good evening and welcome to "politics nation." we start tonight with the 2020 presidential race transformed by the coronavirus outbreak. in a moment you'll hear from apparent democratic nominee joe biden, who now leading president trump in polls both national and in key battleground states. despite the fact that the public health crisis has forced him to

forego travel and in-person campaign events. the former vice president joined me last night for a wide ranging interview with topics including his response to the coronavirus, who he'll pick for his running mate and, of course, criminal justice. but i started by asking him to further splexplain his denials regarding a recent accusation made by his former senate sta staffer that biden formerly sexual assaulted her in 1993. you and i kbraagreed to talk on several issues. this weekend i want to one question. you did an extensive interview with my colleague around the allegations made by miss reade

against you. there cannot be one set of rules for joe biden and another set of rules for everyone else. do you want to respond to them saying that about your interview with mika? >> no, i don't want to respond to them. i'm saying unequivocally. believing a woman means taking her claim seriously when she steps forward and then vetting it and looking into it. that's true in this case as well. women have a right to be heard and the press should rigorously investigate the claims like these and i'd always uphold the principles. and in the end, in every case, the truth is what matters. in the end, in this case the claims are false. >> let me go to the coronavirus and the pandemic this country is faced with. we have seen over the last 24 hours people with a.r.-15s in

arms. they say that they are good people and the governor should sit down and work with them. these are people that are armed. >> they're armed and i'm told one or two of them had nazi flags are confederate flags. i can't swear to that, i didn't see it. >> the idea of intimidating the governor sitting with rifles that are loaded with ammunition is outrageous. the president should be speaking out and say it's totally inappropriate to directly intimidate a governor who is doing one heck of a job.

she's listening to the scientists, she's listening tos docs, she's listening to the experts. that's her judgment and it should be sustained and not have a bunch of people coming in in numbers with loaded weapons sitting in the hallways of the legislative body. >> there are certain malls opening in certain areas of the country. do you think these openings in certain areas of the country are premature? should they be waiting on a clearer signal from the health experts and scientists? >> i think science should di dictate this, ref. i'm su -- rev. i'm sure there are places to gradually open if you're able to have social distancing, where people can wear a mask first and foremost you are to get to the level of containment. you have to contain the threat, this virus. you've got to level down and you

have to get fewer and fewer cases being reported. and then what you have to do and the president hasn't done this is use every tool at your disposal, and there are many, to get out the testing capacity, to test people, to test them, to see whether or not they have the virus and be able to quarantine those who do, making -- there's a whole range of things that are not being done and the president has the responsibility. he's the commander in chief. so i would do it very differently if i were he from the beginning. but the fact is that i think the governor's doing a fine job and i think there are places where you can begin to gradually open things. you can -- but that's a judgment to be made on the ground by the scientists and experts who are there advising the governors of the states. >> you were vice president and worked closely with president obama when you dealt with the ebola pandemic in africa. how would you have handed this

differently if you were already president or if you are to become president because in january i believe you wrote an article in "usa today" talking about dealing with this type of pandemic. >> yes. i said at the time this pandemic is coming. look, rev, there are a number of what they call presidential daily briefs. it happens every single morning. we're now learning, i think it was "the washington post," may have by "the tiesmes," laid out six occasions or more where they said this is a big problem, it's coming, we should be acting. and in fact the president didn't read the daily briefing or read it and didn't pay attention to it. it waited a long time getting started and got a jump on everything that could have done. and in addition, rev, the idea

he has the power to do this. there's a defense production act. he could say we're short on ventilators in the beginning, we're short on masks and gowns and swabs to be able to take the test through the nostril or down your throat and able to get it to the machines that can determine whether or not it is in fact a virus he has not exercised the power he has. all he's done is walked away from his responsibility saying that's not my responsibility. he should have at the very againinagai beginning, rev, apoupointed for all the needs out there. he's the command are in chief. this time they're soldiers and marines, doctors, nurses, first responders, people on the front line, firefighters, people keeping the grocery stores in

place. and they're dying. the idea it's not his responsibility as president of the united states to try to organize that? i would bring in someone equivalent to a person in the united states military who has notion of where all the supplies are and how to get them and where they shut be gotten to. that's what should be going on. >> blacks are dying three to four times the percentage of the population. we've seen the health disparities across the board and this coronavirus has brought clegg lights on this. the president expressed some concern when it was razzised at briefing, but we've not seen any kind of specific action to deal with the racial disparities here. if you were president, who you would you directly deal with the fact that blacks are being

