live look at san jose which will be nice and warm today. hopefully you have a pool or access to one. >> absolutely. thanks for starting your morning with us. make it a great day. enjoy the day. we'll see you backer who tomorrow morning. "today" show is next. ♪ good morning. troubling trend. s a dangerous new chapter in the fight against the coronavirus. >> covid-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in texas. and it must be corralled. >> cases still rising in the south and west led by a dramatic increase in young people. new measures being put in place to stop the spread from coast to coast. are months of progress against the outbreak quick lly slipping away? into the hot zone. president trump set to hold a rally in arizona today. one of the states seeing a huge uptick in coronavirus cases.

this morning the president's new defense for large scale events after two more campaign staffers test positive. breaking overnight. violent clash. protesters try to pull down a statue of andrew jackson near the white house. police responding with batons and pepper spray. statues in other parts of the country vandalized. some now set to be removed. just ahead, the growing push across america to take down the controversial monuments of the past. standing with bubba. >> the entire garage area has rallied around bubba wallace. >> a powerful display of unity from the entire nascar family after a noose was found in the garage of the sport's only black driver. wallace moved to tears sending a message loud and clear. >> i wanted to show whoever it was that you're not going to take away my smile. those stories plus, back in

business. we'll take you inside the reopening efforts in upstate new york where local businesses are eager to kick off the crucial summer season. >> we lived through the hardest part and now we're going to live through the fun part of re-meeting our friends again. >> as savannah and al reunite to celebrate small town america. "today" tuesday, june 23rd, 2020. >> announcer: from nbc news this is "today" with savannah guthrie from hudson, new york, and hoda kotb, from studio 1d in rockefeller plaza. >> hey, guys. welcome to "today" on this tuesday morning. so happy you're joining us. we have a busy and fun morning planned both here in studio 1a and i'm really jealous, savannah guthrie. you're in upstate new york. that's where you're going to be this morning. >> yes. i think i'll bring the fun because i'm here in hudson, new york, a beautiful town along the

hudson river valley. and of course it was hit hard because of the lockdown. it's summer tourist season now and this is a really important day, a reopening day. so many small businesses, just 300 right in this area that are so desperate for people to take that drive and help spur the local economy. i told you i was bringing the fun. well, here's the fun right here. will you believe this? al roker, we have been reunited. we did the air hug. we're air kissing. >> so fantastic. >> you've been up here this whole time, too. we love this area. >> that's right. i've lived up here, my family's lived up here for over 22 years. this is a spectacular place. and other small towns just like it all across the country especially in the northeast trying to reopen. >> we're excited to tell you about this beautiful place. we'll also have a live interview with new york governor andrew cuomo in just a moment, hoda. >> don't have too much fun without us there, you two. we do want to start with two very contrasting but equally powerful images from the last 24

hours. this was the scene outside the white house overnight. tensions were high between police and protesters who attempted to tear down a statue of former president andrew jackson. >> and then you mentioned another image so many people have seen this one. it came from nascar. incredibly poignant and a positive moment where drivers of nascar showed support for bubba wallace. this was right after that noose was found hanging in his garage stall at talladega. these drivers came out to say loud and clearly, we support you. and we're going to hear from bubba wallace about that moving moment just ahead. >> it was a really emotional moment. look forward to that. we are going to start with the coronavirus and its impact on other areas of the country. cases continuing to spike in the south and west including phoenix, arizona. hospitals there now seeing a record number of patients. nbc's joe fryer is at one of them with the latest.

hey, joe. good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. this is impacting different states in different ways. even the ages of those infected differs from state to state. here in phoenix, the intensive care unit behind me at banner medical center is very busy as doctors and nurses try to fight the spike in covid-19 cases. >> reporter: this morning, arizona is seeing one of the largest increases in covid-19 cases in the country. numbers nearly doubling in the last 14 days with more than 2,000 new cases on monday. now with only 17% of hospital beds available in phoenix, nurses on the front lines say they're struggling to keep up. >> looking forward at the next few weeks is kind of scary and daunting. >> reporter: all as president trump is scheduled to speak at this phoenix megachurch later today. in a since-deleted post, the church leaders boasted about a device they say can kill 99.9% of the virus in minutes. >> it takes particulates out and

covid cannot live in that environment. >> reporter: but medical experts dispute that claim. >> filtration technology in particular would not prevent covid-19 transmission from person to person. >> reporter: across the country, many states in the north and east have seen fewer new cases while others in the north and west are seeing record numbers with eight states amassing more than 1,000 new case in the last 24 hours and still no reports yet of spikes related to protests earlier this month. with almost 3,000 new cases in florida monday, miami's mayor is now requiring masks be worn in public spaces. >> without a doubt, it will be a challenge. >> reporter: florida's governor says there's an increase in covid-19 cases in people under the age of 45. the trend also seen in texas along with an average of 3,500 new covid-19 cases every day. all of this as a study raises questions about how long covid-19 immunity may last. researchers found the amount of

antibiotics in a small group of infeblgted people dropped as much as 96.2% just two to three months after infection. in arizona as hospitalizations rise, so does anxiety. >> i feel like the worst is yet to come. >> reporter: another big concern here is testing. so far arizona's department of health says the state has tested just shy of 600,000 people, one of the lowest testing rates in the country. some say they're waiting hours to get tested. hoda? >> all right, joe. thank you. we are now joined by dr. ashish jha. good morning to you. let's talk a little bit about these numbers. the death toll in the united states now tops 120,000. we have 25 states seeing an uptick, surging numbers in texas, arizona, and florida. i actually read this article that said texas children's hospital is now opening its beds to adults so they can free up other beds for covid patients. so how do you account for the uptick in these numbers?

and do you think we're ready for it? >> yeah, so good morning. thanks for having me on. you know, about a month and a half ago the president's own task force laid out criteria for what states should use before they open up. and a good number of states, many of the places where we're seeing spikes, ignored those criteria and opened up when the case numbers were high and they were not coming down. in many ways, this was expected. as upsetting as it is to see these cases, it's not surprising. and the question now in front of us is what are we going to do to curtail these spikes so our hospitals don't get overwhelmed and we don't have to shut down again. that's what we want to avoid. i'm worried we'r >> let's talk about curtailing it, because one of the big issues is masks. some people wear them. some people don't wear them. people are getting in fights over them like at a walmart. some people don't want to wear them on planes. do you think there should be kind of a national standard for

mask wearing? >> you know, we're in the middle of a pandemic and people are bringing up -- you know, people want to have freedom to not wear masks. i understand. sometimes masks can be a little uncomfortable, but the bottom line is that we know that masks reduce infections and they save lives. and just as, you know, i can't walk into a retail store and light up a cigarette, i shouldn't be able to walk into a retail store without wearing a mask. these are basic public health measures that i think should be implemented across the country. it's not that inconvenient. and if it helps us stay open and avoid our hospitals getting overwhelmed, it feels to me it's well worth the cost. >> a lot of people are wondering what if i do do everything right, what if i do wear a mask, and wash my hands and take all the precautions? is it cool i go out to a town instance? >> you know, there is no such thing as perfect safety. all you can do is reduce your risks. but if you're wearing a mask,

