we're approaching a million confirmed cases. at least 19 states are either revving back up to some extent or considering letting their stay at home orders expire in the coming week. that is what we will focus on with our reporters across america in the hour to come and globally a grim milestone was confirmed just a short time ago. the worldwide death toll is now about 200,000 people. we begin at the white house with the clapback to the president's illegal logical remarks about disinfectants. he made those remarks during a briefing this week. musing about treating coronavirus inside human beings. today could be the first day without a presidential briefing since easter sunday. there might not be another one for some time. white house officials are reportedly urging the president to reel in his public statements. nbc's monica alba is at the white house with more. monica, you have reported that the president's top aides were understandably shocked about his recent remarks about using

disinfectants and internal uv lights to treat covid-19. what more can you tell us about that? >> that's right, along with my colleagues, we reported on a pretty significant 24 hours in the trump presidency in a very critical week. after those comments that really caught even his closest advisers off guard, the president turned to his aides and decided to say he was going to make an attempt to then later paint them as sarcastic. but before even doing that in the oval office on friday, the white house decided to put out a statement from the press secretary saying that it was a media who had taken him out of context which in reality, we were simply reporting on the president's exact words. and it wasn't just that he was contemplating whether heat, uv lights and disinfectants could be used as a possible coronavirus without evidence to support that, but he was posing that as questions to his own top doctors, namely dr. deborah birx, who had to refute him in

that briefing and say that not -- as a treatment, that would not be appropriate. this comes after 24 hours where the president really went to defend his own comments after they were roundly criticized. and now we are here on saturday without a briefing and we're told that aides and allies around him are continuing to caution the president about these long, winding briefings that sometimes go up to two hours and tend to veer off topic, that they could back fire and there could be a backlash and that's kind of what we saw for the first time last night because the president and vice president came out, only spoke for about 20 minutes total, and they didn't take any questions from the reporters that were assembled. it's unclear whether they're going to be doing that again here today. but as you noted, this would be significant because in recent weeksends, the president has been quick to add a briefing. he's been tweeting all day. so it seems there's plenty on his mind that he wants to address. what is notable is there is a task force meeting here in this situation room at 4:00 p.m.

so traditionally when we have seen those, the white house has then announced that there will be a briefing after. we haven't heard the official word on that, but it is certainly possible. sometimes when the president is report background a shift in strategy, he likes to come out and do the opposite. so we're wondering whether there will, indeed, be a white house briefing at the white house, joshua. >> there's been complaining about why a number of people on the task force don't say anything. it zooms into her slowly and you can see the horror on her face but she says nothing. how much does all of this actually affect the work of the task force? the president can say whatever he wants at the podium, but as long as they're still able to do the work of trying to protect people from coronavirus, does it make a difference practically? >> and it should be noted that at last night's briefing, 24 hours after the president made those comments on disinfectants, neither dr. birx nor dr. foupy

attended that news conference. that jumped out to a lot of people because, of course, when he was posing those initial questions, dr. birx was looking ahead trying to avoid her eyes in that video you played. but later on in the same briefing when reporters were trying to get the president to clarify his remarks, he did turn to her and ask her directly. and that's why it's so important to note that when the white house says we're taking the president out of context or run, negative headlines, we're directly using his words and in that moment, he did ask her, he said -- a direct quote, deborah, have you heard of light and heat used as a cure for coronavirus and she immediately replied, not as a treatment. she has really walked a fine line of wanting to be crystal clear about the science, but she was also asked the next day on fox news why the president continues to sort of freelance ideas in the moment when we're talking about medical advice. and she said that it was really just his style of thinking out

loud. >> yeah. you can go to the nbc news now youtube channel and look for yourself at what he said and you tell me if he's being sarcastic. thank you, monica. let's get to georgia. that state is on its second day of a phased reopening plan. it's still quite a ways of getting back to business as usual. and it's one long step in a long process abdomen the atlanta journal constitution shows. yesterday, brian kemp allowed some businesses to reopen. those include gyms, bowling alleys, spas, tattoo parlors and nail salons. some mayors in georgia and president trump have criticized kemp's plan. the state has more than 22,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 900 deaths. nbc's sam brock is in marietta, georgia, which is northwest of atlanta. hey, sam, are people there more excited about this plan or more concerned about the plan? >> i mean, definite lay mixture of both, joshua. and that reflects the fact that we're on this seesaw between economic survival and public

