i'm andrea mitchell in washington. the death tolls from coronavirus continue to rise. more than 11,000 people now died in the u.s. from the pandemic. the worst hot spot continues to be new york, where governor andrew cuomo today said the state recorded its deadliest day yesterday. coronavirus deaths rose by 731 in the last 24 hours, that is the highest daily increase so far. but there could be a positive transforming. he said the state may be reaching a plateau in the total number of hospitalizations, crediting social distancing with possibly flattening that curve. he said while it's difficult, we all need to keep it up. here in washington the spotlight is on white house trade adviser peter navarro after a "the new york times" report that navarro was sounding the alarm in late june, warning millions could be at risk, in a memo that was apparently ignored. the president was setting up a

task force but still dismissing the threat as a democratic hoax. and polling in wisconsin is taking place at a dramatic reduced number of polling stations. the state supreme court intervened at the last moment permitting the election to continue today. we'll have more on that. and we'll have a report on london on prime minister boris johnson's health after he was placed in intensive care on monday. as far as we know, he's not on a ventilator. he's turned some powers over to his foreign secretary. the prime minister's fiancee, who was pregnant with their first child and lives on downing street, is also ill. we have coverage now beginning with nbc's gabe reuters in new york, the epicenter of the pandemic. what is the latest from new york following up on what governor cuomo said from the "usns comfort," which to date had

about 50 patients but not covid cases yet, is that correct? >> yes, andrea. certainly very sobering news from governor cuomo a short time ago. actually, it's a mixed bag in both encouraging and sobering news. you mentioned there the increase in the death toll, 731 deaths in new york, largest increase in one day in new york during this outbreak. to put that in perspective, andrea, that is 731 families that lost loved ones and one death roughly every two minutes during a 24-hour period. certainly very sobering news there. as you mentioned, governor cuomo now saying that he projects, and his analysts project, that hospitalizations seem to be at the beginning of a potential plateau. daily icu admissions are also down. he said that suggests it could be possible that the social distancing and practices being

put in place in new york might be flattening that curve. as you mentioned, when it comes to the "usns comfort," authorities are still trying to increase the bed space here in new york city as they face a greater number of cases, they're preparing for a greater number of cases over the next couple days. a crew member for the "usns comfort" has tested positive for the virus, and governor cuomo now saying that 500 beds will be available there for covid-19 patients. that's less than the 1,000 beds previously. the original plan was to have non-covid patients there but now each of the covid beds will require more space. st. john the divine, in manhattan, one of the world's largest churches, will be retrofitted to be a field hospital here in new york. this city still preparing.

governor cuomo urging new yorkers not to let their guard down, even if the hospitalization rate seems to be plateauing. the sobering statistics, 731 people dyeing within a 24-hour span. the singlest deadliest day since that outbreak began here in new york state. andrea? >> gabe, briefly before i let you go, what about the javits center, is that still accepting patients or is it still being retrofitted? >> it's still accepting patients now. and governor cuomo addressed that once again, 125 beds in the javits center and that is the largest hospital now in the country. just a massive convention center that is acting as a relief valve for many of these hospitals that are so overwhelmed in and around the city. 2,500 beds for covid patients at javits center and another 500 now as "usns comfort." authorities had been saying in

new york they needed tens of thousands of extra beds but now for at least the time being, they say they have the hospital space, but still question staff. but what everybody is waiting for is the data that might be suggesting the beginning of the plateau. at least in hospital admissions, icu numbers, that seems to be leveling off. thank you, andrea. >> thank you, gabe and thank you for all of your reporting which has been extraordinary over these many days and weeks, in fact. now joining us, nbc white house correspondent and "weekend today" co-host kristen welker and "the washington post" reporter robert costa, moderator, of course, 6 "washington week" on pbs. this whole novato memo, it looked from my perspective, it might have been a leak for peter notaro to look better after he was widely criticized after his