washing hands, and you're in a community not having a large outbreak, then yeah. going out and about is a reasonable thing to do. but still worth maintaining social distancing. when you go into a retail shop, not spending large amounts of time in crowded indoor spaces, if you do all those things, i think your risks are pretty low. but the biggest factor is how big of an outbreak do you have in your community? and so for everybody, the key is make sure your political leaders are doing everything they can to keep the level of virus down in your community. >> quickly i want to ask about this one other headline. the number of young people -- the cases in young people is spiking. how do you account for that and what's the real concern if that's the case? >> yeah. so i think a lot of it is because when places opened up, the bars, restaurants, and nightclubs, it's more often frequented by young people. so they're going to be the first ones to get infected. some people would like to say that's not a big deal because young people don't get as sick that's true, but they're going to go then spend with their parents and grandparents

so i'm very concerned about this just because it starts with young people doesn't mean it'll stay with young people we've got to curtail infections across all age groups. >> all right dr. jha, thank you for your insight. we appreciate it >> thank you 7:10, 7:11 savannah, over to you. >> yeah, we tourn the breaking news from washington overnight, hoda you may have seen this scene police having to step in as police attempted to tear down a statue of former president andrew jackson near the white house and similar scenes have played out across the country in recent weeks garrett haake joins us with more in lafayette park good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. lafayette park is once again closed this morning being protected by secret service and u.s. park police after demonstrators tried to tear down this statue of andrew jackson last night all of this clearly visible from the white house windows.

near the white house overnight, a tense standoff with police as protesters tried to tear down a statue of former president, andrew jackson >> it's a racist confederate statue it should be knocked down and put in a [ bleep ] museum. >> reporter: u.s. park and d.c. police stepped in using a helicopter from above and pepper spray on the ground to disperse the crowd of demonstrators in a late night tweet, the president calling it disgraceful vandalism and threatening ten years in prison under the veterans memorial preservation act. it comes as the american museum of natural history in new york has decided to remove a statue of teddy roosevelt in the face of growing criticism for its depiction of native american and african figures. >> black man and indian man look inferior period >> reporter: the statue unveiled in 1940 was meant to celebrate the former president and pioneering conservationist whose father helped found the museum

>> the statue clearly presents a white man as superior to people of color and that's just not acceptable in this day and age. >> reporter: the museum has now decided to remove it saying the statue itself communicates a racial hierarchy that the museum and public have long found disturbing >> these are monuments that don't represent for the people it's representation of oppression >> i think it should stay. i think tearing down our history is ridiculous. it's not going to change history. we should learn from it. >> most of these people don't even know what they're taking down >> reporter: with monuments being torn down in recent weeks from coast to coast, president trump says he'll sign an executive order demanding cities to protect their statues in the wake of george floyd's death >> we're going to make the cities guard their monuments this is a disgrace >> reporter: hoda, that andrew jackson monument has an extra layer of fencing around it this morning, extra layer of protection this morning the president is tweeting on this again saying he authorized federal law

enforcement to arrest anyone who defaces or tries to tear down a statue on federal property so it can be punishable by up to ten years in jail. >> all right garrett, thank you so much we appreciate you. thank you. craig joins the table now with another big story tied to the coronavirus. >> hoda, good morning. we're talking about president trump heading to arizona today one of the states that's seen a major surge in cases this as more members of the president's campaign staff involved in that weekend rally in tulsa tests positive for covid-19 nbc's white house correspondent kristen welker has that story. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hi, craig good morning to you. as you just mentioned, president trump's trip to arizona does come amid a spike in cases in the state. he's going to make three stops, including at a megachurch in phoenix, as we said earlier in the show, which has a 3,000 seat capacity president trump increasingly defiant about the state of his campaign and about holding those indoor events. this morning president trump defending his indoor campaign

events even as two more campaign staffers tested positive for coronavirus ahead of another rally today in phoenix >> are you potentially putting the lives of americans at risk by continuing to hold these indoor events? cases in arizona are spiking, sir. >> no, i don't think so. >> not worried at all? >> i'm not worried about it. no, not at all we watch it. we're very careful >> reporter: at least eight members of mr. trump's tulsa advance team have tested positive for covid-19 since the rally on saturday. the same event where the president made this controversial claim about testing. >> when you do testing to that extent, you're going to find more people, you're going to find more cases. so i said to my people, slow the testing down, please >> reporter: the white house said the president made the comments in jest but when pressed about it with the interview christian broadcasting network -- >> was that tongue in cheek? >> semi-tongue in cheek. i say it all the time. i know some people thought it was tongue in cheek. it's unfair.

we're doing so much testing. >> reporter: while sources close to the trump campaign say president trump was furious over the underwhelming crowd in tulsa, the white house pushing back monday. >> the president was very pleased with the rally i was with him i just have to say these media reports that he somehow furious on the plane, there is no grounding in fact to that. >> reporter: sources close to the campaign also tell nbc news the president is increasingly displeased with his campaign manager brad parscale who said promised a huge turnout. the president asked about any possible shakeups on monday. >> are you going to make any changes to your campaign. >> we're doing, i think, very well we just started. >> you still trust your campaign manager? >> i trust everybody yeah i just trust everybody we're doing very well. i had a lot of the same people on the first campaign. >> also, kristen, this morning, the markets on a bit of a roller coaster overnight after comments by the president's top trade adviser, peter navarro

what more can you tell us about that >> reporter: well, craig, that's absolutely right stock futures sank monday overnight before recovering after peter navarro stoked concerns the trade deal with china could be off here's the exchange that prompted the whole thing it was on fox news take a look. >> do you think that the president sort of -- i mean, he obviously really wanted to hang onto this trade deal as much as possible and he wanted them to make good on the promises because there had been progress. made on that trade deal, but given all the things you just listed, is that over? >> it's over, yes. >> reporter: now, in an attempt to calm the markets, navarro clarified his comments including to nbc news. he told me, quote, my comments had nothing to do with the trade deal at all, period, full stop he says he was talking about the lack of trust between the u.s. and china. now, trump officials say china showed a real lack of transparency during the early stages of the coronavirus. so that's been building tensions between the two countries. president trump tweeted about

the matter overnight he said the china trade deal is fully intact hopefully they'll continue to live up to the terms of the still a lot of focus on this markets this morning, craig, after th hours. kristen welker from the white house. kristen, thank you also this morning, the fbi has now joined the investigation into that noose found in the talladega speedway garage of nascar's only black driver bubba wallace. and before yesterday's race, there was this this powerful display of support from dozens of wallace's fellow drivers. it was something nbc's sam brock joins us now from talladega with the very latest hey, sam good morning >> reporter: yeah, hoda. good morning bubba wallace didn't win monday's race, but this was a victory for everyone what happened to talladega was boost for fans and drivers it was historic and an incredible moment for a nation at a cross roads >> racing is the great equalizer.

>> reporter: in a 500-lap race at talladega superspeedway, it was this unforgettable stretch before the green flag dropped -- >> the entire garage area has rallied around bubba wallace >> reporter: that will likely ns >> all in all, we won the day.io witness in my life >> reporter: an emotional bubba wallace, the sport's only black driver wept on the track as dozens of his fellow drivers and their crews showered him with their love and support pulling his number 43 car to the front of the line after wallace was the apparent target of a hate crime >> i wanted to show whoever it was that you're not going to take away my smile and i'm going to keep on going >> reporter: the act that sickened the sports world, a noose left in wallace's garage stall a week after he successfully lobbied nascar to ban the confederate flag current drivers and former stars like dale earnhardt jr. speaking out.