health policy. i'm in marietta right now, as you mentioned. if you look around this shopping center, most shops that you just described, nail salons, barbers, most of them are closed. this is a brazilant beauty spa that i am at right now. and you see as soon as you get to the door, please take a mask and sanitize your hands. social distance, six feet rule is in effect. there is not anyone in at the moment. i'm going to take one step inside. they have plastic wrap around the pay system here. it's all apple pay. that thermometer is to take the ter of anybody that comes in. as you look up and down the hallway, you'll see no seating in the waiting room. they're making sure people are not sitting in the same spot for periods of time. all of this in an effort to make sure people are safe and follow as much human distancing as possible. i spoke with the owner and asked

her what about concerns that you're an anecessary that tissuan. you have to touch people's face to do your job. however, we need to establish a safe blueprint because what is happening in georgia is eventually what is going to happen all around the country. >> i agree with everybody's opinions. i think we decided as a business owner, we need to be open. we have our family. we are trying to support our family. we are trying to keep everything as safe as possible for our clients, but we need to keep our business going. >> starting on monday, we've talked about some of the establishments that have opened up. restaurants and movie theaters, those are coming up next. and we interviewed a movie theater owner, who i said i'd love to open up right now, but i don't think it's the right time. joshua, back to you. >> and movie theaters have some competition right now because some of the new releases have been released direct to video

because movie theaters have been closed. thank you, sam. let's head south from marietta to tybee island. it's a beach community near savannah and it relies heavily on tourism. tybee island's mayor, shirley sessions, has been a vocal critic of the governor to reopen. she joins us now. >> thank you, joshua. >> you were on the job as mayor for just a few months when this crisis began. what is your number one biggest concern about governor kemp's order to start reopening businesses? >> i think like everybody else, my main concern is not getting local government involved because we know our community more than anyone else. so not having our input, not having a team spirit of working together has been the most troublesome. when he opened our beaches after we had closed them, that created a time of concern. it still is a big concern.

today is a beautiful day on tybee, although the governor said you can only walk or run on the beach, we have -- we see people who are -- who are bringing chairs, who are bringing tentses, and, unfortunately, there is not enough department of natural resources out there to stop it. we still have our crossovers closed and we still have our parking lots closed. we have certain areas that people can go and access the beach. but, unfortunately, people are not listening to the governor's orders and they're going over our sand dunes, which is very damaging. they're going over the crossovers. i will say that our residents and our businesses are not. they are staying firm and they are staying guarded and they are respecting what we put into place. so, yeah, it is a big concern. >> how is tybee island doing right now, particularly economically? >> well, like every community,

especially tourism is big for us. and we should be embracing it right now. and, unfortunately, it's just not the right time. we hope that -- our city council will be meeting next week to look at a phase one and phase two of how we're going to get back into business as usual. it won't be as usual, but it will be a new type of business. and we are being very thoughtful and we are having input from our businesses and from our residents on how they want to see that look. fortunately, tybee -- we don't have any bowling alleys. we have one theater and it is a focus of the community for plays and bans and theater. right now, they're remaining closed. so our community is really, really working together. we do have restaurants that have decided to stay with take out only and order and delivery. and right now, i haven't seen anything that are looking to order until later.

