yes, ma'am, we know the specific amounts we have. over the summer -- >> not have. how many we need. >> yes, ma'am.

we develop the needs statements by working with them individually by working with the epidemiologists and cdc so overall in may we'll be testing 3.9% of the overall population. >> yes, but i'm -- >> well over your time, senator. >> how many we'll need not just for may but the coming months so we'll have them. >> yes, ma'am. and not to be repetitive, we need to be evidence- and data-driven. we really just need to be very humble about this. we need to look at the data. we know that the testing needs will go up over may and june as we progressively open. but you understand we have to see what the data and evidence show at the time. understand we to see what the data and evidence shows at the time. >> strategic plans required, what is the goal, not how many we have, but how many we need.

that's what we'll be looking for. >> thank you, senator. senator enzi. >> thank you. i appreciated your opening statement where you had a succinct list of preparations we need to learn from this pandemic for the next one. not only should we be working on this and preparing but we need to look at that, too. we've learned a lot. we're fighting a virus at the same time the scientists are learning about it. we need to be nimble. we also need to be sure we're prepared for a second wave of outbreak that will can inside with the start of the flu season, potentially stressing our health care system even more than it already has been. for y comments. i think it's been comforting about what has been done and what can be done. i agree with senator murray that

we need to have some specific goals. that's one of the things i'm looking for. dr. hahn, our understanding of the clinical picture of covid-19 continues to evolve. what first looked like a respiratory illness now affecting heart, lungs, organs, how does that impact the ability to evaluate appropriate clinical or surrogate endpoints for review of vaccines and treatment. >> thank you, senator, nor that question. the evolving clinical picture and the way this is manifesting around the country clinically does, in fact, inform the endpoints we will work with developers of therapies on so that we can get the absolute most efficient but also the most accurate information and

appropriate endpoints to what the necessary authorizations and approvals. we had set up this program called coronavirus acceleration program where top sign tises and clinicians have been at the table consulting with our colleagues at nih and cdc to actually address those questions, what are the appropriate endpoints. i'll give you an example we know in some circumstances where patients had severe covid-19 had thrombotic, we've reviewed agents that might be beneficial. obviously the clinical endpoints for those trials will be different than an agent that's an antiviral like remdesivir, where dr. fauci mentioned we're looking at time to recovery. we want to adapt it to clinical circumstance as well as the type of therapy put before us. >> thank you. another question to dr. hahn, we have made a lot of progress in

vaccine development already, but i had need -- identified significant gap in pandemic preparedness. what has hhs done in advance for potential vaccine campaign to ensure we have sufficient to administer a vaccine. >> senator, this is an important point. as you mentioned, it's not just about the vaccine or hopefully vaccines that are developed, it's all about -- it's also about the supplies that are needed as well as an operational plan for administering the vaccine. this is an all of government approach. there's a program set up called operation warp speed that includes dr. collins, dr. fauci, his colleagues at nih, the department of defense, as well as other members of hhs and fda. dr. marks from our center for

biological evaluation and research is working closely with dr. fauci and his team. we created a gant chart looking forward, what are necessary supply chain issues, syringes, needles, et cetera, depending on the various vaccines developed, how many times they have to administer it and the route to administration. we've been leaning in on this supply chain to ensure when a vaccine is ready to go, we will have the necessary supplies to administer it and operationalize the operation and vaccination. >> thank you. i have a couple more questions but, again, the clock is not visible there so i suspect i've used up my time. i'll submit those in writing. >> thank you, senator enzi. snoorn much, mr. chairman. let me thank all of the panels for the hard work they are doing

and for being with us today. it is sad to say that we have a president of the united states, the leader of our country, who from day one downplayed the dangers facing this country from the pandemic, who told us the crisis would be over in a few months, that we did not have to worry, who fired those members of the government who wanted to act aggressively. among other things at the time when we need international cooperation cut funding for the world health organization. but let me also say that i think we understand that facts are terribly important. not everybody -- that we don't fully understand all of the ramifications of the covid-19 epidemic. but let me ask dr. fauci a few questions if i might.