tested and a higher percentage of them being found positive and dying at a high are rate, that you would focus in on what is the problem racially here? >> well, look, rev, i think i'm the first one to call this to the attention nationally saying that there's evidence coming out of michigan and detroit and other areas showing that african-american communities, if you live in an overwhelmingly black county versus a white county, you are three times more likely to get the disease and five to six more times more likely to die from the disease. the first and foremost, we have to keep meticulous records on everyone who passes, everyone who in fact is found to have the covid-19 virus. and so that's number one. number two, why is this happening? i suspect we're going to find a lot of things. we have to make sure there's equal distribution of resources

and testing and medical equipment in all communities we got to make sure our economic recovery is equitable, make sure the people in fact in communities where there's significant need are getting the help. and the institutional racism at the root of this injustice, i'm hopeful that what this crisis is going to do is rip the blinders off us in the nation to take action together. this virus is magnifying systemic inequities. low-income communities, people of color are more likely to be hard hit, less likely to have insurance and access to testing, et cetera. and it has to be figured out. it has to be dealt with. people with asthma that have a higher rate of fatality and getting this disease in the first place. i said from the start, look, i am running to restore the soul of the nation and these injustices make just how clear it is. look who is making all -- not

all but the vast majority of the sacrifices, the people who aren't making a lot of money, the first responders who can't stay home, people who are still in the grocery stores making sure the food is stacked and getting things out, the people who, in fact, are not able to walk away. and i don't know how many nurses that are african-american and doctors that are african-american and all doctors and nurses are risking their lives and losing their lives in this process. many states are starting to release data as well as the cdc and it shows a disproportionate of numbers of blacks dying. minority counties have three types the rate of infection, six times the rate of death of majority white counties. that's the fact. we have to focus our researches on the most vulnerable populations. and we have to have equitable

distribution of resources. >> it also include as lot of stimulus money. >> absolutely positively. >> it never came down to a lot of the black businesses, never came down to a lot of the people on the ground that needed it, even in the second one where 60 billion was put aside, we're having problems seeing lenders, black banks, community banks get any of the resources where they're really needed. >> that's exactly right. and look what's happened here. what's happened here is that the economic recovery has to be just equitable. black workers disproportionately work in low-wage jobs, face-to-face services, hospitality, leisure industry, which are taking a big hit. we have to make sure this recovery benefits everybody. any jurisdiction receiving

stimulus funding should be required to track and release the data on racial disparities to make sure minority business owners who are faced with too many barriers for far too long get treated justly. i predicted in the very beginning when the first round went out that you're going to have the big bank, they're not going to want to lend. first of all, they don't like lending to small businesses period. it's much easier to lend to the big guys you have big multi-million dollar operations getting $10, $20, $30 million in loans. we need to do these things now, move much faster for the nation and for the economy. but the root of this problem is institutional structural racism, putting african-americans and people of color at an enormous disadvantage. i'm hopeful this crisis has ripped the band-aid off. people see the injustices taking place and they'll have a real opportunity. it's not just african-american

businesses. almost all the small businesses. they're not able to get in line to get what they need. they're just not there. look, it's not like the banks are doing anybody a favor, community banks. this is all covered. they're not taking a risk. but they've got to get it out there. and this has gone on for much too long. >> and a quick note since our interview taped last night, nbc news is now reporting that tara reade said she filed a complaint regarding sexual harassment and retaliation but why not sure what explicit words on that intake form was until we all see it again. that's the end of quote. coming up, more of my interview with the apparent democratic nominee joe biden, including who he might choose to be his running mate. but first, my colleague richard lui with today's other top stories. >> thanks, rev.

the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the united states that has now surged past 1.1 million. so far at least 66,000 total fatalities. meanwhile, an earthquake rocked the already ravaged island of puerto rico. the 5.4 magnitude quake hit this morning near the southern part of the island. this comes at puerto ricans remained home after a two-month lockdown to help curtail the president of the coronavirus. and the skies over baltimore roared with the navy blue angels and air force thunderbirds today as a show of support for medical personnel and first responders fighting the coronavirus. it followed trips over part of new york, new jersey and pacht th -- pennsylvania this week and will continue across the country.