and i think a lot of people -- there's so many restrictions and policies and we're not sure about how to even enforce some of the mandates that the governor has put into place. so it's still very confusing. but people are being patient and we're looking at what we can do rather than what we can't do. and we're trying to concentrate on a positive moving forward. >> that's mayor shirley sessions of tybee island, georgia. mayor, i certainly hope that you can get businesses open soon safely, of course, and we appreciate making time for us. thank you very much. >> thank you, josh where a. be safe. >> thank you. you, too. texas is letting some businesses open this weekend, hopefully safely, including some retailers. the state has almost 24,000 confirm cases and nearly 700 deaths. texas's stay at home order remains in place until this thursday, april 30th. yesterday was greg abbott's

retail to go. certain stores can sell things to customers and deliver them outside. priscilla thompson is in houston now with more. how are the small business owners that you talked to dealing with the state's reopening plan? >> sure. joshua, retailers here in the heights, a historic shopping district in houston, are certainly excited to have that retail to go option. but they also say that they're frustrated that some of the big box stores were allowed to remain open and implement safety measures, while retailers like this one were not and are having to do that to-go option. i spoke to the owner of a mobile boutique who you might think would be an ideal candidate for something like curbside pick up who told me she would not be opening her doors. she's concerned about the level of testing that's being done in texas and that it's perhaps not enough to keep her safe. she's also concerned about the operating expenses, the cost of

getting a baby-sitter or an employee to go out and run the store for her in addition to the cost to fill up a generator in order to operate that mobile boutique. she's worried about if customers will come out or not. take a listen to what she told me. >> people have priorities, you know. right now, people don't know how they're going the pay their bills. so you have to think about what your priority is. is it buying a t-shirt or some cool custom kits? we're just very concerned about what the economy is going to look like for small businesses. >> and so, you know, that concern for small businesses, we see that playing out across the city. yesterday, there was a restaurant that defied the orders in place right now and allowed patrons to come in practicing proper distancing and implementing safety measures. but he allowed those patron toes come in and eat in that restaurant in spite of the provisions that are currently in place at the state and local level. >> thank you, priscilla.

that's nbc's priscilla thompson joining us from houston. our trip across america continues in pennsylvania. the contact tracing to keep the state open is next. g to keep th ste atopen is next ♪ ♪

wthey fell in love with itssing girresistible scent. looks like their dog michelangelo did too. new gain ultra flings with two times oxi boost and febreze.

featuring the emmy award-winning voice remote. access to your favorite apps,

including netflix, prime video, youtube and hulu. all without changing passwords and inputs. the most 4k content and movies and shows on any screen. the best entertainment experience all in one place. defeating coronavirus depends partly on contact tracing. finding the people who have ivent interacted with an infected person. otherwise, we could fall back into this crisis again or maybe something worse. pennsylvania is among the five states with the most coronavirus cases. its governor, tom wolf, said his state must nail down a contract tracing plan to reopen. pennsylvania has more than 40,000 cases and more than 1600 known deaths. nbc's mora barrett joins us from blue bell, pennsylvania, a suburb of philadelphia. how is the contact tracing

program congress along? >> i'm at one of the mass testing sites here in the region. there are two of them bags this is one of the more densely populated areas. doctors talked about how important it is that testing and tracing go hand in hand. i spoke to dr. scharfsteen who explained why they need to work in tandem. take a listen. >> for coronavirus, it is particularly important to do contact tracing. testing alone just tells you who has the virus. it doesn't actually reduce the opportunity for the virus to jump to someone else. the virus is agnostic. the virus doesn't care whether the person has been tested or not. the virus is looking for someone else to jump to. so we have to do testing plus. testing plus some action that reduces the spread of the virus. >> so that testing is incredibly

important, but joshua, only about 2% of pennsylvanians have been tested and that's because they're not allowing asymptomatic patients to be tested just yet. and when it comes to contact tracing, the governor says he doesn't have funding or an actual plan to follow through ahead of his reopening plan starting on may 8th. >> so how close is pennsylvania to being able to rekindle the economy? we've only got about 2% of the people tested, what does that mean in terms of how the state is doing on making good on the governor's requirements? >> exactly. that is the real concern here. the governor is looking for a reopening starting may 8th and he has a color coded map of businesses that could be reopened across the state. the staylty home orders are in place and only essential businesses are in play.