challenge last week to the task force hearing and dr. fauci and the medical team over the untested hydroxychloroquine. >> andrea, you're right. and that was first reported by "the new york times," that memo dated january 29th. in it peter navarro warns of the potential economic damage and the potential for millions of american lives that could be lost because of the coronavirus crisis. and it really gets to the heart of the question swirling around the administration's response, why weren't there enough tests? why is that still an issue? why weren't there enough supplies? and why are hospitals and governors still saying they don't have enough supplies, despite the fact the administration has revved up its federal response. it is worth noting that according to "the times" -- and we haven't obtained that memo ourself yet, andrea, but according to "the new york times," that memo was essentially sent around to the

national security council and reviewed by a number of top officials here. although it's not clear it was reviewed by the president, on the same day the president convened his first task force on the issue and just as the administration was really talking behind the scenes by enacting that travel ban. now, publicly speaking, president trump was still downplaying the virus. in fact, it was just about a month after that memo went out that president trump accused the democrats of yet another hoax for, he said, their trying to spl politicize the virus. but this memo existed. now it's not clear if the president saw it or how many senior administration officials saw it and took it serious, andrea, but it's prompting a number of tough questions for the white house. president trump is going to be holding an event a little later on this afternoon, a chance for us to ask him about it, andrea. >> and to robert costa, bob, you have been reporting on

hydroxychloroquine and the outside influences from fox news and others, even laura ingraham, anchor there, bringing in a doctor as we try to understand why the president keeps pumping up and promoting the use of this untested medication. it's a malarial drug, counter malarial and lupus drug that's used for other issues, other medical problems for a long time, but has not been adequately scientifically tested for this use. >> that is correct. it is not approved yet by the food and drug administration. some doctors anecdotally in places like new york city have found positive signs by using this drug in an offlabel way, by prescribing -- giving it to patients who are suffering from covid-19. at the same time there's a bit of a tension -- more than a bit of a tension inside the west wing between expert

professionals like dr. fauci who is hesitant to embrace a drug that has not been proven safe and effective and those like the president who are far more optimistic about hydroxychloroquine and its potential united states for this pandemic. >> you heard him say over and over again what you have to lose, kristen, on another subject, stephanie grisham never held a possess briefing in her tenure as white house press secretary. now she's moving back to the first lady's office? >> yes, she's going back to the first lady's office for as chief of staff. her tenure was notable because she didn't hold a press briefing during her tenure. she was the president's third press secretary following sarah huckabee sanders. she started inna july 2019.

she will be replaced by a campaign spokesperson who is out front and center on the campaign. it's worth noting, andrea, she was out downplaying the potential risk of the coronavirus during the january, february timeline. so that's something to focus on. of course, we've seen president trump in the briefing room daily and there are questions about whether or not that's sustainable. so the question now, are we going to see the resumption of these daily press briefings? we haven't gotten an answer to that, andrea. but it's a signal for the possibility that could be on the table. >> andrea, just to build on what kristen -- >> yes. >> quick, this is one of the first major moves by mark meadows, the new chief of staff. this is one of the first moves by mark meadows, the new chief of staff, and we're starting to see his power structure move inside the white house. >> where he formally left congress and now coming in as chief of staff as you point out,

former head of the caucus in congress. great to see you and thank you kristen welker at the white house. now nbc's keir simmons joins us from london with the latest on boris johnson's prime minister. and he is the equivalent of our secretary of state, and the foreign minister is a press briefing today. >> yes, the foreign minister is the man running this country while johnson is in the icu behind me there now. they didn't give us updates that are very different from what we heard through the morning, that boris johnson is stable, he is getting oxygen treatment, but that he is able to breathe without mechanical help, if you would like, he's in good spirits. but then andrea there was a moment in this briefing just in the past few minutes where he really gave us an insight into what it's like to be inside 10 downing street right now, to be