>> there's a lot of people rallying around bubba, but i don't know that any of us really understands how that must have felt >> reporter: the fbi is investigating whether any federal laws were violated as nascar has launched its own investigation. racing legend richard petty who runs the team wallace drives for called what happened a violation of human decency tweeting in part, there is absolutely no place in our sport or our society for racism but even in pain, a teachable moment for families. is this a tough conversation to have with your sons about what's just happened in the last several days >> it's very tough, but at the same time, i want to make sure they grow up knowing the difference between right and wrong. >> no one is white, black,re al. >> reporter: and on this day, the different drivers, crews, and racing teams all united by i stand with bubba former driver jeff gordon called

this one of the most powerful, emotional leadups to any race he'd ever seen and this was actually a race bubba wallace finishing 14th but only because he ran out of fuel at the very end. but i don't think there's any question as to who the race's big winner was yesterday >> yeah. >> reporter: hoda, let me send it back to you >> oh, sam by the way, that image will stay with me. this morning i woke up and saw it and i literally had to replay it a couple of times because it was a wow moment >> and in the race itself, bubba wallace did really good most of that race. it's really awesome to see what he has come to symbolize not just in sports but this moment we find ourselves. great spokesman for nascar thank you, sam >> that little moment of darkness leading to such a beautiful moment in the light. i think that's the image that's going to stick with people now for something i think we've all been waiting for for a long time. al roker in our neck of the woods -- or at least i've been waiting. the man, the myth, the legend. good morning, al

>> it's just great to be outside of the garage. really good. yes. keep the peace thank you, brother thank you. thank you for the message. all right. let's show you what we've got going on at least he's not too tired. anyway, let's show you as we look at our radar. you'll see we got some strong storms firing up in texas. we've got severe thunderstorm watches and severe thunderstorm warnings all part of the system stretching from texas to boston. record highs again in the northeast. strong storms through the gulf and the western two-thirds of the country, we've got a lot of heat advisories especially in central california, parts of nevada and the southwest that's what's going on around the country. we're going to get to your local forecast in the next 30 seconds. . to you. whenever you're ready to get out there, enterprise is ready, too. ♪ with our complete clean pledge, you'll have the peace-of-mind

that we'll get you safely on your way... wherever...and whenever that may be. enterprise. when you're ready, we're ready. good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. we're going to start out with a live look out there in san francisco where we have low clouds and fog. for the inland areas it's clear and sunny. we're going to have a wide range in temperatures today from san francisco to walnut creek. we'll see those high temperatures for the inland areas reaching into the low 90s, but only some 60s along the coast and a few spots reaching near 100 degrees. we're going to see more of the inland heat over the next few days. savannah >> okay, al. can't wait and governor cuomo is going to be here live in just a moment we're going to ask him about the debate playing out across the country. about reopening. that's next.

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coming up, ricky martin after your local news. ♪ you're my friend in need. ♪ (come on, come on) ♪ we stick... ♪ and good morning. tess 7:26. here's today's top stories with a string of fires that appear to have been set on purpose. >> reporter: i'm bob redell outside kelley park where someone set several brushfires overnight, caused some damage to homeless encampments, but no one was hurt. the fire department put the fires out before they could grow in size and spread, which could have happened given these unusually dry conditions. >> reporter: i'm cierra johnson as the protests against police brutality play out across the country. two local school districts could be one step closer to having law

enforcement officers removed from classrooms. today in san francisco, san francisco's school board will vote on whether or not to remove officers from classrooms. a similar vote taking place tomorrow in oakland. it's there they have their own law enforcement officers overseeing 100 schools. the forecast for you today, some parts will heat up today, kari. yes, for the inland valleys we could see our temperatures reaching into the low 90s this afternoon. while it will stay cool along the coast we're stuck in this weather pattern as we go through the rest of the week with highs in the low 90s. at least the morning temperatures are comfortable. we'll drop back to the each and every day. as we look at san franci degree. and that fog will be very slow to clear and we'll hover along the coast throughout the day. as we look at the rest of the forecast we'll start to warm up gradually with highs reaching into the mid-70s here, but still a big difference from the coast to the inland valleys as we go

even into the weekend. marcus? >> thanks, kari. we'll have another local update in 30 minutes. ♪ menutaur

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♪ we're back at 7:30, and this is a postcard-worthy shot of hudson, new york, just one of the beautiful little towns that dot the hudson river valley in new york we call it upstate, but it's only two hours from manhattan. so people in new york city call this upstate, but upstaters do not call this upstate. by any name, it is a beautiful part of the world. al and i have both been up here. this is where we've spent most of our time these last few months we can't wait to show you this place, tell you about the small businesses, encourage you to come up and give them some businesses

in a few minutes >> we look forward to all of that, savannah we're going to start with your 7:30 headlines. a funeral today will be held for rayshard brooks, the man fatally shot by a police officer earlier this month services will be held at ebenezer baptist church where martin luther king was once a pastor king's daughter, bernice king will speak at the funeral. the service will not be open to the public or to the media a public viewing for brooks was held on monday this morning the food and drug administration is warning americans not to use any of nine brands of hand sanitizer because of the potential presence of a toxic chemical of the presence of a toxic products manufactured by mexico-based eskbiochem may contain methanol, a substance that can be dangerous when absorbed through the skin or ingested for a full list of hand sanitizers to avoid, go to our website today.com. savannah all right. we turn now to the state of new

york new signs of life across this state. of course it was the original epicenter of the coronavirus here in this country and all eyes are on new york city as it continues to reopen the questions remain how businesses throughout the state and other parts of the country are going to rebound after months of lockdown we're going to talk about that and more with governor andrew cuomo in just a moment but first nbc's stephanie gosk is here in hudson as well. stephanie, good morning. >> good morning. nice to see you. a town like this thrives on the summer that's especially so this year up in this part of new york, it opened up faster than new york city, but a lot of people wanted it to open up faster they need to get tourists back in here to come back to life >> reporter: this morning new york city reopening. following in the foot steps of smaller towns up state in historic hudson, new york, shutting businesses because of covid-19 was heart breaking. especially for the sisters who own tanzy's.

>> it was very hard because we love people and we love all our customers. it was very hard to shut the door on them, but we told them that we would be back. >> reporter: sadly not every business can say the same. >> the soul is in our small businesses, and unfortunately we had a handful of businesses that won't return due to covid. >> reporter: the region just entered phase three of reopening. restaurants can serve inside at 50% capacity nails are getting done hair is being cut. and people can gather in groups of 25. new york's covid numbers eclipse the rest of the country, but most of the state's nearly 400,000 cases are from the explosion of the virus in new york city. the rest of the state suffered less in columbia county where hudson is, 451 cases were confirmed and 43 people have died. >> we have done the impossible >> reporter: governor andrew cuomo who has become the face of new york's pandemic response laid out strict rules for

reopening. there were people north of new york city that wanted it to happen a lot faster. an unexpected delay starting phase 2 in early may triggered a reaction >> it's an insult to every business in this community that's been struggling it's a lack of respect for the business community >> reporter: just a few hours later governor cuomo signed off but some of that bitterness remains. the governor pushing back. >> we have months of data now that says the guidelines make sense, keep following them >> reporter: now they are trying to do as much business outside as possible in upstate new york. >> i think it'll just be great i think outside right now is just more comfortable for everyone >> reporter: at tanzy's at least, some normalcy is returning. >> we've lived through the hardest part and now we're going to live through the better part of re-meeting our friends again. so so far, one day at a time, we're going to be okay