he's looking at a ratio of new positive cases to population in order to get that color to yellow and then green. yellow would allow certain businesses to reopen, like child care, stay at home orders restricted, and green would get back to what we're talking about, this new normal, everything we would like to have for summer hopefully the governor says. but, of course, everyone needs to be following strict cdc guidelines, hand washing and practicing all of that to make sure the spread doesn't go further. but if you go out in public and you don't know if you are positive and the contact tracers then can't contact you if you've been tested positive and you can't let other people know that they could be in danger, that puts all pennsylvanians and others around the country at risk of contracting the virus and starting a second outbreak. joshua. >> thank you. in arkansas, covid-19 cases have been surging.

arkansas's governor says most of the new cases are at a prison. the commons correctional facility in auburn township. that now accounts for about two-fifths of arkansas's infections. meanwhile, doctors in the state are working to save a 10-year-old cancer patient. lauren shows us how he is keeping his hopes high. >> there is a whole drugs thing going on out there, but are we worried about it? >> no, because i have the coronavirus and i have cancer. >> 10-year-old riley was diagnosed with leukemia a couple of months ago. >> people at the playground were making fun of me because i was super slow. >> now he's been diagnosed with covid-19. >> just take the news and do the best we can. we'll be all right.

about it doesn't make things easy. >> riley's dad says the two were quarantined at the hospital in springdale. >> we cannot leave the room, not even to go and get food or anything. >> they are stuck there until riley's blood counts recover. >> we like to watch tv. we -- i play -- i'm about to play a card game with him. >> uh-huh. >> and i play bayblades. >> passing the time and pushing back treatments. >> it's going to delay his next rounds of treatment, for sure. we don't know what effects that's going to have. hopefully it will be minimal. >> it's a scary time. >> we know we'll make it through. there's other people that have it a lot worth. >> but the duckworths say what keeps them hopeful is thinking about all the things he can do when he gets better. >> i've been wanting to go camping. >> so that's what we think about. >> that was knwa's lauren crackhow reporting. we will continue on the coast in california and new

york. how does our largest state plan to reopen? what will it take to ease restrictions in california? plus, we will check in on the pandemic's epicenter. there's a bit of good news here in new york. we will have that. ere in new york. we will have that. our offices, schools and playgrounds. all those places out there, are now in here. that's why we're still offering fast, free two day shipping on thousands of items. even the big stuff. and doing everything it takes to ensure your safety. so you can make your home everything you need it to be. wayfair. way more than furniture. hold on one second... sure. okay... okay! safe drivers save 40%!!! guys! guys! check it out. safe drivers save 40%!!! safe drivers save 40%! safe drivers save 40%!!! that's safe drivers save 40%. it is, that's safe drivers save 40%. - he's right there. - it's him! he's here.

he's right here. - hi! - hi. hey! - that's totally him. - it's him! that's totally the guy. safe drivers do save 40%. click or call for a quote today.

it's msnbc's coverage of coronavirus across america. we'll get back to checking on how states are handling this pandemic after we check the facts at this hour. the u.s. has more than 926,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus including more than 52,000 deaths. there is no word of a task force briefing today at the white house. it will be the first day without a briefing since easter. criticism of the president's comments is hotter than ever especially after he mused about using disinfectant.

yesterday, oklahoma let personal care businesses reopen, including hair salons, barber shops and nail salons. oklahoma's movie theaters and gyms can open starting may 1st. pan na bea panama beach opened with restrictions. they will only open for three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening. strokes, doctors are finding that patients in their 30s and 40s are suffering strokes apparently caused by a virus they may not have known they had. experts suspect that covid-19 may impact all of major organ systems and not just the lungs. in california, it seems that the state's state at home order will remain in place a while longer.