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voting election, people should not have to choose between health and democracy. welcome back to "politics nation." with six months to go before election day, the second part of my interview with joe biden focused mainly on the 2020 race. i asked the former vice president who he wants as his running mate. >> you have appointed this week a group that will assess and set your vice presidential candidates, ultimately your candidate that you will choose as your running mate. you and i have talked. you know that i prefer a black female. you've committed to a woman, you've committed to a black woman to the supreme court. i won't press you on that because you've given it to a committee, but for the record we have had that discussion. you listened and said you're going to make the decision after the committee raises it.

incredible leaders, melanie campbell of the black women's roundtable and others have raced it. part of it i think is the sensitivity that black women have to deal with sexism and racism. first campaign i worked on for president was shirley chism. these people have to go into these suite seats and deal with both. the sensitivity i think that we have is whom ever is selected that black women be clearly seen as qualified to be vice president. we've had geraldine ferrara 30, 40 years ago and even sarah palin. we've never had a black woman. you understand the sensitivity of the issue, even though you're not prepared to preempt your committee in terps of what you will do. you're not ruling out a black woman. >> i really do understand that,

al, for real. that's why i assure you that of the more than dozen women we're taking a look at, there's significantly more than one black woman that will be considered by this group first and foremost. secondly, this administration, god willing if a win, is going to look like america, it's going to look like the country. it's going to represent every color and you in the country and almost in a proportional sense because it's long past time, long past time. so what i'm looking at in the selection process is there are many people who are, in fact, qualified. many women who are qualified have the experience and background to do the job, and that includes many women of color, and we should have a government, as i said, that reflects the nation when i choose a woman vice president. just as beginning that process now. i certainly hear the advice, al.

we have a committee chaired by lisa blunt rochester, mary garcetti, cynthia hogan who helped me right the women's act and is a very competent lawyer, chris dodd. they're going to be thoroughly looking a the a lot of qualified candidates, but when it comes to the vice presidency, looking for someone to be a partner in progress who is sympatico and ready to be president on day one. i said there are many women with the experience and the background to do that job and that includes women of color. but i believe we should have a government again, i'll say it again, that reflects the nation in choosing a woman for vice president is the beginning of that process. look, i just -- if we hadn't had the circumstances that occurred last election, we'd have a woman president now. i'd be out campaigning for the

reelection of hillary clinton. >> let me ask you this. you and i in many meetings that you and president obama had around criminal justice eissues i remember when we dealt with the aftermath of trayvon and the obama/biden administration commuted more sentences of any presidents in decades of people that had been unfairly sentenced to long stenentences, i remembe sitting next to you at many of those meetings. the attorney general, would you be sensitive to have an attorney general that will fight crime, because we certainly do not want to see crime where crime has been a problem overlooked but at the same time have balance with law enforcement and balance with the execution of how we get

along with community policing. >> look, the top line, my administration is going to have enormous focus on reforming the criminal justice system. and with my plan, which will reduce our prison population, which today locks up too many blacks and brown individuals, creates more than just -- we have to create a just society. it makes our community safer. looking for a attorney general whose sole priority will be to justly enforce the laws in this country, find examples of where attorney general holder and attorney general lynch did during our administration. when i was a public defender, i've seen both sides of the system. it's stacked against too many people. today many people are incarcerated, too many of them are black and brown. during our administration, as you pointed out, president obama reduced the federal prison population by 38,000, reduced the crack cocaine disparity, challenged the jurisdiction of engaged in stop and frisk

polici policies, but we must do more and i plan to build on the progress of that reform in the system. my plan is to reduce the prison population, create a more just society, make our communities safer but that includes calling to immediately pass congressman bobby scott's safe justice act. and going further with a $20 billion competitive grant program that spurs states to shift from incarceration to prevention. no one arrested for possession of a drug should be going into prison. they should be going into mandatory rehabilitation, we should be eliminating mandatory minimums, invested a billion a year to juvenile justice programs and opportunities while you're in prison. you get out of prison after you serve your time, you get $25 and a bus ticket and you end up

under a bridge where you were before. end incarceration for drug use alone and set up these drug courts, which i put in the law a while ago. so my plan includes expanding and the use of power of the justice department to address systemic misconduct by police departments and prosecutors. furthermore, i'm going to appoint a justice department leader who will prioritize the role of using a partner or practice investigation, to strengthen our justice system, to strengthen it, and not direct them who they should go after. they're not my personal lawyer. the attorney general is not going to be my personal lawyer. to your second question, i'm going to be looking for an attorney general who will justly enforce the law of the country independent of politics and who exhibits the highest ethics, unlike the attorney general, fine example of that were holder and lynch in my administration in my view. i think they both did a great job. here's the deal, we have a chance to turn the -- why does