>> it's unclear what phase four is going to look like up here. that'll include things like art, entertainment, education still in this area of new york that thrives on festivals they're not allowed to have them they can't have any events that will bring people in from out of state. >> this is an important first step but it is a first step. stephanie, thank you that brings us to governor cuomo of new york. joining us live. good morning to you. this is a great day for the state of new york as these areas in new york city enter a new phase of reopening but of course it's happening in the backdrop of what's going on around the country where states that reopened earlier are seeing serious spikes in cases. scale of one to ten, how worried are you that that will be new york's fate? >> well, savannah, the good news is that we went through what the other states are going through and we did have a science-based reopening. we did it on the facts we did control it. we did moderate it

and that's what works. the states that reopened with abandon, they now have tremendous infection rates they're talking about closing again. their hospitals are overwhelmed. and that vindicates what states like new york did. don't reopen in a rush reopen intelligently and then you won't have a subsequent problem. so we're right on track. our approach has worked. we went from one of the highest infection rates in the united states to one of the lowest infection rates. so the state is coming back. we have to make sure other states don't infect us now >> i was going to ask you about that, because you talked about potentially imposing a quarantine from other states particularly florida which of course did the same to new yorkers. was that a jab at florida's governor or are you considering telling folks from other states, other hot spots you have to quarantine if you want to come to the state of new york

>> well, it's not just florida you have about half the states in this country you're seeing the virus going up new york, we have the virus going down so we're now afraid that we have the low infection rate, people get on a plane and come to new york and i have people calling me all day long saying they're worried about where they are they want to come to new york. that's great but we don't want them bringing the virus here so we're seriously considering a quarantine just to make sure people who come in from states with higher infections don't inadvertently increase our infection rate >> this is, of course, a great day of progress, as you know in the hudson valley which is entering phase 3 of reopening. new york city entering its reopening phase. but a lot of people saying governor cuomo, you've moved too slowly and they've been crushed economically what's your response to that >> i say look at the facts look around the country.

everything says we did it right and we did it smart. look, nobody wanted to close no business person wanted to close. no employee wanted to stay home. but there was no alternative, savannah and those states that had this blind, okay let's do whatever we want to do and we'll reopen immediately, they have serious problems now not only will you have those states where more people die, but it wasn't even better for the businesses because now they reopened and now they have an infection rate issue and they're talking about closing again. so anyone who thinks we could have reopened sooner, look at florida, look at arizona, look at texas, look at the other 23 states that are going up and it shows we were smart and right. >> governor, i have to ask you about what happened in nursing homes in this state. in march, you issued a directive

that nursing homes could not turn away those who had covid, which exposed vulnerable population you had 5,800 people die in senior homes in this state in retrospect was that order a mistake? i know that guidance has since been changed >> no, we followed federal guidance on the nursing homes. so what we did here in new york is nothing different than what the federal government put out as guidance for every state. yes, people died -- >> was that a mistake? >> no, look. if you look at how many people died in nursing homes in new york compared to other states, we actually have a lower percentage of people who died in nursing homes. but we had more people die than any other state. that's a fact. the reason that happened was because we had the virus coming from europe when the federal government told us the virus was coming from china. and we had no screening on people coming from europe. now, the federal government just missed that.

but yes, more people died in nursing homes in new york, but more people died in nursing homes in every state it attacked the older people in congregate settings and those were nursing homes >> let me ask you on another topic president trump mentioned in an interview that he feels cities should take further action to stop monuments from being destroyed. we saw that scene at the white house with the andrew jackson statue near the white house. we know the theodore roosevelt statue is coming down in new york city. do you agree with the president's guidance that cities should do more to protect monuments? >> i don't even know what the president's guidance is, savannah, frankly. cities are making decisions. the teddy roosevelt statue i think was less about teddy roosevelt but the other parts of that statue. and look

people are making a statement about equality, about community to be against racism, against slavery. i think those are good statements you overdo it? of course you can. but in new york, i don't think we've overdone it. and i think it's a healthy expression of people saying let's get some priorities here and let's remember the sin and mistake that this nation made and let's not celebrate it >> finally i have to ask you about the firing of the u.s. attorney in the southern district of new york, one of the most powerful prosecutors in the country. the president fired him. do you think there's anything suspicious there do you think there's something fishy there? >> well, i don't think the president gets involved in firing a particular u.s. attorney unless the issue is of particular import to the president. this is a prosecutors office that was investigating the president personally and people

around the president personally. and this was a very heavy handed move by the department of justice. but look, the president has made his position clear from day one. he doesn't consider the department of justice an independent agency, he considers it a political appointee of his. and the president's position is if you don't support him politically, then you're out and he does that with justice department officials there's nothing new there. you look at what they're doing with the attorney general barr in washington and the favoritism for the president's cronies. it's just an extension of what they do and what they believe. i wouldn't be shocked at it. yes, it's heavy handed and a distortion of justice. >> new york governor andrew cuomo. got to leave it there. thank you for your time and best of luck with the reopening of this state we appreciate it >> thank you, savannah

all right. it's 7:42, guys. we'll send it back to you. >> a wide ranging conversation thank you for that still ahead this morning, tributes pouring in for one of the most accomplished directors in hollywood >> joel schumacher was the mind man behind classics like "the lost boys" and the batman movies how stars are remembering him today. but first this is "today" on nbc. on nbc ♪ in liberating strife ♪ america ♪ america

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7:46 it's a tuesday morning craig and i are in this boring old studio savannah and al are spending it in lovely hudson, new york. >> mr. roker, how about you at least do some work up there, al? can you give us the forecast >> well, if i have to. we have some spectacular sunsets up here. >> yes >> but they're nothing like what they've been seeing in parts of the southeast and the gulf coast. and why? because of a dust storm coming off the coast of africa. this saharan desert that's pulling all this dust up into the atmosphere then the trade winds sweep it coming out into the caribbean and the atlantic that is actually going to reduce the risk of tropical development

in the caribbean and the gulf. but it's also going to exacerbate people's problems who have asthma or covid-related illnesses. and it's also making for some spectacular sunsets. but talk about depressing the atmosphere the subtropical depression four. the earliest and northern most we have seen good news is it's staying out into the water making it a fish storm. that's w good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. as we check out our weather forecast for the bay area a live look outside in walnut creek where it will heat up again quickly today. we're going to reach into the low 90s with a high of 76 in oakland and 68 in san francisco. you can see the wide range in temperatures from the coast to the inland areas with inland highs in the 90s today. we'll see this weather continuing until the end of the workweek. >> and that is your latest weather. savannah, coming up, we're going to give you a tour of restaurants, pizzerias, so much more the farmers market i'm going to share a first-hand

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and a good morning to you. it is 7:56 for you right now. i'm marcus washington and here's what's happening now. >> reporter: i'm bob redell outside kelley park in san jose where the fire department was able to put out several fires, brushfires, that they say were intentionally set overnight. none were able to grow and spread. minor damage to some homeless encampments. no one was hurt, fortunately. the battalion chief says this is really dangerous given that t d. they don't usually see these kinds of conditions until october. good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew. apple continues its worldwide developers conference. yesterday we saw an update to ios including new widgets that will allow you to see things on your phone without having to open up the app. these will be available for anything iphone 6 or newer.

let's get a look at the forecast for you today. meteorologist kari hall has been tracking temperatures and certainly starting out a little foggy there in san francisco. we're seeing the typical june gloom over the city while inland will be all sunny and heating up quickly today. upper 60s in san francisco to 100 degrees in clear lake. for the south bay we'll feel that warmth with our high temperatures reaching into the upper 80s. that's the weather we'll see throughout the week, still no changes so it will be cooler end of the weekend. san francisco will reach the upper 60s. we'll see more 70s as we get less of that fog. a cooler feel to the air as we head to the weekend, marcus. we'll have another local news update in 30 minutes.

