how humans respond to disaster brings out humanity. we've seen examples in the midrs of this national trauma. so many of our fellow americans are rising to the occasion. serving as a crucial reminder that in this time of stress and cufastraphy. stress and cufastraphy.

were we ready for this? we were as ready as we were going to be. but i don't think anybody can plan for what covid did to our country. >> we've seen patients in their 20s, 90s and everything in between. and all of them have been sick. >> i'm running to another intobation. >> one of the scarier procedures in the coronavirus because this is when it can be air. >> please don't let them get covid. i will take it but don't let them get covid. >> it's not just getting yourself sick but spreading it. implyou can be asymptomatic and spread it along. so, just because you don't feel sick doesn't mean you cannot be a carrier. so, please, please, please stay home. >> don't give up the games that have been given. there are too many people that have paid too much, too many

sacrifices been made for us to back down. >> once again we start the show, with those on the frontline, the medical workers. welcome to tuesday. it's "meet the press." . this afternoon we have hit yet another grim milestone. we surpassed 1 million cases and the number that have died over the past eight weeks is roughly the same as those that die said in the vietnam over over a period of 12 years. and other breaking news, which speaks to how difficult it's going to be to get this country reopened again. three sources tell nbc news the president is going to sign an executive order that would mandate the nation's meat processing plants to stay open. it comes as major plants are suspending operations due to a

high number of workers getting sick. two days ago the chairman of tyson foods, which has had to halt operations of plants across the country warned, quote, the food supply chain is breaking. a stark contrast to the president's assurance just last week that the food supply was totally secure and in great shape. this afternoon the president said that to compel these food processing plants to continue operating, despite the risk, he would be granting them legal protection. >> we're going to sign on executive order today, i believe. and that will solve any liability problems. they had certain liability problems. we're working with tyson, one of the big companies in that world and we always work with the farmers. there's plenty of supply. as you know, there's plenty of supply. it's distribution and we will probably have that today solved. is it was a unique circumstance because of liability.

>> we will have more on what this executive order looks like in just a moment because there are lot of unanswered questions about it. this as innational guard has been activated to help test workers at these plants. it brings us back to the blind spots we have in this country due to, you guessed it, a well documented testing shortage. because after months of waiting, our testing capacity appears to slowly be ramping up. as a number of states begin to take steps to reopen their economy. it's still well short of what experts say is needed to reopen the country. the food supply issue shows this. this news is about the biggest warning sign you can get on the difficulties and dangers facing industries. looking to restart operations. and even if you think you can restart in one place, those are

supply chain allow it to be reopened in a meaningful way? joining me from the white house, carol lee for insight on the meat industry. and sanders, who spent the day at a cattle farm. lay out for me the executive order itself. what is it mandating? we know we have plants insideiciin south dakota, mississippi, iowa that have shut down, either indefinitely or for a period of time due to the virus running rampant inside these facilities. so, do you open up, even if you're not sure if the virus is there or not? >> well, chuck, those are questions we don't quite have answers to yet because the president has not yet, at least last i checked on my phone, signed this executive order and so we haven't seen those details. but what they're saying this would to is basically give these

companies protections to open and make sure that there's no food shortage and the supply chain is flowing as it should be. and at the same time, an administration official said they were go stoog work with the department of obviouslier to insure there were protections for workers. this set opbatble tween workers, unions, advocacy groups and these companies who, when you have workers and advocacy groups and unions saying it's not safe. there's a reason for this and the white house saying essentially, no, we're going to force these plants to stay open because an administration official said there were questions about closing 80% of these businesses and that would be devastating for the food supply chain. so, we don't know a ton of details but we know the president has been hesitant to use the defense production act and this is all in mind with, as

he leans in on the economic reopening of the country pivoting away from the medical aspect of this and he's shown he's going to use this here. and he said in the east room, he suggested he was asked to do this. and it was necessary for legal reasons. >> let me move the -- carol, stick with me here. let me go to carry sanders. he's been all day at a stock yard. and one of the bigger issues is we have enough food. we can't get it process said. and to the point they're talking about euthanizing pigs because there's too many pigs, essentially, waiting to be processed. that may explain why the president decided to handle it this way. but do we know if they figured out a way to safely allow people to process this meat?