more than 1600 people have died there and more than 41,000 cases. this week, governor newsome announced plan toes let hospitals resume medical procedures that were delayed to make space for covid-19 patients. no word so far on a timeline to lift the lockdown. nbc's joe friar is in ventura, california, northwest of los angeles along the gorgeous pacific coast. joe, i'll make this quick so you can get back to the beach, but how are locals reacting to the governor's current timeline, including reopening some of the beaches? i see some people back there mind you, but not very many. >> yeah, that's right. so some beaches, like this one in ventura, have decided to reopen. you can see you've got warm weather, above average, even record temporary necessary some places. so ventura says yeah, you can come out of the beach. but there are some rules. you're not supposed to sit down. you're not supposed to sun

bathe. just talked to police. they will probably give those folks a reminder to let them now, the key is to walk around on the sand, get something fresh air, walking, running, getting exercise but then stay put. they want people to keep their social distance here. if the beaches get too crowded, they say they will shut them down for a 24. hour period. but if people follow the rules, we spoke to one beach goer who came out here with his two kids and his wife. here is what he had to say. >> i just don't think we have to live in a hole, a cave the whole time. we have to get out. i think little by little, we have to move on. it's a terrible situation, but you just have to take logical risks, be safe and make your own

decision on it. >> ventura is able to reopen its beaches in part because this part of the state has seen relatively few cases. compare that with neighboring l.a. county. the number of deaths there still spiking. the beaches are still closed and are likely to remain closed for some time. hospitalizations have flattened out, but they want to keep that trend going. you're not going to see many businesses in california reopening in the near future. meanwhile, here in new york, we remain hardest hit by the covid-19 in the country. there are some positive signs. today, governor cuomo said

hospitalizations are declining. the number of new cases is declining. nbc's corey coffin is at the jacob javits center here in manhattan. it's been house ago field hospital for weeks, but it seems that that hospital is getting ready to close down. so what does that tell us? are things moving in the right direction? >> that is a result of the decline that we're starting to see from those numbers. it seems that we are moving in the right direction. officials say their goal here is april 30th. it's not an official date, but they'll be moving toward that goal in the next week here. the bed use has been down much lower than we thought. which both the president and governor cuomo have touted as being very good news. governor cuomo has really dug his heels in here about how

important it will be to roll out this testing before fully opening the economy and the state. this as he's getting more and more pressure as other states open without the heavy testing load. he defended his decision saying it saved lives. 100,000 lives were projected when this whole thing started what did we accomplish? >> 100,000 fewer infections in the state of new york. and we actually saved lives. that is what we did and that is what we're doing. that is inarguable. personal opinion is i believe everything we did was worth it. people can argue that point. but that is what we did. >> so it's going to be difficult as people have to kind of keep hunkered down here and have patience in the state of new

york. but, of course, with it being the epicenter here still having the most cases in the nation, we have to be patient. and if that testing rollout, we also know is going to double thanks to federal help from 20,000 a day to up to 40,000 a day. joshua. >> it's brief noting as we took that look at times square that there are parts of the city that are really struggling through this pandemic where it seems like there is a gigantic case load and lots of people that need help. then you have these other facilities like the javits center where there was expansion capacity and it seems like we can stand down. clearly this epidemic has emptied out a lot of manhattan, as you see there, but it hasn't hit the city equally at all. >> right. and there are minority community that's are much harder hit, the governor addressing that saying not only do they need more help with hospitalizations there which still remain extremely high and overpass. but testing is going the be

prioritizing minority communities first where there are the most front line workers and most essential workers. >> thank you, corey. one more thing from governor cuomo, a really heart warming moment from yesterday's daily briefing. maybe you saw it. he paid tribute to a retired farmer in kansas who mailed governor cuomo one of his few n95 masks. the farmer wrote that he wanted to do something for new york's first responders, even though he had a very good reason to keep those masks at home. >> dear mr. cuomo, i seriously doubt that you will ever read this letter as i know you are busy beyond belief with the disaster that has befallen our country. i am a retired farmer, hunkered down in northeast kansas with my wife who has but one lung and occasional problems with her remaining lung. we are in our 70s now and, frankly, i am afraid for her.