inside the machinery of government. he said about boris johnson, he's not just the prime minister, he's not just our boss, he's a colleague and our friend. and if there's one thing clearly emotional at this point, he said if there's one thing i know about this prime minister, he's a fighter. he'll pull through. i think we saw it on the foreign secretary's face when he gave a statement yesterday. he's been stung by this. he's been thrown into a leadership role that is challenging at the best of times. but what he did in this briefing was try to reassure the country and be clear that the government, the cabinet, is doing the things that boris johnson would want them to do. so in other words just trying to say boris johnson is still a leader, he's still the prime minister even while he is receiving such intense medical attention in the hospital behind me here. one other point, the queen sending a message to boris johnson and his family, including to boris johnson's

pregnant fiancee, who is due to give birth in the early summer. one person said in the coming weeks. you can only imagine how she must be feeling right now. >> indeed. a lot of drama there, and, of course, concerns for the country and for the prime minister's health. thank you so much, keir simmons. here in washington, which is potentially a future hotspot, according to a lot of reporting there, more than 1,200 confirmed cases and during sundmonday's briefing, the white house pointed to this area as a point of concern moving forward. the mayor joins us now. we appreciate you being here. you have a lot on your plate. what is the latest regarding your efforts to try to control and limit your spread of the virus here, the continuing spread, as the health experts predict to be coming to d.c. as

the next hot spot? >> sure, andrea, we made a presentation to our community on friday that showed what our models tell us, that we can expect a surge in our hospitals in june into july. so we have and are continuing to do everything we can do to flatten the curve in washington, d.c., but also to make sure that we are ready in our hospital system to serve residents who are coming for care. so we continue to ask our residents to stay at home, to only go out for essential business, for grocery or for food but to milwaukee sure we're doing everything that we can to flatten the curve. and like all models, we hope this one is going to be proved wrong by very aggressive social distancing in our city but we are preparing for many people to

come through our hospitals. >> mayor bowser, we understand from vice president pence ventilators are being moved from california to d.c. and maryland. were you on that call that the president described as a perfect call with the governors yesterday? >> i was on the call and i participated in a number of calls with the white house and governors. you, of course, andrea know we're unique in the american system. we're not a territory. we are the district of columbia and the nation's capital. and i have worked very, very hard to make sure that we're recognized not only in our federal funding bills, which we have to correct in the next piece of legislation that comes through the congress, but also in the white house calls. it is clear that the president's approach is to push down to

governors. well, i'm the mayor/governor/county executive of washington, d.c. and that is why i have advanced all of our needs on those calls. i had a followup call with vice president pence's staff to make sure the nation's capital has everything that we need. we, of course, are locally trying to procure everything from ventilators to swabs to hospital beds so we can prepare for the beds that we have to add to our hospital system. >> and i know you're trying to remedy the fact that we -- i'm a resident -- were treated in a territory when our taxpayers pay more to the federal government than 22 other states and we're given half of much for the budget. i know you have been dealing with budget issues as well. are you going to have to do something about the d.c. budget? are you seeking an emergency power as we understand from some

officials, emergency powers to cut back on pay increases, to freeze pay is this. >> we're operating in this city under a public health emergency, and we will, i just asked the council to extend that emergency for 45 days. the city actually, andirea, because we went into this pandemic in good fiscal health, triple a bond ratings, reserves which will allow us to weather this, but any manager is going to look at the current budget and next year's budget and find ways to make sure we're being as efficient as possible. and that's what we're doing with the current budget for 2020, and the one that i will submit to the council in just a couple of weeks. just like every jurisdiction in america, our tax base has been hit. our restaurants and bars are closed, our hotels aren't doing

any business, visitors are not coming to our towns. and we have people out of work who aren't paying income taxes. so every -- every jurisdiction is going to suffer and have to adjust budgets. that's why it's so important not only that the district's state status be reinstated in the next bill, but also the federal package includes more funding for local jurisdictions. we know that many of our industries are going to have to be rebooted, including our hospitals, hotels, restaurants and bars. >> i wanted to also ask you, i know my colleague morgan radford has been covering what mayor lightfoot in chicago said a disproportionate infection of african-americans by this virus. are you seeing that demographically in our own population here? >> well, i think that we have very early data, andrea, and we