>> well, that's going to be the biggest question here, chuck. the president can sign the order and maybe give the meat processing plants what they need in some sort of legal cover. but the bigger question is the employees. already the unions are saying they're not sure they are -- i mean, their members want to go in and cut the meat because they don't feel safe. you know, this started out because there was complaints among employees they were not getting proper information on how to protect themselves, not getting the proper ppe equipment and then we started to see the coronavirus spread as people are packed into these packing houses, they're elbow to elbow when they're working. now the packing plants have changed their processes. they've hastily reshuffled the way it works, spacing people out, providing masks and equipment. but especially union members are saying wait a second, i don't know if getting a $4 an hour bump in salary is going to be

enough to get me to work because of the danger. it'ser not just people getting sick, it's people dying from covid-19. so, yes, the ranchers are very happy. the pig producers very happy. i spoke to one in north dakota who has 40,000 pigs. he has pigs being born but the older ones are not going to the processing plants and because theyerant, he just has too many. there's no space. so, they're considering euthanizing other -- others have already started euthanizing their livestock, something they've never had to do. because to go from a, which is where livestock is grown too, b, to go through the packing place and c, to get to the grocery store, the big hold up is getting to b. so, potentially this opens up the packing plants. but meat processers have a lot of challenges. it's not just getting the

president to sign this order. >> and you get a sense of the liability concerns because they had to use incentive pay to get people to come in the first time out of fear of gumming up the supply chain. the vice president today went to the mayo clinic and didn't use a mask when other people were using it. some people may think it's a small thing. others seem to be upset that it set a bad example. do we have an explanation from the vice president's office? >> reporter: yeah, he spoke to this a little bit ago a few minutes ago. and he basically said that he didn't wear a mask because he is tested regularly and that, according to the government's reasoning behind wearing a mask is you wear it so you don't pass it to anyone else. and because he said he's coronavirus free, he didn't need to wear a mask and wanted to

have this moment to tour the facility and meet with people without wearing a mask. now, that's his reasoning behind that. however, the mayo clinic's policy is anyone who enters wear as mask. it's really overshadowed what was supposed to be, for the vice president, a pretty good trip. to meet with patients who had recovered and to tour this facility that's been dealing with this pandemic. and now it's overshadowed by his decision not to wear a mask. and that's not just his. president trump has also said he doesn't feel he needs to wear a mask eekter. either. >> it's one of those head scratchers where, this is one of those don't you just be polite to the guest who has invitaled u to their house? in this case, the mayo clinic. i want to stick to this issue of the meat processing plants.

joining us is the mayor of water loo county. has nearly 1350 coronavirus cases and as of yesterday, 90% of the cases is connected back to the -- a single meat processing plant. in this case a tyson pork plant that was forlsed to close almost a week ago. thank you for giving me a few minutes here. the president's going to sign this executive order. it's a food supply executive order. do you feel it's safe for the residents of waterloo to have that tyson plant open right now? >> well, first, i want to say hi, chuck. i will say the president, it's his responsibility, of course, has the right to enact his deepest act. but here, when we take a look at some of the data, and the data suggests close to 90% of those that have contracted the virus

have some relationship to the plant. tyson provides a really sure food chain. so, we appreciate that. i'm not seeing this as an us verses them. because you can't be pro business without being pro public health. so, i am hoping we can see incredible resources from the cdc, from the idph, from all of the number of different places to make sure that we secure the health and safety of the people working at the plant. if you know anything about waterloo, we have a phenomenal work force that's resilient. the protection of our workers is absolutely important. >> what have you learned as you've had to track these cases so closely and realize 90% of