♪ it is 8:00 on "today." coming up, surging new concerns over the coronavirus as cases spike in parts of the country hospitals in arizona now seeing a record number of patients. >> looking forward at the next few weeks is kind of scary and daunting >> so what does this mean in the fight against the virus? we are live with the latest. plus open for business savannah and al are in upstate new york where store owners are reopening their doors after months of lockdown >> how's business been >> you know what we're counting our lucky stars

every single day >> ahead we'll show you what hitting the town may look like as we enter a new normal and pushing pausa. >> we need to listen to the messages coming from every issue. >> we catch up with the one and only ricky martin. why the pop star says making music has been his message during the pandemic and the his powerful message about the global need for change "today," tuesday, june 23rd, 2020 ♪ >> from louisville, kentucky, we're twinning turns 10 with "today." >> i'm turning 90 today. ♪ >> hi my name is laura miller and today is my 33rd birthday. >> happy birthday to the best dad ever thanks for saving lives and always being there for us.

♪ >> beautiful beautiful. welcome back to "today." it is a tuesday morning. we want to say a special hello to everybody just waking up, stretching out, getting a little coffee including these guys our smiling faces on our virtual my "today" plaza we've got a good bunch of folks. we're going to speak with them just ahead >> they look ready meanwhile, savannah guthrie is in upstate new york this morning. what's up, savannah? >> hi, good morning to you guys. i'm so excited to show you around this is hudson, new york i'm on warren street which is really the heart of the business district there are more than 300 businesses just in this town alone. and there are tons of beautiful picturesque postcard towns all around the hudson river valley it's a wonderful homey community and the businesses have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic today is a happy day because

they're going to start reopening. you never know who you're going to run into. al has been spending time up here as well >> i love this town.ther say we mask or black lives matter it really is a fantastic socially conscious kind of place. >> it's a wonderful community. we're going to tell you all about it in just a few and maybe some folks just waking up are thinking maybe i'll take a drive north today and support some of these businesses we hope so cannot wait to tell you about it see you in a couple minutes. >> we can't wait either. savannah, thank you. first, let's start off with your news at 8:00. an alarming rise in coronavirus cases among young people is raising concerns about a summer spike that may already be underway nbc's joe fryer joins us now from phoenix, arizona, with three things to watch. hey, joe, good morning >> reporter: hoda, good morning. many parts of the country are seeing an increase in coronavirus cases. the death toll in the u.s. has now topped 120,000 and nearly

half of the states in the country, 23 of them seeing an increase in covid-19 cases with 8 of those states seeing a more dramatic spike over the past two weeks. the south and west have been hit especially hard. now, the age of those infected can differ greatly from state to state, but in the south they're starting to see more young people test positive especially in florida. they say there's an increase in cases of people 45 and younger the median age of people infected in the last two weeks there is now 37. earlier today on "today" dr. ashish jha said when the country started opening up, young people were more likely to go out and be social. >> some people would say that's not a big deal because young people don't get as sick that's true, but young people will then go spend time with their parents and grandparents so i'm very concerned about this just because it starts with young people doesn't mean it will stay with young people. we've really got to curtail infections across all age

groups >> reporter: in response, some cities and counties are now mandating masks. meanwhile, the nation's top infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci will return to capitol hill today to testify in front of congress. he'll be joined by other top health officials to talk about testing, tracing, and treatment of coronavirus it's the first time they've been in front of congress in more than a month fauci recently warned that the u.s. is still in the first wave of the pandemic. he continues to urge americans to practice social distancing. craig? >> all right joe fryer there for us in arizona. joe, thank you meanwhile those efforts to remove public statues of controversial historical figures have gained new momentum in this country and that led to a violent confrontation overnight near the white house garrett haake has the latest on that clash and the president's response this morning. garrett, good morning to you >> reporter: hey, craig. good morning

yeah, lafayette park is again closed this morning and the cleanup here is underway as demonstrators tried to take down the statue of andrew jackson that stands in the center of the park, faces the white house. that led to clashes with federal law enforcement back and forth that lasted much of the night. now, all of this comes in the context of this broader national debate about removing controversial statues whether by in new york city that debate is focused on a statue of teddy roosevelt that stands outside the natural history museum and has for decades. the museum now says that statute will now be coming down. here the statue of andrew jackson has an extra layer of security fencing around it today and perhaps extra security in the form of a presidential tweet. the president saying this morning that he's authorized federal law enforcement to arrest anyone who defaces or attempts to destroy a statue on federal property they could face penalties of up to ten years in prison hoda, back to you. >> all right garrett haake for us in d.c. thank you. meantime, hollywood is

remembering a famed director this morning joel schumacher the man behind "st. elmo's fire," "the lost boys" has died after battling at made his work so memorable. >> reporter: you may not know joel schumacher's name but you know his movies. from "batman forever" to "batman and robin. val kilmer and george clooney in the bat mobile driver's seat in the '90s >> there's a lot of humor. they're called comic books >> reporter: today visited the sets of both batman movies in 1995 and 1997. schumacher told us he wanted his version of batman to strike a more comedic tone. >> for me it was very important dark, brooding, my parents are dead, woe is me batman we've had almost 60 years of

that >> hot entrance. >> reporter: nicole kidman who worked with schumacher on multiple films posted, i'm heartbroken. joel was a friend of intelligence, compassion, and humor. a director with a twinkle in his eye, a nurturing spirit, and many stories to tell he will be missed. >> really? >> reporter: kidman's "batman forever" costar writing, schumacher saw deeper things in me than most and he lived a wonderfully creative and heroic life i'm grateful to have had him as a friend >> we're all going through this. >> reporter: before "batman" schumacher made his mark in the '80s directing the brat pack in "st. elmo's fire." with rob loew and demi moore and the teenage vampire flick "the lost boys" starring kiefer sutherland who said his joy, spirit and

talent will live on in my heart in memory for the rest of hi life he starred in several of schumacher's films including "a time to kill" which is set to launch the career of matthew mcconaughey. >> you now have an opportunity to work on a case that matters >> let's try it one more time. >> reporter: schumacher who was openly gay took an unlikely route to film directing. he started out as a movie costume designer soon skyrocketing to the top of hollywood working with some of the biggest stars. for "today," natalie morales, nbc news, los angeles. >> real education there too. here we go we got the news covered. how about a little boost, would you like that? >> i would love it. >> how about this, 8-year-old brooke monroe conway likes to take a feel-good song and give it a little more juice. here's what brooke and her dad did with the chaka khan classic "i'm every woman." ♪ ♪ i can cast a spell