don't have all of the racial data on people who have been tested. we don't have all of the racial data on positive cases, although we have about half of the race data on positive cases, which puts african-americans in our city are making up about 28% of the positive cases. but african-americans in our city are making up about 58% of the deaths that we reported as of yesterday, which were 24. >> wow. >> so i think we know that underlying conditions like hypertension and diabetes and heart disease, this virus is particularly hard on. and we know that african-americans are living with those underlying conditions every day, probably in a larger proportion than most of our fellow americans. so i'm very fearful of the

impact that this virus is going to have disproportionately on african-americans in our country. >> something to be tracking, of course, as testing expands is. and something for our hospitals to be aware of as well. mayor bowser, it's a pleasure. thank you so much for joining us today. >> thank you, andrea, for the work you're doing. >> thank you. and we'll talk to doctors up next, doctors from the frontlines who can not wait for the national supply line to come forward. they're turning rain ponchos and garbage bags to try to minimally protect their health care workers. more from the new york city health system coming up. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports." >> a lot of places responding to disasters, ecuador, after the earthquake, haiti after hurricane matthew a few years ago and was in iraq. but we have never been

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dr. fauci, our nation's top infectious disease expert, says there may be no returning to normal after this pandemic is

over. >> acting like there never was a coronavirus problem, i don't think that's going to happen until we do have a situation where you can completely protect the population. but when you say getting back to normal, it means something very different than what we're going through right now. >> this has hospitals across the country are facing dire shortages of essential supplies. joining us now dr. wayne riley, president of the new york state health sciences university. dr. riley, good to see you again. you have warned people in your hospital were turning to ponchos and garbage bags literally to protect themselves. has the supply -- >> right. that was just our plan b, just in case. fortunately over the weekend our supply improved, so we're much better in terms of where we are. again, we always have to be prepared for the eventuality or

possibilities that we will have a dwindling supply. the good news is we have enough for today but always have to think creatively just in case. >> and understanding that the mortality rate has increased, as governor cuomo said today, but there might be a plateauing, leveling out. certainly you're looking at hospitalizations, intubations, people being put on ventilators. >> fortunately, we don't see ha here in central brooklyn. we're heavily african-american and caribbean community and we're seeing high numbers of deaths, unfortunately, as mayor bowser just mentioned, which is very concerning. this disease does tend to have an inordinate focus on communities of color that have multiple medical conditions, high blood pressure, diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure. so we are seeing similar patterns to louisiana, michigan,

with high rates of death among black populations here in brooklyn. >> and illinois we were talking about an interview we saw on msnbc from mayor lightfoot of chicago, very concerning. and one of those concerns strikes me is that people in our population are not getting elective medical care. they're not getting preventive care as the focus on coronavirus and closing doctors' offices and other kinds of procedures. people who might have high blood pressure or diabetes or might be a further risk may exist. >> exactly. this will exacerbate the african-american and latino communities. the residue of this pandemic is something we will be dealing with for many years. >> i wanted to share something

the president said on monday about how available the testing is. take a look. >> we are doing an incredible job on testing. we're doing a better job than anybody in the world. hospitals can do their own testing also. states can do their own testing. states are supposed to be doing testing. hospitals are supposed to be doing testing. do you understand that? we're the federal government -- listen, we're the federal government. we're not supposed to stand on street corners doing testing. >> dr. riley, do you have enough test kits? >> no. and that continues to be a problem with the testing regime, andrea. sometimes you can't find reagents. other days you can't find the swabs. even into april the testing isn't sufficient nationally. we welcome that rapid test but we're even hearing the rapid test only has 87% sensitivity, that means 87% chance of accurately diagnosing somebody with covid.