the outbreak is based on the one plant. what have you learned about the conditions inside the facility that you think will probably have to change permanently or at least for a while to keep your community safe? >> right now we're all living in a new normal. things won't be the same as they were. and i'm not an expert on what tyson needs to do. our department of public health and sheriff has done a walk through on april 10th when we were sitting at about 30 or plus cases. since then we're well over 13, 14, probably 1500, relating back the plant for a majority of the cases. they need work with the proper public officials. they need to make sure citizen and worker safety is first. that's why we have several large plants around here.

manufacturers because we have an incredible and talented workforce. they need make sure every measure and resource is put into place. there's no debate on the importance of this company. no debate on how important our farmers are. and the products they supply. so, it's not us verses them. this is all of us together. >> i get that and i know you're not interested in alienating tyson foods and all that stuff. let me ask you this. do you have enough testing and contact tracing ability -- not just in testing but in contract tracing and isolating, perhaps all the workers of tyson's plants, end up in a quarantine facility for a time being, if that's what is necessarily. do you have those kinds of resources or it's up to tyson or the federal government to do this for you? >> great question. from about the 15th and 16th we

receive probably about, at least 3,000 tests that went directly to be dispatched between our local hospitals. tyson's just did this past weekend, tested almost all of their employees. so, while we're talking about activating a defense act, first we need to get our hands around to see how many people do not have the virus. if you have a company that has 2700 people working in it and you have potentially three, four, five or 600 people with the virus, that slows production. and that's why we're trying to drill home the point that the workforce is important to the overall production. you protect the workforce, the farmers, then you put food on papal's tables. so, that's what we need to get our hands around and we don't have the totalality of that information and hopefully, within a couple days, we'll be able to see that.

>> i think what's important here is perhaps those folks in washington are seeing each individual community may have a slightly different need as this executive order gets implemented. i appreciate you coming on and cherring waterloo's distinctive needs. it's always close to my heart. where my dad was born and raised. appreciate it. hang tough . up next, we're going to turn to our medical experts on the coronavirus issues. and as we go to break, if you live in the northeast, you moikt have seen and heard the salute in the sky. a rare sight. er for it's the thunderbirds, the blue angels working together in formation from new york to delaware. trust me, you don't see this all the time from these two. it's tribute to those on the frontlines, the heroes they're saluting.

frontlines, the heroes they're saluting i'm jo ann jenkins with aarp. the coronavirus continues to affect us all, and we are here, actively supporting you and your community. every day, we're providing trusted information from top health experts...sharing tools to help protect families from fraud... and creating resources to support family caregivers everywhere. as always, you can count on aarp to advocate for you and your family. join us and stay connected at aarp.org/coronavirus

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some health experts say they need more tests by june. can you get to the benchmark? >> it will increase by much more than that in the near future. we are way ahead on testing. we are the best in the world on testing. >> you're confident you can surpass 5 million a day? >> we're going to be there very soon. >> okay. another pledge on testing from the white house there. that was the president responding to a question. painting a much rosier picture than the reality we keep discovering. the u.s. still lags well behind other countries. and the president's own testing guidelines released yesterday

warns states that they've got to develop robust testing programs that can readily identify symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. because the federal government will only act as a supplier of last resort we're conducting about 220,000 tests per day. most agree that is not nearly enough. the former fda commissioner says we need to double that. the doctors on the show yesterday authored a study for columbia university which says only 20 more times, roughly 4 million a day. and the harvard study says we need a about 100 times more than that. they believe a whopping 20 million a day. whatever range you pick, the white house range is still underneath every other expert range out there on testing.