it not make sense to everyone, including even the people who have been victimized by someone who has been put in prison, why does it not make sense while that person is in prison to rehabilitate them while they're in there. it's the overwhelming interest of society that we do that. you go to prison and you can't read and you can't write, there should be programs to read and right. if you go in with a drug problem, you should get treatment when you get in there so when you get out you're not back in the saturday spot when you serve your time. there's so many opportunities we have. so many opportunities we have to change the circumstances and the way the system functions. and, al, it's a top priority. it's a top priority. by the way, when someone serves their time period. they serve their time, they should get all their rights back. why does it make sense for someone who served their time when they get out of prison not be able to get a pell grant to go to school? why does it make sense to deny them access to housing? why does it make sense to make

sure they don't have access to everything that's out there if they've served their time? >> many thanks to former vice president joe biden. and stay tuned for the next hour of msnbc where i will give an in-depth analysis about my interview with the apparent nominee. coming up, we'll take a look at the surge of racist and xenophobic incidents targeting asian-americans and what can be done to stop it. and later, it's do or die for historically black colleges and universities. why the coronavirus pandemic could be the knockout punch to these highly valuable schools across america. "politics nation" will be back right after this. "politics nation" will be back right after this they are the heroes, the helpers -

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let's call it what it is, it's hate crime and it's rooted in racism. the reality is that a crisis as you highlights what disparities or injustices before and it makes them bigger. and so we seen racial disparities in terms of how it is hitting people in terms of the heath impact of the coronavirus, we're seeing racial disparities around the economic impact and hate crimes increase against asian-americans. >> the coronavirus pandemic is a public health emergency, but the fallout isn't limited to america's hospitals. a recent poll shows over 30% of americans have witnessed someone blaming asian people for the disease. and of the asian pacific americans polled, 60% said

they've seen some of the same behavior. and despite warnings from the asian community about the danger of his rhetoric, president trump has continually referred to covid-19 as the, quote, chinese virus. joining me now is katie fang, a former prosecutor and msnbc legal contributor, chris lu, a former white house cabinet secretary under president obama and senior fellow at uva miller center of public affairs, and msnbc correspondent richard lui. let me go to you first, richie. i remember the reaction after 9/11 where president bush, who was certainly not one that

people felt was one that brought a spirit of inclusion to everybody scene, but he went out and p.r.'d a lot about this is not a muslim attack, this is a specific attack by some extremists who call themselves extremist islamists. i remember the same with other incidents. we've seen it much different with this president where he's actually called it a chinese virus and has continually raised that, tweeted that, and we've seen no campaign from this administration saying do not in any way use this as a bias against asian-americans or chinese americans. >> yeah, rev, context is important, though the president did come out march 23rd with a tweet that countered his use of wuhan virus, chinese virus, which many communities, many voices, including yours, rev,

this is not the way to either properly use this terminology from the cdc or what is good for a collective american. when we look at the context, all we have to do is look back to 9/11 where muslim americans, many of which are asian-american were affected by the language and the after effect of 9/11. we go back to the chinese exclusion act, we go back to the american internment of japanese americans. now, the question that was brought up during that town hall with senator kamala harris -- >> that you moderated. >> that i moderated. this was very interesting here, rev, because what they said is there is information -- the fbi put out an intelligent report that said in part this, the fbi assess hate crime, rises in incidents against

asian-americans will rise, will surge across the nuunited state. the fbi makes this assumption that the u.s. public will associate covid-19 with china and asian populations. there's that information, there's also the self-reported hate incidents. in two weeks 1,100 reports. for a group that doesn't often necessarily report this stuff, that was a big spike, rev. >> how bad, katie, is it, and how bad can it get as we begin to see now people begin to slide open the door to reopening cities? there can be a larger problem here if we do not deal with this in a forthright way. >> so the reality is there's a federal statute and states have their own statutes that deal with the classifications of hate crimes in terms of notching up a level of the seriousness of a