first off, the official statistic, dr. fauci, is that 80,000 americans have died from the pandemic. there are some epidemiologists who suggest the number may be 50% higher than that. what do you think? >> i'm not sure, senator sanders, if it's going 50% higher, but most of us feel that the number of deaths are likely higher than that number. given the situation particularly in new york city when they are really strapped to a challenge to their health care system that there may have been people who died at home, who did have covid, who are not counted as covid because they never got to the hospital. so in direct answer to the question, i think you are correct that the number is likely higher. i don't know exactly how much higher but almost certainly it's higher. >> dr. fauci, let me ask you te

of 1918, the virus exploded in the fall, came back with a vengeance. are we fearful that if we don't get our act together, as bad as the situation is now, it could become worse in the fall or winter? >> senator, thank you for that question. it's a frequently asked question. i think that possibility does exist. however -- and the reason i say that is that when you talk about will this virus just disappear, and i've said publicly many times, that is just not going to happen, because it's such a highly transmissible virus. even if we get better control over the months, it is likely that there will be virus somewhere in this -- on this planet that will eventually get back to us.

my approach toward the possibility of a rebound in the fall is that, a, it's entirely conceivable and possible it will happen. but b, i would hope that between now and then, given the capability of doing the testing that you've heard and the ability of us to stock up on personal protective equipment and the workforce the cdc under dr. redfield will be putting forth to be able to identify, isolate and contact trace, i hope this if we do have the threat of a second wave, we will be able to deal with it very effectively to prevent it from becoming an outbreak not only worse than now but much, much less. >> okay. let me ask, we've heard a lot of discussion about vaccines, obviously. everybody in congress and in this country wants a vaccine. we want it as quickly as possible, as effective as possible. let me ask the honorable fda

commissioner. sir, if god willing a vaccine is developed, and we're able to produce it as quickly as we all hope we can, i would imagine that that vaccine would be distributed to all people free of charge, to make sure at least everybody in america who needs that vaccine will get it regardless of their income. is that a fair assumption? >> senator, i certainly hope so. fda is very committed to making sure all populations in the united states, including those most vulnerable, are included in the clinical trials. >> that's not what i'm asking. what i'm saying is if and when the vaccine comes, it won't do somebody any good if they don't get it. if they have to pay a sum of money for it in order to profit the drug companies, that will not be helpful. are you guaranteeing the american people today that that

vaccine will be available to all people regardless of their inco income. >> sir, the payment of vaccines isn't available to every american. >> does anybody else want to comment on that? do you think we should make that vaccine when hopefully it is created available to all, regardless of income? or do you think poor people and working people should be last in line for the vaccine? >> i'm sorry, senator, were you asking me? >> yes, i was, sir. yes, i was. >> my office is one of the offices committed to serving the underserved. we need to be absolutely certain that if a vaccine or an effective therapeutic or preventive is available that it reaches all segments of society

regardless of their ability to pay or any other social determinates of health that may be. >> what you're telling the american people today, regardless of income, every american will be able to gain access to that vaccine when it comes? >> they should gain access to it. i don't control, you know - >> you represent the administration that makes that decision. >> i will certainly advocate that everyone is able to receive the vaccine regardless of income or any other circumstance. >> i'm sorry, thank you. >> senator sanders, those are important questions. i don't want to cut senators off, and it's hard to see the time clock. >> you're watching the hearing of health, education, labor and pension committee of the u.s. senate, an unusual one. that picture speaks volumes right there. only a handful of senators in the room. others, along with the key

witnesses, four leaders of our health system all appearing remotely because of obviously the concerns, general concerns if the few cases they themselves may have been exposed to the coronavirus. also, this is the first chance for many of these experts to speak free of the white house, speak directly to members of senate, who continue to hone down on issues of testing and communities across the country opening potentially prematurely. we heard dr. fauci mention that, that inevitably when you open up society, we will see more cases. his concern is many communities may not be prepared for those consequences. this will go on for another couple of hours. we want to bring in right now kasie hunt who has been watching this for us. what is the significance of this hearing and what happens after? >> reporter: lester, i think what you've seen is an event

