good afternoon. i am ari melber. these are the facts as we know them this our hour. stocks are up with another vaccine heading human trials. we have a full report on that intriguing news for health and economic reasons, obviously, coming up this hour. the western parts of new york reopen tomorrow. new york governor andrew cuomo is saying and touting cases are on the decline. cuomo urging residents it get

tested if they can. he is leading the way himself publicly taking this test during his sunday press briefing and announcing now it's come back negative. apple planning to reopen 25 more of its u.s.-based stores in florida, hawaii, oklahoma, and colorado. apple said temperature checks will be conducted in always stores and all staff and all customers will be required to wear masks. one week after president trump accused president obama of a vague insinuation of some sort of crime, attorney general barr said there is no criminal probe of either the former president or his vice president joe biden. >> as to president obama and vice president biden, whatever their level of involvement, based on the information i have today, i don't expect mr. durham's work will lead to a criminal investigation of either man. our concern over potential criminality is focused on

others. >> here we are, some clues, some sigh what some calling hope we may be one step closer to a potential coronavirus vaccine. moderna announcing progress in a small trial for participants who developed covid-19 antibodies. that little bit of news, which we have always emphasized for our medical experts doesn't tell you where it would land or when we would get a vaccine but that was enough to do what you see here. stocks already rallying on the developments. let's get right to it with msnbc medical correspondent dr. john torres. good to see you. what does it mean when you have a piece of information emerge like this? >> good to see you, ari. what it means, essentially, in the sprint to get the vaccine, there is currently almost 80 companies doing the research and testing to try to get a vaccine out. what it means in the sprint, moderna has taken a bit of a lead at this point. what they have done is taken

their vaccine to phase one trials. oxford vaccine is doing a similar thing. but for moderna, phase one trials, 45 healthy adults 18 to 55 years old and they gave them the vaccine and testing them for antibodies. they got four results in 8 of 45 and 8 results they got they are making neutralizing antibodies at the level people who recover from coronavirus have as well. what we think is the neutralizing antibodies will help them be protected from developing coronavirus which is important news but it still has a couple of phases to go through. not quite there but it seems they have taken a little bit of a lead in the race to get to that vaccine. >> we hear a lot about the development of antibodies as you mentioned because people have had exposure or contracted it and then they are having what you might call a natural or organic reaction and they are building up their own immunity. what you're saying here we can understand these tests as showing the prospect or the

possibility of basically that happening artificially or sin th thet synthetically? >> exactly happens here. these people did not have antibodies to begin with so they had not been exposed to coronavirus. in essence giving them the exposure through the vaccine which is the way vaccines work. we don't know how much of immunity it will give them. you think about different vaccines. some vaccines last ten years and some a few times in our life but flu we have to get every single flu because the virus itself changes. we are we are not sure how much immunity we get but in mice the same vaccine was used and they found out in the mice, at similar levels they gave it to adults, they were getting antibody. they gave them coronavirus and they ended up not getting the disease and not getting the side effects or the complications

from the disease. great in mice but humans are not mice. we think it will translate to humans but we are not sure and what the follow-on phases will try to determine and number one the safety and efficient cassy and how long it works. it might take time. you hear it might be coming out early summer but experts are not saying until early 2021. that is probably looking a lot more likely. >> understood. we know why some of the politicians and certainly some of the companies behind this have their reasons for how they put out their hopes for a time line i think your view including even this positive step could still be in 2021 is an important context as a medical analyst. dr. torres, thank you, as always. >> you bet, ari. trump administration focusing on that same issue we are discussing. not only how do you get a voo n

vaccine but what is the timetable? president trump suggesting it could come very soon and others tempi ining expectations. the president said if there is no vaccine on friday, the american economy should return to normal. >> vaccine or no vaccine, we are back. we think we are going to have a vaccine in the pretty near future and if we do, we are really going to be a big step ahead. if we don't, we will be like so many other cases you have a problem come in and it will go away at some point. it will go away. >> a new episode of "60 minutes" jerome powell said the economy needs to open quite carefully. >> if the economy reopens and the infection rate surges, what then? >> the government would have to reintroduce the social distancing measures and you would have another downturn and that would be bad for confidence, so that is a risk we really want to avoid. >> president trump heading to

michigan on thursday. he is expected to tour ford ventilator assembly plant and a way to thank the businesses making the ppe and medical equipment and other essentials during this pandemic. joining me now, is carol lee. what is the latest? >> reporter: this is president trump's third week traveling outside of washington since he began taking these trips after weeks of really just being in the white house because of coronavirus. he headed to arizona where he visited a manufacturer of n95 masks. last week, he was in pennsylvania at a ppe distributor. he will be heading to michigan this week. notably, these are all battleground states in the november election. while these are official events, in particular at the event he did last week in pennsylvania, the music they played there was a familiar play list that we have all heard at the president's rallies. you know? he also is attacking sleepy joe biden at this event which is

billed as an official event for the president's travel. also the vice president has been hitting battleground states well as well. he'll be in florida this week visiting a nursing home and meeting with governor desantis and he is in his past travel has gone to wisconsin and iowa. notably, they are not going to states that are really been hit very hard by coronavirus such as new york and new jersey. white house official told me that the president is just is not traveling to places like that because it's a hot spot. but still there is clearly politically overtones. the president know he is going to be judged by voters on his response to coronavirus and they are strategically having him travel. >> carol lee, thank you very much. >> thank you. tens of thousands of autoworkers heading back to work across the midwest. we are looking at general motors, ford, firk fiat/chrysle.