so, again, the testing remains a problem, even to this day. >> dr. wayne riley, thank you for a fact check, reporting the reality from the front. thank you very much. and we want to add our heartfelt thanks to all of the courageous health care workers on the frontlines who have been dealing with unimaginable challenges of courage, strength, ingenuity. take robert rodriguez, in hospitals and suited up in full ppe, his smile hidden from patients. now he's wearing a lamg nated photo of himself to enhance the personal communications with those he serves. thanks to all who are serving and also replacing family and loved ones in many cases as you, the health workers, try to assure the inflicted. wayfair has way more ways to renovate your home,

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wisconsin is holding its in-person primary today as scheduled, despite drastic cuts in polling stations open and democratic governor last-minute attempted to delay the vote until june. the governor was rebuffed by the republican-controlled legislature and blocked by the state supreme court in a 4-2 ruling. and in another turn reflecting the national divide, the supreme court weighed in by a 5-4 vote, rejecting democratic efforts to extend the deadline for mail-in

ballots. this has national implications. joining me, the white house correspondent from pbs newshour and charlie bulwark. charlie, what's going on? republicans tried and republicans blocked it at every turn, including the state supreme court. so you got a vote, including down ballot races that are more than a primary. >> yes, this is a lot more than a primary and there are highly contested elections. and it's a complete mess. in the city of walk where there are 300,000 registered voters there are five polling places, waukesha being one. and hundreds of workers that can only open up a single polling place. and the republican legislature

is so against expanding that they're forcing wisconsinites today to choose between doing their civic duty and protect their health. quite frankly, this ought to be the firebell in the night for what could be coming to the rest of the country in november if congress does not do something to reform the way that we hold elections. look at these pictures. >> the pictures are just appalling because, first of all, it looks like it's cold weather. it's certainly going to discourage some people from voting. people are dressed heavily. but they're not social distancing. they may be trying to, wearing masks but they are inevitably going to line up and much too close to each other. it's a disaster. charlie? >> that's exactly right. and this is why there was so much pressure to not hold this in-person election. you had health officials tweeting, mayors writing joint letters saying this does not have to happen. unfortunately in wisconsin we're going to have the worse of all possible worlds.

we have tens of thousands of people who will not be able to vote, hundreds of thousands who may stay home as opposed to go out in all of this. yet there's going to be a cloud over this election. by the way, for viewers, we're not going to get election results tonight. there's a federal court ruling we will not find out how people voted until the middle of april, april 13th. you're going to have a cloud over this election, real questions about it. quite frankly, there may be people who will get sick as a result of this. it is a complete sham bollic mess. >> it is, as the lieutenant governor there, tweeted welcome to the s show, deleted. the episode has been produced by the supreme court. buckle up. this one is sure to disappoint.

there are issues biden v. and sanders because bernie sanders won last time around but if biden came in strong, there might have been increasing pressure for the team and advisers for him to suspend his campaign. >> that's right, andrea. but i think as you point out, this could have really impacted the democratic primary. i think the bigger issue is what you were talking about before, the national implications of this. there's going to be a big election in november and there are real questions about how safe it's going to be to conduct elections, whether or not there's going to be election reform needed. historically republicans have been caught by federal courts trying to suppress the vote, trying to suppress especially african-american voters who historically were not in favor of backing republican voters. then you have the president, who has said, look, we don't want to expand the voting bloc in america, we don't want to expand voting in america because

republicans might not have a seat for generations to come. the president has been pretty clear what his stance is on this and the president was out today encouraging people to vote. so i think there's going to be a big question about health and security surrounding both elections going forward in the primary elections but also the november election. >> anish alcindor and charlie sykes, we have to leave it there. thanks to you both so much. coming up next, coronavirus hits home for one of our own extended family after her husband becomes symptomatic. our own kate snow sharing her family's story. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. rts" onlc