focused on facts, the realities of testing, the realities of reopening, in a way much different daily on the crisis throughout the white house, quite a bit of politicking and not necessarily the same set of facts from the president as what we're hearing from this is officials today. dr. fauci, of course, testifying that he thought it would be a bridge too far to think we would have a vaccine in time for small semesters. he was asking a question from lamar alexander about how universities could prepare for this. he also said he was concerned if we open up too quickly in response to senator murray that we would start to see spikes, outbreaks that potentially could turn into something bigger. he was pretty measured in his responses here. democrats urging him not to pull any punches, he hasn't been going after his boss, after the president, but has been presenting a straightforward picture of a very dire situation across the country. one thing that stood out to me

as well, lester, he acknowledged it's likely the number of deaths in this country is not taking into account everyone who has been affected by this. he talked particularly about new york city and reports of people who are tying dying in their ho not part of the official death tally. very much both from a factual perspective and also have optics and reality how this hearing had to play out perspective, yes, we're talking about attempting to reopen the country. but there are so many signs of the ways in which we are not. they are self-quarantining, not here in person. there are very few senators in the hearing room. this room on capitol hill deserted, a very strange scene all underscoring we are very much in the middle of this. lester. >> yes, as if we're all right now living in these little video boxes and certainly spreading to the u.s. senate. kasie, thank you.

there's a contract of what we heard from dr. fauci and what we heard from the white house as early as yesterday as the president trumpeted, ramped up testing even as we heard in the hearing a moment ago from senator lamar alexander that there's not enough testing to get where we need to be. let's go to geoff bennett at the white house right now. what's the read? >> i'd like to underscore and amplify a point you made in that this is rare testimony. this the first time the country is hearing from the nation's top four health officials who were charged with the federal coronavirus response in an unfiltered manner away from the close and careful gaze of president trump who at times during previous coronavirus task force briefings has either cut off or redirected some of these answers. but a couple of headlines here, because this was this point of bipartisan agreement on the testing front, as you mentioned, lamar alexander, the republican of tennessee who chaired this committee said what our country has done so far on testing is

impressive but not nearly enough. we also heard from the top democrat of washington, she said we need dramatically more testing. it's unacceptable we don't have a national stranl plan to make sure testing is fast, free, and everywhere. that stands in stark contrast to what president trump told me yesterday in the rose garden. he said this country prevailed on testing. another quick thing we heardmmi felt there would be 40, 50,000 a month. every american who wants a test will get a test, that according to him will be true by september or october, he said. >> all right. geoff bennett, thank you very much. i want to bring in john torres. one of the issues dr. fauci was stressing, there will be inevitably more cases as we begin to open up society.

he was concerned about the ability to respond to circumstances. as you recall it was just over a month ago new york was seeing its peak. at one point close to 900 deaths a day. the health care system was strained potentially to the breaking point. is the concern we may hear calls once again for ventilators and ppe in some of these communities that haven't been hit yet? >> lester, that's the big concern. what he said, we know the cases will go up. it's a matter of keeping it under control. isolating, testing, contact tracing, those are all important to have in place. his concern is some communities might have met statistics as far as 14-day decline but might not have others in place so when they do tart seeing the outbreaks they can't control them as well. that's a big worry they make sure we do, otherwise we start getting back to where we were, get back to square one, something none of us want to do, lester. >> thanks. let me bring in the moderator of

"meet the press," chuck todd. as we noticed a different tone from the ones with the white house, even republicans expressing concerns about the level of testing. where does this go from here in terms of support for the president even from within his own party? >> well, look, one of the things i want to point out, this is one of the most functional committees on bipartisan basis. senate intel has been one of those, senate health, the health commit is nicknamed. a lot is due to lamar alexander and patty murray, the leaders. they do a good job working together. they had shared health priorities in general. they may be ideological opposed but philosophically they are close. i would say i'm listening to this hearing. on the one hand you're very encourage everyone is dealing with the same set of facts, whether a republican asking the question or democrat. this is a reminder in some ways, lester, as uncomfortable as it

is to say it, president trump doesn't -- his presence seems to create more chaos, create more issues in a given moment. take him out of the equation, and you have sort of a clear if, i would say, tough picture we're facing. we need a lot more testing. i want to pick up on what geoff bennett said, the admiral said we'll have tests by september. we have to have tests by september or we're not opening anything up, the university of tennessee, my kids' middle school or 30 rock. so we've got a ways to go. i will say this, part of me is oddly encouraged by watching this group of senators work together. this is probably the more high functioning bipartisan group you're going to have of a committee these days. >> all right. chuck todd, good to see you. we're going to return to regular programming. coverage of today's hearing continues on our streaming