joining me is cal perry. this is part of his series "road to recovery. >> go on to see you braving the elements. i hope you are saving as you report for us. what are you seeing out there on the ground, cal? >> reporter: a big day here in pontiac. about 250 employees will be going back to the plant that is behind me. they are going to be faced with head-to-toe different measures. there is a temperature check at the gate and fill out a cdc form, glove and masks. in they go. the entire assembly line is different. it's hard to social distancing on a assembly line. if anybody is sick a mandatory they are tested. hand in hand and get the recovery under way and able to track that side. we spoke to the president of the

union about how folks are feeling going back to work. take a listen. >> there are a lot of concerns. a lot of concerns in that are we ready? i've been in the plant. gm has done, along with the uaw, has done a lot of good things, a lot of great things in preparing us to get in there. is everything covered? probably not. we are probably going to have a lot of issues and concerns but the company needs to make money so we can't be off forever but we all just need to be safe. >> reporter: in speaking to executives inside gm, they say a lot of this is symbolic and getting people comfortable with the idea of going back to work. you look at pontiac, michigan, when you have 50%, for example, of restaurants that could be in peril because the plants are staying closed the symbolic opening needs to be an economic growth as quickly as possible. >> cal perry, thank you very much. another breaking story. authorities say the saudi air

force officer who shot and killed other students, fellow students at pensacola air station last september they believe was pushed by al qaeda ka owner out there atta-- to ca out that attack. joining me is nbc justice correspondent pete williams. good to see you, sir. what can you tell us? >> reporter: the fbi and the justice department say it's taken them four months to open up the phone that mohammed al had and one phone he had apparently trying to shoot at it during the attack and while he was under fire attack from responding law enforcement officers. the attorney general said today that there has been a lot of information in that phone that shows that al shamranee in

constant contact with fighters from the peninsula. >> the phones contained information previously unknown to us that definitively establishes al shomranee significant ties to al qaeda and the arena peninsula. not only before the attack, but before he even arrived in the united states. >> reporter: so the fbi says that al shamranee became radicalized as early as as 2015 and learned to fly by joining the saudi arabian air force what he described in one of these phone conversations as a special mission. it said he then came to the u.s., continued to stay in touch with these lkal qaeda figures while in texas and pens cola and in touch with them until the night before the attack. now that was one of the big stories today. the other one is the strongest criticism yet from the u.s.

government for apple, because the justice department has been saying since january that they asked apple for help in opening these phones and unlocking them because they didn't have the pass code and that apple wouldn't do it. today, barr was especially critical of apple saying they are designing consumer products that are -- that in the hands of terrorists, the fbi can't open, that even with legitimate court orders, each with a search warrant, which is what they had in this case, apple cannot -- says it can't open the phone. both he and chris ray were extremely critical saying that it was the fbi that finally cracked the phone, not with any help from a commercial vendor, but the fbi did it itself, but they really doubled down today on their criticism for apple. now the company hasn't yet responded but it said back in january that it provided all of the data it could and has been cooperating with the fbi but, today, chris ray, the fbi director, said apple basically did nothing. >> it's important part of the story. you've covered that as well, pete, when we had long running

debates with apple in the prior administration and law enforcement. a big story. while i have you, viewers you know for the justice department work and also supreme court. big picture, pete, what you think as a long time chronicle of the court about the phone conferencing has worked. any even kaucasual news viewer remember that justice thomas rarely participated in oral argument. we notice in the phone television conference he is participating more. anything else you've noted? this is one of those unexpected things where the court is an essential service and the pandemic is changing how it does its work right now. >> two things about this. you know, oral argument is really a conversation among the justices. it's the first time that they have ever sat down together and talked about the case. so very often they are talking to each other through the lawyers. now, when it's a normal hot bench, when the justices are

firing questions back and forth at the lawyers, whenever a question comes up, that conversation seems to be a little more free wheeling. when everybody takes a turn and everybody gets about three minutes to ask the lawyers for each side during these, what are supposed to be one-hour sessions, that whole process, i think, seems a little more stilted. that is the first thing i would say. the second thing i would say is because of that it makes it harder for us to guess what the court is going to do. that is a lot less important than the conversations that they have among themselves. of course, when they gather in conference to taupe about the cases, they are not together either. these conferences where they decide, they take an niche vote on the case, they decide who is going to write the majority opinions and dissent. they are not together either. thank you is inhibited a little bit as well. >> it's really striking. the lawyers and judges would tell us it wouldn't change anything because it's by the book when they reach their results, but on really close calls, the back and forth, what

we all know from our own lives, whether you're in the room reckoning with something or not, who knows how it could affect future cases. we will be coming back to when with you get those rulings, sir. thank you, pete williams. >> you bet. coming up, summer is fast approaching and many anxious to get outside after this lockdown. how risky is it? we are going to give you the facts to nope to make your decisions when we come back.