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the pandemic is emotionally and physically exhausting for families caring for loved ones quarantined at home. care gave caregivers are caught between trying to help the sick and themselves and other family. our friend and colleague kate snow is dealing with this firsthand after her husband developed symptoms of covid-19 last week. kate shared her personal story in raw and gripping terms. >> none of us are talking to chris face to face, even though he's right downstairs. >> welcome to day whatever. anything to say between these foy four walls. >> i go down with a mask on and

lees things at the door. >> i have toast. >> we made a plan if any of us got sick, we would go to the basement. >> and wash our hands. >> she describes massive muscle aches and pains. i have two teenagers trying to help but they're also going to school. i spent all morning friday and much of the day saturday disinfecting. yesterday i did about ten loads of laundry. i'm just tired. i'm tired. i know we are super-lucky we have so much support. my biggest fear, like i'm sure of so many families now, is that he will take a turn for the worse and he won't be able to breathe and i will have to take him to the hospital. so i made a plan with my neighbor that if i have to leave and the kids are alone, she'll help them. that's my biggest scare, is that i won't be able to take care of my kids. i have so much appreciation for everyone right now, for people bringing me my mail, for people

bringing me groceries, people sending me text messages. >> it's really cool. there's a lot going on in everyone else's world and they had really wonderful things to say to my wife and myself. >> i want to say thank you because i can't even keep up, so thank you. >> joining me now is nbc's senior national correspondent, anchor of "sunday nightly news," kate snow. kate, first of all, how are you doing? most importantly, how is chris doing? >> thanks, andrea. we're better, incrementally better each day i would say. he got sick last thursday night. so now we're on what, day five? i lost all track of time. it's exhausting. i took a shower for you, you know. just getting a shower is kind of hard. but you know what, on the bright side, i want to be clear, he's not as sick as some people are.

we're so, so thankful, knock on wood, that his breathing is okay right now. it's not 100% but it's okay. the main thing he has, andrea, are these body aches that he said are nothing like he's ever felt before. last night he woke up three times during the night just in pain. he's taking tylenol, which is what his doctor recommended, and that helps. but, again, it's just a very odd virus. he can't taste right. he can't, you know, smell things correctly. and a couple nights ago we brought him chocolate because we thought that would be a big boost, and he said it tasted like chalk. >> you know, you expressed with such honesty the fear that all of us have at home with loved ones, what if i were to get sick? what if someone in my, my husband gets sick.

we're all afraid of that. what is the plan having to manage that? and you're obviously so worried about your kids. >> i wanted to make sure that -- and this isn't a story about me, this is a story about thousands of families across the country who are living with this fear. i think my one point would be -- and a lot of people responded to me online about this -- have a plan. think about the worst-case scenario just in case because we had this plan the basement would be our safe or our covid space if we needed it. frankly, andrea, i thought i might get sick because i have been more exposed, right? i have been going into work occasionally in the city, new york city. i traveled three, four weeks ago extensively. so it was more that i was worried about me. and we had this plan to put whoever got sick in the basement, which we're lucky we have. we're not in an apartment. we have space and can have him sort of cordoned off down there. he's starting to get a little stir crazy though.

it's hard to be isolated. >> you bet. well, we know you are revealing this as an example of what could be happening to people, millions and millions of families around the country. it's so helpful but we're also touched as those who know and care about you and care about your family. we're really wishing you all the best, of course. >> i so appreciate it. thank you. >> well, heartfelt. coming up -- is the president considering a reprieve for the ousted navy captain who he slammed less than a week ago following last night's apology from the acting navy secretary for his nasty comments to the ship's crew? this is "andrea mitchell reports." stay with us right here. stay with us right here. aleve it. aleve is proven stronger and longer on pain than tylenol. when pain happens, aleve it. all day strong.