let's turn to a couple of doctors. former health policy director in the white house. and an nbc news medical contributor. and associate professor at brown university albert medical school. dr. patel, there's something that's holding back this task force from deciding to be the point on testing to make this a national program. we'll set that -- i don't want to get in the political debate but realistically the way the white house has set up the program to allow it to be essentially 50 state testing programs, can we get to 5 million test as day in a reasonable amount of time? >> not in a reasonable amount of time, chuck, because the same global supply issues, despite all the rhetoric, still exist. and on top of that, i think everybody thinks you can drive

up and get a test. that's really not the practical implementation. we need to figure out how to, number one, get the tests, process the tests and have somebody tell you what the test means and i think we're talking about tests like they're all ubiquitous. we have different kinds of tests that are variable in their reliability. i'll be honest. i think states and cities are used to having the federal government be the place of last resort. so, i don't think there's any news here. >> there's not news. the question is whether they can do it without the federal government's help. i thought dr. burks, in my interview on sunday, i thought kind of threw in the towel on testing when she essentially said the current structure's probably not what we can ramp up. take a listen to what she told me. >> we have to realize we have to

have a breakthrough innovation in testing. we have to be able to detect antgen, rather than constantly trying to detect the live viral particles itself. and i know corporations and diagnostics are working on that now. we have to have a breakthrough. this will carry us, certainly through the spring and summer. but we need have a huge technology breakthrough. >> that came across to me as a long explanation as to why we can't ramp ultesting right now, even though we know we need to. >> yeah. i think where we really need a technology breakthrough is in manufacturing and distribution of those rna testing kits. we need the swabs and reagents and we need this rapid testing kits so when they in come in the office or er or hospital, we can

quickly say they're covid positive or negative and random testing of those that might be carriers. it has a lot of promise and potential value. but there are three issues. the first is those antigen tests, we don't know if they're really measuring if you're positive or negative or having been exposed to covid. and second, we don't know if it means you're immune. which is what she's counting on. she's say figure you have a positive test t means you're immune and you can go back to work. we don't know that yet and don't know how long the immunity is going to last. and third, even if we have the reliable antigen tests and they signify immunity, there is no way we have enough to meet the needs of the general population. so, i think placing our bets on antigens is a false hope and leaves those of us in the health

care space seeing actively sick patients, it leave us caught with our hands empty in our ability to guide those truly sick at the moment. >> let me do a real-world example. the president is issuing an executive order to force all meat processing plants to open back up. we don't have the testing regimen, it seems, to perhaps figure that out in the community. what amount of testing in the current situation we're in would you want to open up the processing plants? >> well, there's no question, chuck, we've kind of run through a table top exercise in the obama administration. you would need resources on site to do rapid testing on a regular basis. and have the public health purgs nel to able to quickly identify every shift. not just every shift, chuck.

you want to get them before they come in for their shift. so, you would actually want to set up something before the parking entry, which is a scenario we planned, thinking about also how toisolate them and get them hotel rooms. and then retested again. this is going to be a real-world experiment. unfortunately americans are on the other end of that. >> and while i have you here, it's a question i've been trying to get on air for a couple days now. and that is this news about the rise of stroke deaths that seem to be popping up. what more can you tell folks? do we know if these are asymptomatic people that suddenly have a blood-clotting issue? what information do we have and what more do we need to know?

>> so, you're talking about the rise in stroke deaths from covid-19. ore rising stroke deaths in general? because we're seeing two separate things. >> appears to be connected to covid-19. >> so, the covid-19 we're see nothing creasing reports about hypercoing aulatability and blood clots. of course the most common cause of strokes are blood clots in the vessels in your brain. so, as people are getting sicker from covid-19, having it for longer, we're seeing the most serious symptoms appear one to two weeks after you first get symptomatic. we're seeing more of the severe complications from covid-19 like strokes. other blood clots and other blood disorders. in addition to the respiratory symptoms that have been so frequently reported on in the media. the other issue is patients are not coming to the er in general until much later than usual.