♪ secrets you can spell ♪ makes a special brew with fir inside of you ♪ ♪ feel ♪ ♪ i will ♪ i will appear >> where you at! where you at >> oh, that chorus this video went viral first time they recorded it last year this week missy elliot tweeted it out to her followers and here it goes again circling the globe. brooke's getting comments from london, australia, brazil. her favorite part she says is making people smile. and the fact she knows the oldies >> brooke feels it more and more as the song goes on. and she's also got the ultimate hype man, too, in dad. >> yes >> yes she does she got good taste sounds good. guys, just ahead from here in hudson, new york, al is going to show us the town he loves >> oh, i love this place one of my favorite spots in new york couldn't wait to reconnect with some of my favorite local businesses and friends ready to welcome back customers. we're going to take you on a

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welcome back to hudson in beautiful upstate new york and al is about to take us on a tour of this area that he loves and i love let's get a check of the weather. boy, did we get a good day here. >> oh my gosh, we're going to see more record highs here in the northeast and also in the hudson valley and into new england. we're also looking at strong storms through the gulf coast. heat advisories out west from southern california all the way into the pacific northwest and wet weather. strong storms along the gulf into the southeast >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. fog and drizzle in san francisco right now, but all clear for a lot of the inland areas. we're going to heat up today. looking live right now in walnut creek with a sunny start. we're looking at temperatures here reaching into the low 90s. for the south bay, expect a high of 89. in san francisco, it stays in the 60s today. it will be as hot as 100 degrees in clearlake today.

as we look at inland temperatures, mostly 90s. we'll see this pattern continuing through the end of the workweek. that is your latet weather. savannah all right, al. the moment we've all been waiting for. like so many areas of the country, the small businesses here in the hudson river valley took a big hit when the coronavirus forced them to close. >> absolutely. but now they're beginning to reopen just in time for the summer season. a critical period for so many local businesses not just here but throughout the northeast and across the country here i got a chance to hit the town ♪ >> reporter: about 120 miles north of new york city along the scenic hudson river is the small town of hudson, new york showing new signs of life after covid-19 put the brakes on a local economy driven mostly by tourism. it's a very welcomed change for the nearly 300 small businesses forced to close their doors since mid-march. they've missed customers and

we've missed them. >> hello how are you? >> reporter: you opening up? >> we're opening up thursday to sunday >> reporter: we'll see you on saturday looking for the omelet >> thank you >> reporter: for many, it's anything but business as usual familiar faces now wearing masks and trying to adjust to making a living in this new normal. you guys just opened hudson is opening back up again. what do you think is going to happen >> people are being cautious, rightfully so. but we've been taking all sorts of precautions making sure people are sanitizing. ♪ >> reporter: with indoor dining still off limits at monica burns' restaurant, she's focusing on catering outdoor small events >> with the real small microbusinesses, it's as if the water faucet was suddenly turned off without any notice

all of our income was abruptly interrupted. >> reporter: especially for the owners of oak pizzeria napolitano >> we look at our skills we look at our community and we adapted. we came up with roman pizzas they are pizzas that are baked ahead and you can reheat in your own oven >> reporter: in hudson, it's hit or miss. some stores are open, some closed but everybody slowly getting back into the swing of things. fashion photographer turned bread maker norman gene roy saying he's reluctant to turn on the open sign of his new business >> welcome to hudson since we're so vulnerable as a new business, i don't want to get in a situation where we're all of a sudden getting started and we go right back to a lockdown >> reporter: the community's cautiousness also on display at

one of my favorite spots the hudson farmers market. this is a normal saturday coming down to the hudson farmers market spread out over two parking lots with plenty of social distancing how's business been? >> you know what we're counting our lucky stars every single day ♪ >> reporter: just five minutes outside of town, the alana tourist site guided tours were suspended during the pandemic, the sprawling 250 acre landscape offering visitors plenty of room to social distance this is such a beautiful piece of property. whose home is here >> this is the home of frederick church, the great american art figure of the 19th century >> reporter: this is a crown jewel of hudson, new york. >> incredible panorama >> hi, monica. welcome to homemade hudson we're learning what it's going to look like and you're giving

us the opportunity to try out a few things >> reporter: happy to help back in town, a chance for me to sample a taste of hudson >> here we have our famous croissants >> reporter: that's good eating. small businesses with big flavors. >> this is coffee kombucha >> reporter: this is terrific. this is true neapolitan pizza. and hope for creating the recipe for an even bigger comeback. here's to a cautious reopening and a new beginning for downtown hudson salud. >> salud ♪ >> oh. i'll drink to that joining us now, monica burn, a restaurant here and also a member of the hudson business coalition board and sage carter the general manager of hudson hall good morning, ladies so good to see you >> good morning. >> this is a really special day for this community i think everyone who's watching the show can see how beautiful it is. what's it been like as a restaurant owner and somebody who's very interested in helping small businesses here?water was

abruptly turned off in the middle of march and we've just been coming together and trying to figure out how to navigate it as a group rather than isolated and doing the best we can. and hudson hall has been amazing in helping us coordinate recovery efforts and now our plan for opening up hudson and opening up our streets >> so sage, you guys have got about 300 businesses downtown. it's been estimated you could maybe lose about 40% how difficult has this been? >> it could be very devastating for our community. 40% of our small businesses, these are local people who own their businesses they work in their shops they work in their restaurants employ local people. we're really trying to find a way to come together and recover as a community together and save as many as we can. >> i think that's one of the things that's so special about this place you have come together and in fact, the street -- warren street is opening up and you're really letting the businesses particularly restaurants kind of spill into the streets so they

can have more customers. tell me about that, monica >> well, we're excited because spreading out into the street, we know it's the safest way for people to start gathering again. and that's paramount everyone is desperate to reopen and restart life, but we're also super concerned with keeping it healthy and safe for our customers and staff. so spreading out, having open air seating. for us we're going to do lounge seating so people can sit comfortably distanced in a way that feels normal rather than an empty table in between them. and we're just going to see what works well and what people respond to we want people to feel safe coming back to shop and coming back to eat here >> as people start coming in, a lot of people say -- 78% say they're at least comfortable being outside. do you feel that this kind of weather, this kind of street that you're going to see the folks come back? >> we do we really do we've heard from our residents all across the city that they're looking forward to being in the streets and supporting local businesses about 90% have said they just

want to spend money locally but want to do so safely >> we're hoping a lot of people are inspired to visit this beautiful place. there's so many towns along the hudson river valley that are as gorgeous as this thank you so much. vicky nguyen coming up next on what it's like to be a customer in this new normal. good morning to you. 8:26. i'm marcus washington. happening today, heal the bay releasing its 30th annual california beach report. it's not looking so good for one bay area county which apparently has six beaches among the ten most polluted statewide. they're not saying which county that is just yet but the full report comes out at 10:00. by this year, they are actually also looking at water quality changes over the past 30 years. more than 500 beaches are graded based on harmful bacteria found in that water. let's get a look at the forecast for you today. meteorologist kari hall. just another beautiful shot

behind you today. we've seen a lot of beauty throughout the bay area. certainly some of that comes with heat. >> yeah, i know a lot of people are going to be trying to escape to some of those beaches so we'll be watching out for that list. we'll have a hot day for the inland areas. south bay, high temperatures reaching 89 degrees. some of us reaching into the low 90s this afternoon in the inland east bay. as well as the north bay. for san francisco, it stays cool 68 degrees today. wide range in temperatures with our inland valleys reaching into the low 90s for the rest of the week. marcus? >> thanks, kari. we'll have another local news update coming up for you in 30 minutes.