service, "nbc news now," and i'll be back with a complete wrap-up when i see you on real, especially, guys, as we see people heading back out across the country. >> here is the thing. survives an avalanche in 2006 and now the >> it would seem as if greg garfield has 7 lives left. >> no doubt about it he's surrounded by people who are truly cheer looeeaders, they call him his village and they are. >> look at who's up in l.a what's up carson daly i caught some of you on the voice by the way. >> thank you that story was a giant boost amazing. graphics department is up making hot cocoa. we have an exciting pop start coming up, including how adam

sandler is owning his time in quarantine and a cast reunion that, uncle al, is up your ally. >> i'm sorry i wasn't watching your weather forecast, i was testing with carson on what was up on pop start. i had to know. i'm not sure i believe that. >> i was texting. >> also coming up, tina fey. and natalie morales checks in with the class of 2020 that she's been following for 13 years. first your local news.

good morning. 8:26. i'm marcus washington. some hope with the latest coronavirus numbers. for the first time since march, costa had no deaths. meanwhile b.a.r.t. will join other transit agencies in asking congress for more emergency money. it says fund-raisering from the c.a.r.e.s. act will not be enough to keep the transit

afloat. they could lose more than $1 billion by next year. let's get a look at that forecast for you this morning. meteorologist kari hall is watching that. kari, we saw wet spots throughout the bay area. >> yeah. we've seen scattered showers earlier this morning. now we're getting a chance to dry out across the bay area. it's going to be a cooler one as we see spotty rain. a heads-up it could drop at any point. for the most part, we're going to see at times sun and clouds. the spotty forecast remains today as well as tomorrow and we'll dry out by the end of the week before a new storm comes in on sunday. i'll be tracking that, of course, marcus. >> thanks, kari. i'll have another local news update coming up for you in the next half hour.

8:30 now on a tuesday morning. it's the 12th of may, 2020 we have a lot to get to in this hour, including tina fey what did she do last night not much, just raised $115 million for coronavirus relief that's all, tina we're going to catch up with her and also find out about the creative way she's bringing us some laughs these days >> also carson daly standing by with "pop start," including the reunion that's going to take us "back to the future."

>> and so many students are celebrating the end of the year without a lot of milestones they have been looking forward to, so natalie morales did something really cool. she got together one group of high school seniors we've been following since kindergarten we're going to hear how they are adjusting to the new normal. but first, shall we say hello to our "today's" virtual plaza. look at this beautiful bunch, as everyone gets a little air time. they came in from arizona, louisiana, tennessee hey, guys, it's so good to see you. i am looking for a little girl turning double digits named malia. where is malia hi, malia, how are you >> hi. >> there's malia they are from eagan, minnesota it's sweet to see you. i hear you've created a little new york city piggy bank you put your money in so you have enough to come to new york. is that what you're doing? >> yeah. i'm really excited i want to go there for my golden birthday.

>> can i say something, when that golden birthday comes, you come knock on our window and we'll make sure you get an inside tour of the place okay >> okay, thank you. >> happy birthday, sweet girl. >> happy birthday. how about tonya? i'm looking for tonya from douglasville, georgia. tonya, tonya >> love you. >> hi, guys. >> tonya, we love you, too you've got your two daughters there, maya and madison, right >> yes. >> i understand they are both -- they are graduating. >> yes. >> you've got a quick message for them. >> yes, i do i just want to tell them that i am extremely, extremely proud of the both of you. you are wonderful women and i am blessed and grateful to be your mother and see you accomplish all of your goals and achievements >> we love you. >> love you. >> thank you so much. >> sounds like they're pretty blessed too.