i think a lot of people are scared about coming in. we did a good job early on in telling people to wait before coming in. but as a result, sometimes they're beyond the point where we can help them. i do want to urge people to come in early, rather than late. we will keep you safe and help diagnose and treat you. >> you not infirst doctor to express this concern over the past few weeks. we've gone to the other side too much. if you really think you need medical help, do go the er. anyway, thank you both, as always for your expertise. up ahead, more money, more problems. the paycheck protection problem hits another road block. what's holding up the loans to small businesses? big banks where you don't have a

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the paycheck protection program may have more money to allocate but it's also facing renewed scrutiny over who gegts those loans. steve mnuchin announced any business that receives a ppe

loan more than $50 -- and the team whose roster includes six players with salaries worth more than that alone must now return that money, despite qualifying for it. and that's something to be thinking about. they did qualify. ruth's chris have also returned money. they too technically qualify. so, with me for "politico" and cnbc contributor. it seems there's multiple problems with this program. today we awoke to the news where it's like wait a minute, i was with a big bank but i wasn't treated like a first tier client, i was treated like a second tear client. last week only the big banks know how to use the system. then a few little banks know what they're doing in the midwest. so, what's the real story here? what have you been able to figure out here, ben?

>> amazing to me the lakers applied for this and got it and they were able to apply because, like a lot of franchises do, have fewer than 500 players -- i mean, 500 employees. not exactly a small business. but multiple problems on multiple fronts. the volume has been so high it's overwhelmed the website. theyvent been able to process all the information from banks fast enough. lots of big and small vendors. i mean, not just the lakers. shakeshack have applied and they've applied because the rules are you have to have 500 or fewer employees. but you can have subsidiaries and apply through the subsid yaers that have 500 or fewer employees and get money, which is a big loophole. the other problem is the spca is not disclosing who's getting the money. partly because i'm not sure they know too, a great extent. we need to see lists.

the only way people are finding out is by public disclosures. there are big companies getting money that shouldn't be and that means there are lots of real mom and pop businesses that you wrd like to see saved that arability getting the money. >> so, this to me -- right. this, to me, is exposing what is the larger challenge. you've covered politics and business for years in the intersection of those two and i'm thinking about are we really -- as we're watching the public shaming of the shake shack and lakers. i get the public populism. explain to me when a congressman from texas has to bailout a casino or oil and gas, you see my point here? it is clear the politics of bailing out specific industries is ugly and divisive. just look at what we've seen so

far. how -- it does seem as if the idea of protoektiecting everybo paycheck equally, that might be the politically safer route to go and the more viable route. but that's a lot of money too. >> and i think the point here is this was designed specifically for small businesses. therefore, they should be getting the money. there are other elements of the act designed to apply to airlines and we can talk to oil and gas. and these are also companies that can take advantage of all the stuff the federal reserve is doing that can access capitol markets to get them money and get a bailout that way. your average small business can't do that. they're not going to the fed discount window and taking oought loan. it is, i think, overall a good policy to do this too, target specifically small business. they did it too quickly and too

half hazardly. if they can clean it up and now they're going to add more money to it, it's not in of itself, a bad idea because these are obviously businesses that don't have access to capital markets in other ways. >> what would they prefer at this point? all the sudden it was like this race to see who thad best relationship with your banker and as our friends said earlier today, i think a lot of people are going it turns out my banker wasn't good at this. you're starting to find out how important that relationship is. what are you hearing from businesses about, as we design programs going forward, do they just want to see this program tinkered with or do they think the government needs to come up with another way to do this? >> i think from the small business community, they're generally okay with the way this is designed, it's just the implementation that hasn't worked well.

and the relationship thing is important. because there's been lots of reporting around the fact that wealthier customers have better access to loans and got their loan applications approved faster. it can't depend on prior relationships. you got senators like rubio and brown complain to the spca about this. there are elements that have to be fixed. larger businesses take a different approach to federal rescues and can use the fed. but i think generally speaking small businesses like the idea of this, just not the implementation of it. >> i feel like every company should have one information booth they call, do i apply for the ppp or do i need to work with the fed? and the government can say you go to this lane and you go to that lane. kind of like the dmv. >> yeah. >> i absolutely agree.