crime. and your point is well taken, reverend al, that now the doors are reopening and cities are reopening, we're going to see a resurgence of people getting out into the streets and interacting again with people who look like me and look like richard and look like chris. and so we've seen even in cities like new york, 42% of almost 250 complaints in the last 30 to 60 days have been anti-asian in nature. so people need to remember that the department of justice has said nothing. you know, the trump administration department of justice has said nothing to deter these kinds of crimes. so i'm interested in seeing whether or not local law enforcement steps up and enforces the hate crimes that are on the books in these particular jurisdictions because that's the only way to ultimately send a message. it's one thing to just have words, words that hurt, but it's a whole other thing to see a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old in

texas stabbed because the perpetrator thought that they were chinese and they were spreading the coronavirus in texas. >> chris, i've heard were people were assaulted. i remember reading about one woman who appeared to be asian-american, was actually slapped by a woman saying where's your mask, you caused this. what should you under the cabinet of president obama, what should the administration be doing on a federal level, and as katie said, what should state governors be doing right now as we see people slowly come back in the public where wyou're goig to have these potential interactions potentially worsen. what should be done now? >> ultimately the tone gets set from the top and words matter, especially when they come from the president. when he speculates about people

injecting bleach, people get sick. when he encourages people to liberate their states, you have armed protesters in michigan. and when he calls something the chinese virus or kung flu, asian-americans are targeted. as richard said, there have been 1,100 documented incidents of racial harassment in a two-week period of time. that number has gone up and will continue to go up as states begin to reopen. what's important to understand, it's about the tone from the top, it's about prosecution of these crimes under either federal or state law, but it's also an understanding that asian-americans are some of the most affected by this virus right now. as you well know, rev, many of the small businesses in this country are owned by people of color, and they're not getting access to the loans they need to stay open. we know that so many of the front line health care workers are all asian-americans and people are color. we know that so many of the people doing the hardest work right now are the most affected are people of color. and so this is not an offense to

asian-americans but it's also an offense to all of the peep who a -- people who are trying to help get their arms around this crisis right now. >> all right, i'm going to have to leave it there. this is an important issue, though. thank you for being with us. >> now to the worsening impact of the coronavirus pandemic on america's education systems as even well-funded school districts and universities struggle to educate virtually while states weigh when to reopen their schools if at all. the nation's historically black colleges and universities, which were struggling with a lack of resources and endowments long before this crisis hit are now facing what could be an existential threat, as we contend with both the prospect and a reduced student body in the fall due to the economy and for those students currently enrolled or returning, a

technological gap that could make widespread virtually impossible leaving many hvcus impossible. joining me, dr. harry williams, president and ceo of the thurgood marshal college fund and dr. michael lomax, president and ceo of the united negro college fund. let me go to you first, dr. williams, put in perspective how serious of a threat is this to the colleges you represent and what are you hoping can be done? >> well, first of all, i want to say thank you, reverend al sharpton, for putting this before the country today. this is a very important topic. thurgood marshal was founded 33 years ago with a sole purpose and focus to support our publicly supported historically black colleges and universities.

our founder had this vision because he saw back then the need and the fact that our schools were not getting their adequate resources. with this pandemic, it has created a major, major problem for our institutions. we have been working around the clock with our elected officials, reverend -- dr. lomax and i, we have been working with congress to secure resources and we've been very fortunate that they heard our cry. and just here on friday it was announced by the department of education that $1.4 billion will go to our institutions to support them during this most critical time. that's going to be a lifeline of support. so without those dollars, it would be absolutely impossible for our schools to survive in this type of atmosphere. it's been hard.

our institutions have been around for 183 years, with the first one being a university in pennsylvania. so now we have an opportunity to turn the page as it relates to supporting our hvcus. >> let's look at at numbers to put in perspective when you talk about the hbcus, you're talking about black professionals. 40% of congress members and engineers, half of lawyers and professors and 80% of black judges all of them hbcu graduates. when we talk about this, dr. campbell, we're talking about a substantial part of this country and a huge percentage of black americathis . this is not a marginal issue. what do you face as the president of one of the most established and respected

colleges, both with the technological gap in our community, since schooling is now viral and may be for the foreseeable future and in terms of resources? >> that this is a crisis of multiple dimensions. it's a health -- it's a public health crisis and we know that our community has been hit disproportionately by this crisis. the families of our students and faculty and staff are dealing with even as we make a transition from in person to online education. it's a technological crisis. it really does reveal the technology divide. once our students had to transition to online, we realized many of them had no laptops, they had no internet access or the internet access wasn't adequate. so, in fact, it exposed that.