enclosed, find a solitary n95 mask left over from my farming days. it has never been used. if you could, would you please give this mask to a nurse or doctor in your state. i have kept four masks for my immediate family. sincerely, dennis and sharon. how beautiful is that. god bless america. >> that farmer's name is dennis runke. here is why he says he sent that letter and what he thought of the response. >> procure the immediate family and then -- well, i don't know of a better place to send this one except on up to the northeast part of the country. >> clearly small acts of kindness can make the biggest of differences. ahead, we'll see how a billionaire in michigan is using social media to give people a

different kind of economic stimulus. stick around. they are the heroes, the helpers - working on the front lines, and here's one small way that you can help them in return. complete your 2020 census today. 2020 census data helps communities plan funding for hospitals, clinics, and emergency services across the country. an accurate count helps public health officials know who is at risk, and first responders identify the resources they need to protect our communities. complete your census at 2020census.gov and help shape our future. complete your census at 2020census.gov new crest pro/active defense. you're doing more to keep your body healthy for the future. shouldn't your toothpaste do the same for your mouth? now with crest pro/active defense, future proof your whole mouth. its active defense technology neutralizes bacteria to shield against potential issues.

crest. at&t knows you have a lot of things on your mind. staying connected shouldn't be one of them. that's why we're offering contactless delivery and set-up on all devices. and for those experiencing financial hardship due to this crisis, we'll work with you to keep your service up and running. hi! because at at&t, we're always committed to keeping you connected.

since 1926, nationwide we've been there in person, during trying times. today, being on your side means staying home... "nationwide office of customer advocacy." ...but we can still support you and the heroes who are with you. we're giving refunds on auto insurance premiums, assisting customers with financial hardships, and our foundation is contributing millions of dollars to charities helping with covid-19 relief. keeping our promise to be on your side.

>> it's still a calm before the storm situation. there's not a lot of patients in the noncovid areas because they're trying to keep beds open for those patients if and when the surge happens. so there is a sense of readiness, there's a little bit of anxiety because we still don't know what level of ppe we

will have available to us once, you know, the hospital starts to fill up with these patients. that was just one of the many heros on the front line of this pandemic. the lack of ppe has made their work unduly difficult since this outbreak began. connecticut has more than 23,000 cases. some new technology could give hospitals there a bit more piece of mind. from nbc affiliate wvit in hartford, shannon miller shows us how it works. >> inside these decontamination containers, relief for regional health care workers. new respirator masks decontamination system in new haven, the late ft stopgap as health care workers continue to deal with a ppe shortage. >> this site is a very proactive way to make sure that we are keeping our health care workers healthy and safe. >> in just one day, these four containers can decontaminate tens of thousands of masks,

making them safe enough to reuse up to 20 times. >> we are playing catch up, but we are catching up and that is what is important. >> depending on the volume that comes in, we feel like we can meet the needs of the region. >> the service is free to hospitals, nursing home and other health care centers and funding was secured through a federal contract. >> through some mutual associates, we were able to reach out to batelle and tell them why we thought connect contact should be at the top of their list. >> this is the seventh decontamination system put in place in the u.s. eventually, there will be 60 this is u.s. many americans are looking for relief anywhere they can find it. for some, that stimulus check might not be enough. but for many others who have yet to get that check, that search for help continues. that is where a billionaire in

michigan comes in. michigan has more than 36,000 coronavirus cases and more than 3,000 deaths. nbc's l lex ya lioto has the story of how that billionaire is trying to help folks across the country. with tens of millions of americans out of a job because of coronavirus and reports that stimulus checks are taking a while to reach people's pockets, a new phenomenon is emerging, twitter philanthropy. spearheading this effort is bill pulutie. he frequently gives out between $20 and $1,000 to people in need. i decided to get in touch with bill and ask how this works and why he's doing this. >> i made a bunch of money in air-conditioning and heating, actually. that's where i made my money. and i had this idea to basically give away money on the internet. it all of a sudden went totally viral. so when this covid virus came around, we said how can we get people money quickly? we weren't going way on the government.