>> ben white, "politico" "morning money." hope i got it right. stay safe, stay healthy. up ahead, promising news for a vaccine. the one lab offering hope. we might see progress go forward in 2020. gress go forward in 2020. om amazing people... it makes me want to be better. it changes your perspective. it makes you a different person. see what listening to audible can do for you. birthdays aren't cancelled. hope isn't quarantined. first words aren't delayed. caring isn't postponed. courage isn't on hold. and love hasn't stopped. u.s. bank thanks you for keeping all of our spirits strong. we've donated millions to those in need

and are always here for our customers and employees. good morning, mr. sun. good morning, blair. [ chuckles ] whoo. i'm gonna grow big and strong. yes, you are. i'm gonna get this place all clean. i'll give you a hand. and i'm gonna put lisa on crutches! wait, what? said she's gonna need crutches. she fell pretty hard. you might want to clean that up, girl. excuse us. when owning a small business gets real, progressive helps protect what you built with customizable coverage. -and i'm gonna -- -eh, eh, eh. -donny, no. -oh. to deliver your mail and packages and the peace of mind of knowing that essentials like prescriptions are on their way. every day, all across america, we deliver for you. and we always will.

welcome back. some good news in the race for a vaccine. "the new york times" reports experts at the university of oxford planning to move forward the largest vaccine so far. researchers had a bit of a head start because they were already working on a vaccine for a similar virus. the hope is, if this trial is successful, then this vaccine could be on the market by the end of this year.

and that's because some doses will be manufactured under the assumption that the vaccine will work and they feel good about this. wale explain. joining me is someone who know as lot about vaccine production. a member of the maryland's task force. dr. chen, thanks for being with me. i want to ask you about this oxford head start. they did some animal trials that went pretty well. and this is what seems to give them this kind of optimism. how optimistic are you about where your colleagues at oxford are? >> well, i always want to have my optimism balanced by some skepticism as well. it's great to hear about this new vaccine. we need as many vaccines at this time as possible.

because there's no guarantee that any one of these vaccines will be successful. what we're seeing is that this vaccine came out of the gate and is now looking like it has the tightest timeline, the fastest timeline i've seen out of any of the vaccines being tested right now. really great news and exciting to see they may have efficacy data and the ability to deliver -- i think what i read was a million doses, in perhaps september. really extraordinary. >> one of the reasons they seem optimistic is there's a specific breed of monkey that appears closest to the human.

covid-19. what's the specific breed of monkey ends up failing in the human trial? >> that's a good question. likelihood. my answer would not be sufficient. let me say it this way. these nonhuman primate studies, that's what was done. there were six monkeys that were given the vaccine. all of them were then challenged with the covid-19 virus. and basically given doses we know would make them extremely ill. after observing them for 28 days, none of them got ill bp. so, that's 100% efficacy in the small animal study. how much can we trust these monkeys? i guess they're the closest

animals to humans. so, they're the best way for us to evaluate. we have a lot of mouse studies that are done. and they may not bear out in the same way. i think that's why we have optimism is because of the monkey study. and that's why they're able to really accelerate their program to be able to have thousands of people being tested with this experimental vaccine. and as you said, at the top when you were talking to me, that they had a vaccine already that was being evaluated against mers, which is a related coronavirus. >> what's the -- let me ask you this about the issue of heard immunity. i think sometimes people aren't quite sure what it fully means. do we know for sure heard

immunity is going to work with covid-19? meaning, at some point enough people are going to get it to slow the rate of transfer. is that, right now a viable ending to this pandemic or not yet? >> well, let's see. one thing is we like to call community immunity because we're not cows. but that's -- >> fair enough. >> when we talk about heard immunity, that's what we're trying to do with a vaccine. except we're doing it in a controlled way with a substance we've characterized. and or die. so, that's the whole intent of the vaccine is to confer immunity and hopefully, when you get enough people in a community or a population vaccinated, then you'll have this heard immunity.