congratulations, maya. congratulations, madison >> all right where is amyit first of all, we want to point out that amy is a nicu docto in manhattan she works the overnight shift. those guys are raising 15-month-old layla and the dog, too, and running a 5k every day. >> yep >> how are you doing all that stuff? >> challenge for 5k every day in may. keeps me grounded and keeps my stress level down. >> thank you for all the work you're doing hey to layla what's your dog's name >> this is latte. >> latte. >> of course >> we love the mug, by the way thanks ffr wat thanks for watching. >> thanks, guys. we love it by the way. thanks for watching. >> a big crowd. >> big thanks to everyone for joining us if you want a chance to check in with us, be sure to sign up, today.com/virtual plaza. >> can we do one last shot of the plaza?

they waited a long time. there you go yes. yes, y'all look good. >> see you tomorrow. let us send it over to mr. roker for another check of the weather. hey,al >> hay, -- hey, guys love that plaza. let's see if you love the weather where you are. looking at sunshine along eastern seaboard chillier than usual. heaven rain in the mid plains, strong storms in texas, fire risk in the southwest, and wet weather from central and northern california into the good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. temperatures today will be a little bit cool for the inland areas, reaching into the upper 60s as we see more clouds and a chance of spotty rain. rain chances continue tomorrow, but then as it dries out, we'll see temperatures go up. we'll see low 80s by the end of the week and a new storm system arriving on sunday that may bring in more wet weather early next week. for san francisco, expect highs

to stay in the 60s, and once again showers will continue. best time of the day it's time for jack daly, and that other guy >> it's pretty much turning into that, uncle al thanks so much coming up on "po

welcome back carson was up late last night working on "the voice. and he's up early again with "pop start" from l.a hi, carson, good morning. >> hi, guys, good morning. we'll have our five finalists on "the voice." but we're going to start with adam sandler he made a visit to jimmy kimmel live to talk about all things normal during the pandemic including his habits before this started and seeing old friends. >> how are you handling this i feel like you are designed for quarantine because you don't

really like to go places, right? >> you know that, jimmy. i like when my wife says, hey, let's go somewhere and i go, nah, i don't want to do that but i don't like being told by this pandemic you can't go anywhere >> are you keeping in touch with your buddies like spade and chris rock and all these guys you used to see all the time >> the truth is i had a mask on recently on the street and i walked past rob snyder and he didn't recognize me, and that felt good. right past him >> there you go. when we're all out and about now after this, just wear a mask that way you can avoid anybody you don't want to see. good stuff from the sandman there. next up, tributes for jerry stiller keep pouring in, including what he was like to work with on the set of "seinfeld" julia dreyfuss tweeting out a

reel saying laughs like that happened all the time from jerry stiller. >> you got that right. what the hell does that mean you want a piece of me >> even funnier, louis-dreyfus and jason alexander actually referenced that very moment in a video call just last week. >> he did that line in the first take saying "you want a piece of me?" and you did exactly what you're doing now and i have to tell you, when you go, very few people have the stamina to not go with you. there's something about your laugh. >> jason alexander saying it took literally 15 minutes to get through that little scene without laughing

some good stuff there. finally, guys, how about, uncle, pay attention, a little shot of nostalgia this morning, "back to the future." it's been 35 years since the film hit theaters and became an instant classic. marty, doc and the delorean now pop culture icons. to celebrate the film actor josh gad put together a reunion which included michael j. fox, christopher lloyd, leah thompson and even got them to do a line reading from the film. >> all right we're going to start with michael and chris. >> this is more serious than i thought. apparently your mother is amorously infatuated with you, instead of your father >> wait a minute, doc, are you trying to tell me that my mother has the hots for me? >> precisely >> this is heavy >> there's that word again heavy. why is everything heavy in the future is there some problem with the

earth's gravitational pool >> how about that, they have still got it also joining them, huey lewis and elisabeth shue. and the film's director, who by the way, if you're wondering if this will yield a fourth film, he said if they had a good idea for a fourth film, they would have done it already. >> i love that movie i just watched it last week. still holds up. >> for sure. for sure. >> it's a good one okay, carson we'll see you tonight for "the voice" and the five finalists revealed, 8:00, 7:00 central right here on nbc. and just ahead, the great one, tina fey is with us live. what she's doing to provide a little comic relief in these hard days. plus what she did, along with some others, to help raise $115 million. who is that little cutie pie shll tell us all about ie't

welcome back, everybody.