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count with a crab show. >> wait until you see what president trump did with his lael. >> tonight, the following guests new "tonight show" starring jimmy fallon at home on nbc. 8:30 now on a tuesday morning. ♪ 8:30 now on a tuesday morning. it's the 23rd of june. 2020 hoda and craig are in the studio >> who is that >> yes, wait a minute. yes, we had to have a couple little neighborhood kids make the drive. >> awesome charley and vail in the house. >> yes they came up my neighbor helped drive them up

so here we are together. they had to see their favorite mr. roker. had to see mr. roker >> so beautiful. >> yes yes. really special, guys coming up, also vick nguyen is here she got to do something she hadn't done in four months shop inside stores she's going to give us a look at what to expect when your community reopens. al, it's been so fun to get to see you face-to-face >> this is wonderful it really is we need you guys come on up and we'll have a great time >> we're there >> by the way, i've never disliked the studio more than in this moment. y'all are awesome. coming up, we're also going to catch up with ricky martin. like a lock like a lot of us he's got a lot on his mind these days he's using music to work his way through it we're going to talk to him about recording with sting during quarantine and the beautiful message he wants to share now. by the way, coming up tomorrow on "today," our series "summer on today," we're going to help you celebrate the milestones you might have missed during the coronavirus, we're going to give you a high school graduating class, we're going to

give that class the recognition that they deserve. and we're going to do it at a drive-in movie theater >> yeah. it's a cool one. it's going to be a big one but now to the big board amazing. i am looking for in this beautiful board, the burksteiner family in savannah, georgia. you're up. okay where is ambri and amber twins. please raise your hands. okay that's their beautiful mom elizabeth in the middle. and elizabeth is celebrating her 60th birthday. how are you going to celebrate, mom? >> just enjoy my family. >> well, you are loved we should point out elizabeth is a stage 3 breast cancer survivor and the twins both graduating from spellman. and craig melvin, a little shoutout ambria has a craig melvin crush. but who doesn't?

>> thank you thanks for watching us >> thank you for having us >> thank you. >> happy birthday, mom we love you. >> how about we do another birthday let's go from 60 to 4. someone celebrating their 4th birthday there she is there's the family from green bay, wisconsin >> hello >> hello mom jennifer, dad alec i see carter and the birthday girl is that reagan >> yes >> reagan, you're 4. i understand you're also a big reader what's your favorite book? princesses wear pants? i love that book too that's my favorite i know the writer. i know the woman who wrote that book >> did savannah write that book?

>> savannah guthrie, you sold a book, you sold another one >> reagan, i love it happy birthday she's a beautiful princess in pants. >> yes >> happy birthday, reagan. you always amaze just like princess penelope. you're beautiful >> say thank you >> thank you >> happy birthday. all right, guys. let's put up the big board one more time. we want to give lots of camera time to all of our families. the hawkensons, the miller family alicia and kelly are here. candy. skaggs family. again, you guys, thank you if you want to sign up, today.com/mytodayplaza the millers goose. anyway, let's head back up state and get the weather from al. >> all right oh, i love that plaza. love those folks let's show you if you're going to love your weather for today and tomorrow we start off with today with record highs northeast, new england here in the hudson valley.

strong storms through the gulf severe storms through parts of eastern new mexico heat advisories from san diego in through the northwest then as we look into tomorrow, strong storms continue through the gulf and the southeast. even into texas. southeastern texas could see upwards of 3 to 4 inches of rain really hot southern california into the pacific northwest look for hit or miss showers through the great lakes. that's what's going >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. we do still have that fog lingering over san francisco. we'll stay near the coast today. we're not going to see any clearing which means it's going to be much cooler. but for the inland areas, really hot again today with highs in the upper 80s and low 90s. and we're going to see more of this as we go through the forecast with some low 90s for the inland areas through the end of the week. it will get slightly cooler by the end of the weekend. r. >> and that's your latest weather. hoda >> all right, al

thank you. just ahead, can't wait to share my conversation with music star ricky martin. he had a lot to say about the world we're living in. he's got a powerful message and he's got some brand new music. plus he talks about his gorgeous family but first this is "today" on

>> announcer: the citi music series on "today" is proudly presented to you by citi >> we are back with our citi summer music series. this morning your conversation with a bona fide global superstar. >> you know it, craig. his name is ricky martin he recently released a new ep called "pausa. he recorded part of it while in quarantine and his husband, by the way, even took the cover photo with an iphone we had the chance to catch up with ricky two times over zoom once to talk about his music and family and again to get his thoughts on the social movement sweeping the world ♪ >> reporter: for more than two

decades, ricky martin has been one of the biggest names in latin pop music. the two-time grammy winner has been making a shake since "living la vida loca " i have to say whenever i think about you, one of my first images is of our "today" show plaza. nobody and i mean nobody has ever filled it like you filled it on that day you set the bar. we always say, is this like a ricky martin crowd. >> great, great time ♪ >> reporter: over his career, ricky's released ten studio albums and has sold more than 70 million records worldwide. but on his mind these days, the state of the world erupting with protests, civil unrest, and social change. >> i think what we need to do right now is listen. listen to the messages that are

coming from every direction. on every issue -- the virus, the importance of this beautiful movement that is happening with the black community, an important movement ♪ >> reporter: music has been a source of reflection for ricky he started to work on his latest music last year. >> started like nine months ago to do my album and it was going to be called "movement. >> reporter: and then the coronavirus struck >> being home and after dealing with a level of anxiety, hoda, the first 14 days -- i'm not the only one, i know but i had to write about this. >> reporter: this is what you wrote to your followers on social media the first two weeks were incredibly overwhelming for me i felt paralyzed the grief was intense. i was going through all the

phases, denial, anger, sadness, acceptance and then i returned to denial in an hour things were going to be different and there was nothing i could do to avoid it that's like putting your heart on a plate and saying to your people, here i am. >> hoda, you know what i am sure i was not the only one feeling that and the mental health is such a taboo no one talks about and in my life, whenever i'm really open and transparent, beautiful things happen. and on top of that i have music which is medicine to let go of anything that you're carrying. and oh, my god, i did music. >> reporter: that musical healing inspired his new ep "pausa" spanish for pause. and his latest single "simple" a collaboration with sting was recorded in quarantine >> so i reached out and said how are you doing. he was like me you know, we were all anxious. we were all uncertain. and i'm like, we got to do something good with this >> reporter: ricky says making music has been his medicine. he wrote a lot of it from his

home in los angeles connecting with artists and technicians all over the world all with his family under the same roof now wait i keep forgetting how many kids do you have, seven or eight? i can't remember >> listen. they're four and they count like eight. >> reporter: ricky and his husband have four children two twin boys, a 1-year-old daughter and their 7-month-old son. >> well, i have to say that my kids inspire me, motivate me it's crazy the things they come up with, the questions my twin boys are pre-adolescent. they're graduating they're going into middle school how did that happen? i don't know but it's beautiful and lucia, she's the only girl two daddies and three brothers >> reporter: wow you need her you guys need her. >> she brings balance. >> reporter: and it's talking to his 11-year-old twins about what's going on in the world today that gives him hope for

the future >> it's so refreshing and so pure to see their eyes light up with confusion when you talk about this subject in the sense of that cabling is not in there. and that's when you hug. you hug, you kiss, and you let them know that regardless of what some people think in the oo world, love always wins. >> yes, it does. >> i love how he says whenever he's honest and true, good things happen in his life. and they keep on happening they keep on happening for ricky. so we encourage you to listen to that music it's real good. >> prolific artist but also to hear him talk about the movement and moment we're all in right now. and music being his medicine as well fantastic conversation thank you. >> cool. >> thank you, thank you. miss guthrie >> hi, guys. coming up, if you're wondering what it's going to look like when you finally get to return to your favorite restaurants and shops, well, vicky nguyen took

the trip to hudson to give us an inside look at what it's like to be a shopper now but fi when we closed our doors in march, wynn committed instantly to keeping all 15,000 team members on-board. we then focused our five-star level of service to all who needed it. we made improvements to people's lives. we strove to be better and we made people happy. this closure may have temporarily taken us out of wynn and encore, but it couldn't take the wynn and encore out of us. and now, we are proud to welcome you back.