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acting navy secretary thomas modly apologized now for a scathing attack against ousted captain brett crozier of "uss theodore roosevelt." during an in-person trip to the

ship's crew in guam. here's modly slamming captain crozier who his sailors. >> he didn't think that information was going to get out into the public, and this information age that we live in, then he was, a, too naive or too stupid to be the commanding officer of a ship like this. >> crozier was cheered by his sailors when he departed for sounding the alarm about the spread of the coronavirus on the ship and pleading for help from higher-ups. now the acting navy secretary is apologizing saying, quote, let me be clear. i do not think captain brett crozier is naive nor stupid. i believe precisely because he is not naive and stupid that he sent his alarming email. i apologize for any confusion this choice of words may have caused. i also want to apologize directly to captain crozier, his family and the entire crew of the "theodore roosevelt." nbc news pentagon correspondent courtney kube has been tracking this. it's extraordinary this apology.

it doesn't seem to track with what he said. if he's going to apologize now, why did he -- when he criticized the captain so severely on the ship. >> yeah, the reality is the messaging that we've gotten out of the navy, and particularly from the acting secretary thomas modly has gone back and forth. last week, after captain crozier sent his four-page memo pleading for help for his ship and his sailors, secretary modly appeared in the briefing room and seemed to support the idea of him sending out this request. and he did say he didn't go about it the correct way, but he didn't criticize him for the action. well, then, fast forward less than two hours later, he fired him and said he lost trust and confidence in him. the manner in which he distributed this information was wrong. he alleged several times that crozier himself was responsible for the memo getting out into the public and he said talking

about a ship's readiness violated the safety of the sailors, it spun up the sailors and their families and caused them undue, unnecessary harm and concern. well, then we have acting secretary modly fly to guam on monday and deliver, as you said, this blistering attack on captain crozier. i spoke with a number of sailors, or communicated with a number of sailors who felt they were being yelled at by him. so then we have this apology that comes later. the big question is, what now? every time this story starts to quiet down, secretary modly does something that bubbles it right back into the public space. a lot of people on the hill are calling for his resignation. will we, in fact, get that this week? >> and the president signaling yesterday at the briefing that he is rethinking it after really slamming captain crozier and supporting his ouster now saying that he understands he has a great record and he's reviewing

the whole matter. so trying to see if there's some way of backing down. there's also reporting, i know we've not confirmed this but "the washington post," "the wall street journal report"ing another acting inspector general from dod who would have been overseeing the dod portion of the special c.a.r.e.s. act has been fired. the president seems to be going after these inspectors general, critical of the hhs inspector general yesterday. >> and we have -- and if, in fact, we haven't confirmed this, it's all just breaking now, but glen fine is a career inspector general. he's someone who has been serving in this acting capacity, i believe the longest, if not one of the longest to have served in the acting capacity as inspector general at the pentagon. but he's just recently been put in this leadership role in looking into how money is being distributed for the coronavirus efforts and for the economics of it. so we're going to work on figuring out exactly what happened. he was never even confirmed into

his position at the pentagon, andrea. >> just another inspector general, courtney. thank you very much. we know the intelligence committee inspector general was fired in what's been called a friday night massacre. more on that coming up tomorrow. and tonight, please join lester holt and our team of nbc news correspondents in a primetime special on the coronavirus pandemic. get the latest from our team of correspondents and our experts to answer your questions. that's tonight at 10:00 eastern and pacific on nbc news, msnbc and online at nbc now. take care of yourself and your loved ones. chuck todd is picking it up after a brief break. announcer: does your home wifi need a boost?

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adding xfi pods may help extend the wifi signal in your home. to get the most out of your wifi, go to xfinity.com/wifihelp. good afternoon. i'm chuck todd. we're going to start with a glimmer of hope. we're in the midst of what is expected to be one of the toughest weeks of the coronavirus pandemic. today the surgeon general who called this just a couple of days ago, a week that will feel like a pearl harbor to us, is talking a little optimistically about the hard-hit areas both in italy and new york as both areas appear to be flattening the curve. >> we are seeing many places across the country level out their hospitalizations, their icu admissions, their death