we weren't going to wait on congress. so we just started taking care of people. sending them money, getting them fed, and this is the way we're going to solve this poverty problem. the team, that's anybody who needs and needs and they try to do as good of a vetting job as you can. i've given away hundreds of thousandings of dollars of my money. i say you know what? sometimes there's going to be a scam, but if i can help 90% of the people, then i'll take those odds. i put out a tweet and i say drop your cash app or drop your pay pal, who needs support. what is so amazing is there are tens of thousands of americans -- >> that's nbc's alexa lioto reporting. before we go, spell disappointment. c-a-n-c-e-l-e-d. this year's scrips national spelling bee is canceled. two would-be champions tell us how they are dealing with sitting out this year and that is n-e-x-t. n-e-x-t

n-e-x-t even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin... i want that too. eliquis. eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. what's next? reeling in a nice one. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. eliquis, the number one cardiologist-prescribed blood thinner. ask your doctor if eliquis is what's next for you.

frustrated that clean clothes you want to wear always seem to need an iron? try bounce wrinkle guard dryer sheets. the bounce wrinkle guard shorts have fewer wrinkles and static, and more softness. it's the world's first mega sheet that does the job of three dryer sheets! bounce out wrinkles. soon, people will be walking back through your door.. soon, life will move forward. we'll welcome back old colleagues, get to know new ones some things may change, but we'll still be here, right here, so you can work on the business

of getting your business back. at paycom, our focus will always be you and we'll see you soon. in these challenging times, we need each other more than ever. we may be apart, but we're not alone. use aarp community connections to find or create a mutual aid group near you. stay connected and help those in need.

the human toll from this pandemic is enormous and continuing every day to grow. obviously, there's been a lot of focus rightly on health care workers. but there are a lot of other front line workers we don't hear about quite as often. public transit workers, grocery workers, we've lost delivery and postal workers. one of the things i hope is happening now, as we all process this grief collectively and as we read these stories is that we all redefine who is essential and what essential labor really looks like.

on they will forever be remembered as this elite eight. the eight spellers that for 3 1/2 the dictionary had to throw at them. this is the night that the kids won the spelling bee. [ cheers ] >> the octo-champs from the scripps national spelling bee. you can add that to the list of annual traditions canceled by the coronavirus. officials announced that they could see no way to safely reschedule this year. scripps says it will not change the eligibility requirements for next year's bee. that means that kids who are in eighth grade now will miss out on competing one last time. joining us are two competitors who had been training for the event. simone caplan was a finalnist last year's bee. hi, simone. >> hi. >> and navneth marali won last

year's south asian spelling pbe. >> hello. >> hi. >> what was your reaction when you heard the spelling bee was canceled? >> oh, that was a bad day. i was hurt to put it simply. i've been expecting that even when the bee would return i'd still be eligible. after studying for thousands of hours, i didn't expect that the entire age group would be disqualified. >> navneth, i'm guessing you had frustration about not being able to compete even virtually. we'll talk about in a minute. how did you react when you found the tournament was cancelled? >> i was completely heartbroken, to be honest. when i heard the news. and scripps is an organization that has used creative ways to encourage spellers and promote its mission. for example, they introduced the ravb program a couple of years

ago, and i thought they would find a way around the situation. i understand that health and safety should always be the number-one priority. but there's always a way to rise up from such -- bad situations like this. it might not necessarily be an easy path. however, i think scripts can hold the bee like it has been. but these aren't normal times. some other solutions are possible. for example, they can take the example of other academic competitions, and they can go virtual, or they can hold a socially distanced bee for the top, say, 20 spellers. and lightning regional sponsors can procter written tests to narrow down the field to the top 20. and if -- >> i'm sorry. i'm glad you brought that up. that's something i wanted to ask simone about. you were as i understand, the last speller eliminated before the octo-champs were declared in the famous eight-way tie. the rules were adjusted then.