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we are back. we're here in upstate new york we've got an ongoing series focussed on the new normal how so much has changed. with families emerging from quarantine, what is it like to be out and about and how do you stay safe? well, nbc's vicki nguyen made the trip up here with her family to see how small businesses here in hudson are adapting it's good to see you >> good morning. so good to see you in person it's been a long time. my family was super excited to get out of the house look, they have been stuck in that same building -- my girls haven't been in another building for almost four months we had a chance to explore warren street, check out the stores and ilyly will say it's not quite business as usual, but we're going to show you this morning how you can get out there and support your local businesses and protect your family at the same time. ♪ >> reporter: small businesses

getting back into the swing serving visitors and locals with a few changes during the pandemic to demonstrate what you should expect, my family and i are doing something we haven't done in nearly four months. we're going shopping but first, some basic safety measures everyone wears masks and of course we'll have lots of this hand sanitizer ♪ first stop, the farmers market in hudson, new york. you can see from above it's now spread across two lots to allow for social distancing. what are these so here's another good tip especially if you have kids. remind them to just look and not touch. so shop with your eyes tell me which one you want to get. just point good job no touching. all right. we'll have this blueberry. next we explore the main strip we're off to supernatural coffee designate one person to be your family public point person that will be me. that has to limit your family's contact with strangers

you guys stay here i'm going to get the coffee and snacks they're serving customers from the door behind a plexiglass shield can i get two ice coffees, please the girls haven't been in a store for months and because it's not too crowded, we take our time shopping for gifts it's different but at least it's open >> exactly exactly. and people have been so happy coming in here >> reporter: we find a food truck which is a great way to grab a meal without going indoors. okay we got a big order this bench in the shade, a perfect spot to enjoy our meal and maintain some social distance it's super good. we made an appointment at mane street salon for my husband who's been squeaking by with hair cuts from my mom. when's the last time you had a real hair cut? >> i can't remember. >> reporter: to help prevent the spread of covid-19, the salon isn't taking walk-ins. everyone is asked to fill out a health screening form and list their contact information to be notified in case there's an outbreak >> how's that? >> i think it looks good and it

feels good too finally to get rid of all that hair what do you think? >> i like it >> reporter: next, a hudson favorite this store looks cool. you want to go in here home goods store valley variety. the first thing you see inside is this table with plenty of hand sanitizer, free masks, and gloves for customers and this sign reminding folks to stay six feet apart an limit capacity to just eight people in the store. always ask if the store allows you to pay with your phone contactless payment makes it so easy i think that's going to be our last store, but how do you feel about some ice cream >> yeah! >> reporter: at nine cakes sweets of all kinds and a reminder just one person in at a time it looks like they have a lot of flavors. what do you think i'm going to get? >> the cappuccino one. >> reporter: yeah. you know mommy which one do you want? strawberry yum. a delicious end to a long day of shopping we had such a blast.

i do want to point out the stores that we featured aren't the only ones taking these basic safety measures. everyone's really focused on getting reopened, bringing the economy back, and doing it in a safe and responsible way savannah >> i noticed a lot of the stores have that contactless pay. are you seeing more of that now? >> we're seeing a lot more of that we're seeing some stores even offering venmo and paypal as options. sometimes there will be a credit card bill you have to sign, so a good tip to just bring along your own pen keep it in your purse. >> and your sanitizer if you can get your hands on it what else have you noticed what else struck you as you did your shop? >> something to keep in mind if you are shopping, look inside before you go in if it's super crowded, pick a less busy time or if folks aren't wearing masks we didn't see that here, but that is a good mind and al, i see you. can we bring you in real quick i just have one little thing for y'all. >> she did go shopping after all. >> can't go on a shopping trip and not get something for my two favorite people.

this is for charlie and vail >> oh, thank you. >> it's soft for charlie, by the way. >> good. soft choice. >> i know you and nick have been doing so much bonding and cooking. i've been watching so hopefully this is something y'all can use. it was a blast and thanks to the businesses who were so generous and giving with their time >> yeah. i really hope people are going to be inspired to come give a visit. i love this. >> you got to pull that out. it's super cute. i think the kids will love them. >> a little llama. >> alpacas >> alpacas >> oh, my gosh >> the girls picked them out >> they have alpaca farms up here >> and i do appreciate they're soft if a toddler wants to throw it in my eye. i know he has a bit of a reputation at this point >> he's never going to live that down >> sorry, charlie. we're back in a moment

welcome back savannah and al, you all got presents and we're wondering if you're going to bring any back for us

hey! >> i know. we can definitely do some shopping we've got a whole social distancing party here on warren street in hudson we want to thank the cafe which hosted us this morning this is my neighbor. we've got the kids out here. al is chowing down >> oh. and monica brought a strawberry pie. >> thank you so much we just want to say thank you. we hope people will check out this area we love so much and support our small businesses whenever you are in the country, there's a small business that could use the help and he wants his muffin. >> give charlie his muffin that's the news from here. >> we love, y'all. thanks for that. >> fun morning >> thank you >> al's going to have more from upstate coming up next hour. third hour, more from hudson >> and chelsea handler will join me and jenna coming up after your local news.

good morning to you. it's 8:56. i'm marcus washington. later today, san francisco school board members will vote on a plan to end the district's relationship with sfpd. supporters want that money to be used instead for supportive services. the board will also consider changing protocols on when officers are called to campuses.

and in the south bay, supervisors will vote on two resolutions. one will officially declare support for the black lives matter movement and the other will declare racism a public health crisis. it's a first step in requiring the county to make meaningful reform in areas like criminal justice and social service. happening now for you, bob rydell is speak with supervisors. we'll have a full report coming up during our midday news cast. police in san jose are looking for a woman seen on video taking off her mask and coughing on a 1-year-old boy. this is at a yogurt shop. the boy's mother says it all started with a confrontation about distancing. a link to that full story on our home page. also, the world's top male tennis player is infected with the coronavirus. novak djokovic just finished hosting a charity exhibition match in serbia and croatia.

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live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza, this is the "3rd hour of today." >> and a good tuesday morning. good tuesday morning to you. welcome to the third hour of "today." craig melvin here in studio 1a sheinelle continues to work from home al very close to home this al very close to home this morning. he is in hudson, new york, as that part of new york moves into phase three of its reopening you look like you're having a pretty good time, buddy. >> oh, i'm telling you, gorgeous hudson, new york, not just picturesque. it is home to nearly 300 small