can also happen with natural infections. so, if you let covid-19 rip through the infection, a lot of people ill and hospitalized. then perhaps there immunity in population. they will already have paid a huge cost for having had a lot of their members of the community hospitalized and die. so that's why a vaccine is an important way for us to do this in a controlled manner. >> dr. wolverton who is on maryland governor's task force, much appreciated. thanks for sharing your st. peter tease with us. very helpful. >> thanks for having me. up next, believe it or not, it's election day, and not just in any state. in ohio. steve kornacki is at the big board. you'll be forgiven if you forgot. somewhere in the middle and high on the ends. we'll be right back. we'll be right back.

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we can get through this together. at philof cream cheese.w what makes the perfect schmear you need only the freshest milk and cream. that one! and the world's best, and possibly only, schmelier. philadelphia. schmear perfection. welcome back. you know what we like to say around here. if it's tuesday, somebody is voting somewhere. today is tuesday. i know some of the days of the week get lost, and that somewhere is ohio. which could be something of a testing ground for how quickly states can transition by mail. also curious to see how quickly we get results. joining me by steve kornacki at the big board. steve we know who's going to win the presidential primary. i don't think that is a secret.

but i am curious down the ballot. there are congressional primary, things like that. what are we going to learn tonight? >> that's the question here. like you say this. is sort of an experiment in can a big state conduct what amounts to an all mail election, an all mail primary election in this state. it's a strange one because they did have some in-person early voting in february and early march. then we've had this long mail-in period and you still have some ballots that can be delivered today in person or if they were postmarked by yesterday, they can still be countered for a week. the expectation is we'll start getting numbers tonight. i think the presidential primary, that's sort of a forgone conclusion. in these congressional races, if you have a close one tonight and you're seeing numbers tonight, remember, the i think the key thing to remember on the congressional races is anything that was postmarked by yesterday, even if it's not going to come in for a few days, will still be counted. i believe may 8th is the deadline on that. so if it's really close tonight

and you're seeing numbers in one of these house race, it may be a to be continued situation. this is basically the question here for november. we've talked about before. all these purple states in november are states that allow no excuse absentee voting. meaning if this coronavirus is still a major thing in the fall, which we expect it will be, folks in all the states in purple can say i don't want to vote in person. i want to get an absentee ballot. i want to do this by mail. and it's sort of like what happens in ohio today, where this goes off without a hitch or not, we'll find out, is a preview of the challenges you see all the states in hurricane patriciale are probably going to face in november. probably a record number of people saying send me a mail ballot. >> hey, steve, i don't mean to throw you a quick curveball and melissa is going to kill me because i'm rung against the terminal break. do the votes sent that before the primary counts today? >> yes, two phases.

>> two phases. think about this, folks. people have been voting in this primary for weeks anyway. >> when he was a candidate and when he wasn't. >> there you go. a great trivia question for people in years from now where you and i can play stump the bar games. back when we'll be allowed to be at bars again. kornacki, thanks. >> thank you. msnbc breaking news coverage continues with ari melber after this short and late break. t yo'. we're automatically refunding our customers a portion of their personal auto premiums. learn more at libertymutual.com/covid-19. [ piano playing ] - [female vo] restaurants are facing a crisis. and they're counting on your takeout and delivery orders to make it through. grubhub. together we can help save the restaurants we love.

hello, i'm ari melber and welcome to an edition of "the beat." i will be joined tonight live by mark cuban. we're also going to feature some special reporting and some difficult angles for you coming up. so a lot to look forward to. but we begin with the medical facts. they are grim and staggering. tonight in america, over one million confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including as we continue to count, over 58,100 fatalities.