the netflix comedy the "unbreakable kimmy schmidt" ended last year. but now, as we all spend time in our own sort of bunkers, kimmy is back with an interactive special. that means you get to choose what the characters do, as kimmy sets off on an adventure where all roads lead to laughter. >> the reverend was here we've still got time did he just leave his kid here >> don't touch it. the mother won't take it back. >> what are we going to do we can't take a baby on the stupid bikes >> you can't take a baby period. >> so what, you're just going to leave it here? >> if a baby can live alone inside of a woman for nine months, it will be fine for an hour. >> holy ship with a p. >> she said ship with a p.

tina fey is the cocreator ofven" good morning. >> g >> i can't wait to talk about the special but i can't help but look at you and your cute puppy and wonder how is life for you, the dog, the two kids, the husband. how is it? >> thank you for asking. i'd say so far so good is all anybody can say. we're very lucky to be well and have food in our refrigerator. so yeah, so far so good. >> speaking of that, i have to say i was watching the special last night, the robin hood gala, and i've always been proud to live in this city. but there was something abou watching that moment that really moved so many of us. it moved you as well when we realized how much money was raised let's just watch a little of that. >> the envelope please is this -- okay. $115 million we did this. you did this we are difference makers $115 million what a great day for new york. thank you to everyone who gave

and gave and gave from all over the world. >> i have to say, tina, people really did rise up last night, didn't they? >> they really did it was incredible. robin hood is an amazing organization that's been fighting poverty in new york city for 30 years. the great thing is they already know where to go and how to do it they are up and running. people came through in an incredible way last night, $115 million. every dollar of it goes right to the organizations that need it it's still open. you can still donate a robinhood.org. >> you were right here at 30 rock last night. how did that feel being outside, being in your own building again? >> in some ways it felt great. i was so excited when they told me i would be live from the studio in 30 rock. my second question was, can i have a makeup person i said, what does hoda have, because hoda looks great then i realized, hoda is just gorgeous. >> no. >> or hoda just has great skin

>> no, no, no. >> i did makeup over face time with my makeup artist. it was like a youtube tutorial it was great to be in there, but it was sad because it's so empty. you're there it's so quiet. >> yeah. >> we look forward to it being back >> me, too me, too. you were on the season finale of snl, which we love you gave a prayer to moms, which i half memorized, give us th grace to change the things we can chan-- can't change, like t sheets, and the things we can, like our zoom background how are you being creative with your family, your kiddos how is everyone doing in your house? >> pretty well we do allow ourselves time away from each other. we come together for dinner. my husband jeff is hiding over there. he's an amazing cook we've had theme nights and airplane dinners where we pretended to be on a drive-in. we pretended it was victorian

one night. it's funny what you -- you don't know what you're going to want to watch on tv to bring you comfort. for some reason we like to watch "chrisley knows best". they are our best friends right now. >> i like the chrisleys too. one thing people will be watching, kimmy and the reverend you can pick whatever way you want the plot to go. i think it's brilliant the other thing, tina, we want to bring in savannah because we know you're celebrating a big birthday coming up s.g., are you there? >> yes, i am hi, tina. >> hi, cutie i want to say happy birthday. >> thank you so much. >> this is not what we had planned for you, but i think jeff is waiting in the wings with apparently your favorite snack in quarantine. is it double stuff golden oreos? >> it is oh, my god. >> and spam? >> these are only mine. >> and spam too? yeah, those are for you. >> thank you, guys.

>> we wish you the happiest birthday, tina, we love you. >> thank you >> and spam. >> spam, too. you see -- >> that's more for you. >> "kimmy versus the reverend" streaming on netflix, you've got to catch it. >> yes, it'so fun. s we're all doing our part by staying at home. that could mean an increase in energy bills. you can save by using a fan to cool off... unplugging and turning off devices when not in use... or closing your shades during the day. stay well and keep it golden. who've got their eczema under control.rs, with less eczema, you can show more skin. so roll up those sleeves. and help heal your skin from within with dupixent. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid.