we know with rising unemployment that our families are going to be hit hard because we have overwhelmingly an african-american population and we can bet that those who are out there working on the front lines are also going to be among the most vulnerable financially. so it was -- this was a crisis that came on us just with many different multiple dimensions. and the saving grace here has been not only the work that's been done by uncf and the thurgood marshal fund in help rallying our legislators to brings new resources through the stimulus, but we've also within able to rely on our own alumni, our communities. at spellman, for example, we had over 800 donors who within a week had contributed more than $300,000 so that we could shore up our students.

so as we're looking towards the future, we really have to determine what will we need in order for this vital resource to stay stable and healthy for the the future not only of hbcus but frankly for the future of this country. >> let me go to you, michael lomax, who has been the face of these efforts, you and leslie baskerville have been fighting this. i know how you put your heart and soul in this for some time. will the monies that was made available friday be enough? how much of a threat is this even in face of this additional money that comes in? >> well, the good news is that we did get some money. we got close to a billion dollars total for hbcus, but this is a massive, massive crisis. so we're still fighting for more. you know, we're talking about

another stimulus package and we would like to see another billion for hbcus and minority-serving institutions. we want to focus more on students. the question is will students have the resources to come back to college? and that means we need more federal financial aid for our students. so we're arguing right now that we should double the pell grant, america's scholarship from $6,600 a year per student to $14,000 a year. that will help us help our students reduce the financial demand on them and they'll be able to come back to school. we're providing emergency assistance, as dr. campbell noted, but now we're thinking about the recovery. and the recovery means can we have safe environments for our students to come back to? can we provide them with a blended earnilearning environme

that includes the use of technology and will they have the financial resources to come back to college? >> i want to keep the issue out there because it's a very important issue in this country. thank to you mary smith campbell, dr. harry williams and dr. michael to say dr. campbel. thank you all for being with us. stay tuned. up next, my final thoughts. don't go anywhere. no uh uh, no way come on, no no n-n-n-no-no only discover has no annual fee on any card. in nearly 100 years serving the military community, we've seen you go through tough times and every time, you've shown us, you're much tougher your heart, courage and commitment has always inspired us

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in 2018 voters in the state of florida passed amendment 4 that gave ex-felons the right to vote. many of us rallied around that from around the country. i remember doing rallies with reverend r.b. holmes and others throughout the state. bishop victor curry and others. and it was a real breakthrough for voting rights. that ex-felons who had paid their debt to society had now the right to vote restored. if you have paid your debt to society and you are now being brought back in to society, then you should be restored all of your rights as a citizen if your debts have been paid to society. and when that went through, we celebrated around this country and certainly they did in the

state of florida. but then the state legislature came back and said oh, no, you can't vote unless you pay all of whatever you might have owed in court costs or in restitutions or in fines. in effect, a 21st century poll tax on people that now had the right to vote by a voted amendment by the people in that state. and it is in court. a trial started last monday. those people that stood and fought and rallies and won an overwhelming vote cannot attend because of the pandemic. but it is a virtual trial. i would hope that we put focus on these proceedings because what is on trial is not just an amendment, it is not even just those that have been convicted of a felony.

it is american democracy that when we tell people to redeem themselves and they do and pay their debt to society and now go home to become full citizens, full citizenship includes their right to vote. not with any pricetag added to it. that does it for me. thanks for watching. i'll see you back here tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. eastern for a new live edition of "politics nation." up next, my colleague peter alexander picks up our news covera coverage. in this time of social distancing, when taking a break from everyday life is critical to everyone's health, there is one thing we can all do together: complete the 2020 census. your responses are critical to plan for the next 10 years of health care, infrastructure, and education. let's make a difference, together, by taking a few minutes to go online to 2020census.gov. it's for the well-being of your community

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hello, everybody and welcome to msnbc's special coronavirus coverage. i'm peter alexander here in washington. as of this hour there are 1.1 million confirmed cases of coronavirus across the united states. nearly 65, you can see the number growing. 66,000-plus deaths at this point. but that is not stopping many states from easing their restrictions on stay-at-home orders. new jersey is one of those states, opening its state and county parks, as well as golf courses today. those social distancing measures are till being enforced. protests to reopen the country are scheduled for this weekend as well after a major demonstration took place in california friday with social distancing measures there being ignored.