do you think the rules should be changed to let today's eighth graders compete next year, or are you okay with the competition being called off because of this pandemic? >> i think that the scripps national spelling bee has evolved over the years, and it can do so today. the olympics and ncaa sports are both extending eligibility. the bee can do the same and be an example ofingenuity in the face of difficult times. nothing is more american than a spelling bee. we can fix this. >> how do you deal with the stress of spelling? when you are on stage and are racking your brain to get a word spelled, what works for you to get you through it? >> well, definitely i build a lot of confidence with the hard work i've put in. studying for the spelling bee is a harrowing task. but like when i go to the spelling bee, i feel proud of the work that i've put in, and i try to stay calm and focused on

only my word. >> simone, what about you? how do you deal with the stress of spelling? >> well, i feel like i work very hard when it's time before the bee, and i -- when it's time, i feel confident. and the bee clothes that i wear like this also help me feel confident. i ask for different questions like definitions and etymology. >> i just noticed that you're wearing -- you're wearing bee -- i can't believe i didn't catch that, simone. i can not believe i didn't catch that. i have to let you two go in a minute. i'm wondering if there is one word or a kind of word that you are looking forward to spelling this year because you'd been studying it really hard. navneth, briefly, was there anything you were looking forward to taking on in the spelling bee? >> i mean definitely scripps has

great selection, and i feel that they should have asked more like phrased words because that's something that i studied this year. >> yeah. they don't ask -- i'm interested you mentioned that. i notice they don't ask a lot of phrase words to kind of compound words. simone, what about you before we go? anything you were looking forward to taking on this year? >> i was prepared for everything. and so because of my hard work and the work of all of the eighth grade spellers i'd like to ask america to please help us by signing our petition at change.org/spellsi change.org/spe change.org/spelli change.org/spellingbee2020. >> ready for anything. glad to have you with us. i'm really sorry you two aren't going to get to spell this year. but it's probably better for the other kids because the two of you clearly would have knocked them out. they are lucking there's no spelling bee this year. we are lucky to have you had today. thank you for talking to us. that is our look at coronavirus across america. thank you for making time for

us. next, a showdown in the sunshine state. the mayor of miami beach is taking on florida's governor over coronavirus. so until we meet again, i'm joshua johnson. see you tonight at 9:00 eastern. the news continues after a break with alessia mendez on msnbc. it's best we stay apart for a bit, but you're not alone. we're automatically refunding our customers a portion of their personal auto premiums. learn more at libertymutual.com/covid-19. [ piano playing ]

make it tough to take care of yourself, that's why you can rely on nature's bounty... to give you the support you need... to stay motivated keep active and sleep well. add a little more health to your day... with nature's bounty. add a little more health to your day... when you think of a bank, you think of people in a place. but when you have the chase mobile app, your bank can be virtually any place. so, when you get a check... you can deposit it from here. and you can see your transactions and check your balance from here. you can save for an emergency from here. or pay bills from here. so when someone asks you, "where's your bank?" you can tell them: here's my bank. or here's my bank. or, here's my bank. because if you download and use the chase mobile app, your bank is virtually any place. visit chase.com/mobile.

wthey fell in love with itssing girresistible scent. looks like their dog michelangelo did too. new gain ultra flings with two times oxi boost and febreze. here's the thing about managing for your business.s when you've got public clouds, and private clouds, and hybrid clouds- things can get a bit cloudy for you. but now, there's the dell technologies cloud, powered by vmware. a single hub for a consistent operating experience across all your clouds. that should clear things up.

hello, everyone, i'm alicia

mendez. nearly two months into the battle against the deadly coronavirus pandemic states are debating how and when they can return to some sense of normalcy. while businesses across georgia such as nail salons and gyms are now able to reopen per the governor's orders, some are deciding to remain closed. georgia is among the first states to begin easing some lockdown restrictions, however, medical experts are warning that it is still too soon. although president trump initially pushed for states to reopen, he's backtracked his support of governor kemp's reopening plan. >> we're starting re-intervijuv of our economy again in a safe and structured and very responsible fashion. we have a lot of people that don't have to be told to do what they're doing. he's a very capable man. he knows what he's doing. he's done a very good job as governor of georgia. i told brian kemp that i disagree strongly