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we're back with "today" celebrates classic 2020. this morning, a very special group of students. natalie morales has watched them from start to finish hey, nat. >> good morning. we first had our eye on the class of 2020 13 years ago when we started to watch a special group of kindergartners through elementary school up until now the were born the year after 9/11 in already what were extraordinary times, and never could we have imagined how much history they would witness and how much the world would change, as even now, during their senior year, it's been up ended by a

global pandemic. but we learned how much they can teach us it's been said everything you need to know in life you learn in kindergarten. that's where it started, with the class of 2020 13 years ago in mrs. tapper's los angeles classroom. throw their years at coal fax charter elementary, we watched them grow up before our eyes >> going on to second grade. >> and our cameras. we were there for the fun times, the sad times, and the triumphant ones. >> hi, guys! >> and with some lucky timing, we gathered much of the original class of 2020, not at different high schools, for a reunion back at colfax. just a few days before covid-19 shut their senior year down for good. >> you guys are here you're at the finish line.

>> what was created here in the community that is exceptional to your experience growing up. >> everyone knew each other. everyone knew each other's families and parents and stuff, a lot of us would go home after school with their friends to each other's houses. >> as a post 9/11 graduating class, these kids have already been through a lot, including two different high school shootings. >> multiple shots fired. >> one just last november at dylan riley's school. >> children are dying, and that's what matters. who cares what the solution is, just find one, because i don't want anyone else to ever experience that. >> this is also not their first epidemic deborah dorian made sure her son, zachary, class of 2020 student, was vaccinated against swine flu in 2009. she is still the colfax school psychologist now helping families navigate coronavirus. >> even though we're not physically seeing each other,

just knowing that we have the emotional connection with each other, with the families, is a really strong feeling. >> the class of 2020 is also the generation to experience the tectonic shift in technology. >> how much has that change your world? >> i feel i was able to be less shy and like less protective of my feelings online >> now because of covid-19, technology is a life line holding them all together. >> i think if we all knew that that was going to be the last time we all really got to hang out, instead of everyone freaking out because prom got cancelled, we kind of just be like, let's take this time to really all be together >> if there's one word to describe them, resilient. >> do you think these challenges you've had to deal with have given you a greater sense of purpose? >> this will stick with us forever. we'll be able to look back on it and think that we got

through it >> this ambitious class already has a film maker, a teacher, an engineer, and a u.s. marine. these moms know the secret to their success. >> every family has their different struggles and these kids turned out to be superstars. >> the opportunity they had to be so young in a very diverse group, it's made them have a different kind of sensitivity and a deeper compassion for people. >> noah's dads now know how fast time flies. >> i can't get over it seeing these kids all grown up now. >> i pinch myself every day. >> oh, my god, he's almost 18. like where did 18 years go >> mrs. tepper wonders that, too. >> i love seeing all your faces. >> she couldn't resist taking roll call one last time. >> good morning. carlos good morning, carlos

>> good morning. >> mrs. tepper >> they are an extraordinary group of young people, and they offer so much hope for the catch up with them truly was just so lucky. now, they are going to be having virtual graduations. some will be having graduations later on this summer but they are a group of people who seem to be well prepared for their future, knowing how much life can change in an instant and they really embraced the moment. >> love the roll call. >> me, too. >> so cute >> thank you, natalie. >> another takeaway that natalie morales doesn't age at all. good morning. 8:56. i'm marcus washington. a little later today governor newsom is expected to unveil the first steps in the reopening of california business. he's expected to focus in large

part on how restaurants will be allowed to reopen. at this point, there's a lot of confusion. one thing, the time line not clear. also, restaurant owners are not clear. too many restaurants will have restrictions that will keep them from making any kind of profit especially if customers don't return in large numbers. we're going to have a live report in our midday newscast and you can check our twitter feed for updates, and when the governor gets under way, we'll air it in its entirety in the bay area. it's scheduled for noon and we'll post a live link at the top of our home page. last week we told you lawmaker, funding from the c.a.r.e.s. act, those -- the transit agencies say that's not enough to keep them afloat. bay area transit alone could lose more than $1 billion. we'll have more local weather and updates for you coming up in an manpower.

live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza, this is third hour of "today." >> good morning to you welcome to the third hour of "today." this is tuesday may 12th craig melvin in studio 1a, al, sheinelle and dylan working at home with all the talk of rehoping here, year seeing what that looks like around the world. in wuhan, china, that city had its first new case since that 76-day lockdown was lifted now chinese officials say they

plan to test all 11 million'