u.s. continues to lead the world in coronavirus cases.

over 1.5 million confirmed cases of the virus across the nation and over 90,000 covid-19-related deaths. the cdc chief projecting the u.s. on track to pass 100,000 deaths by june 1st in two weeks. more patients are recovering from this coronavirus, medical professionals are learning more about the long-term effects from blood clots to lung scarring. the impact only coming into focus rentcently. joining me now, is dr. ponagas galtatos. thank you for joining us. your view of what is important here as we learn about the impacts each on those who survive but are affected. >> right. so first thing i have to emphasize this is a virus we are all learning about in real-time. i think some of us are dubbed as covid-19 experts when, in relate, we have been managing this disease the last several months. what i would say is what we are looking to do is potentially

just extrapolate from other syndromes we are fully aware of. covid-19 causes the same syndromes and causes sepsis and ards. what we try to prepare patients as they leave our intensive care units and trying to go back to their homes and houses, we try to tell them what to expect. surviving covid-19 may be part of the longer story after they leave the hospital. so patients with sepsis or survivors of sepsis [ inaudible ] have physical decline, mental health issues from anxiety to post stress disorder and some have to go cog thattive disorders as well. we are trying to say we have insights but other complications of covid-19, those we are learning in real-time, which ones are just covid-19 specific complication and in my own patients, for instance, one of

them, for instance, shortness of breath. they survived it and no longer infectious but why are they exhibiting levels of trying to catch their breath? it's a real-time learning and we are trying to prepare our patients surviving it is usually part one of their story. >> how did this contrast to, say, the other family of related flus and other things that we know about where people get them and recover? >> right. so it actually falls in line with them. while we hear these great success stories you survived and you're back out there, unfortunately, one of the downsides of medicine that we often have to reveal to patients that doesn't kill you doesn't make you stronger and sometimes it make you weaker. other viruses are known to do just that from and survivors of these viruses will be weaker after their initial intensive

care unit stay and their hotization. as a lung doctor, i see so many patients who continue to have pulmonary complications once after a viral infection. it's not one thing we are seeing covid-19, it seems to be in line with what other cousins and viruses are doing as well. >> understood. doctor, thank you very much. we appreciate the context. the days are getting warmer with summer nearing and many are asking, well, what happens if you do go outside? how likely are you to catch the coronavirus outdoors? "the new york times" talks about this. if americans are going outside, staying outside and outdoors while leaving their home is the safest way to do it but how do you consider the potential risk special i'm joined by julia marcus, epidemiologist and assistant professor at harvard medical school and writing about this. a lot of the public debate particularly at the extremes in

politics and protest is reinforced kind of a black and white narrative. many people familiar with things president said may not be completely nuance either. your article says abstinence is only an approach that failed in long-term public health in other ways and fail as well here. what do you mean by that? >> the last couple of months, there has been this all or nothing prevention message we are either stay or home or alternative going back to business as usual. neither of those is necessarily a good choice. we know that going back to business as usually would probably be disastrous and we can't stay home forever. that is kind of the abstinence only approach. the good news is there is an in between because risk is not binary. there are lower risk things we can do and higher risk. our message needs to start ch g changing to support lower risk activity that could be

sustainable as a population in the long term. >> i want to read from your piece. you talk about the tradeoffs people are feeling rejecting the framework saying nun who makes a tradeoff, which, of course, we do in a or out of a pandemic and all sorts of human choices, that somehow you could scold them and say how dare you do anything to increase the risk slightly and it does. you write the decision to go for a run with a friend or gather in a park may be in conflict with current guidance. but for some people, the low risk of transmission in these settings may be outweighed by the health benefits of human connection and exercise and being outdoors. what are you getting at there? >> you can imagine what is going to happen here if everybody stays indoors forever. of course, that is the safest option that we all just stay home. but there are important health benefits to being outside.

and if we don't start to think about lower risk activities like going for a walk in the park, going for a jog, you know, being just doing things outside, we may start to shame those behaviors when with see them and plenty of that is going on right now. it is also important to think about ways we can reduce risk outside like continuing to wear masks and continuing to stay at least six feet apart from people and keeping our interactions brief. >> yeah. the brief one i think is the hardest because a lot of folks are just going to feeling anecdot anecdotally if they stay in they know what it feels like. if they go out with one or two people or two in a park it feels they made the choice to go out. are you literally saying that going out and doing that for 20 minutes is a different level order of risk than just being out for four hours?

>> well, most of what we know about this virus in terms of early epidemiological studies is you need prolonged contact or infection to happen in general. that is the highest risk. the comparison i want to make is somebody walking past you on the sidewalk and versus standing near somebody and having an extended conversation for 20 minutes. your risk is definitely going to be higher with the extended conversation because there is more of an opportunity for infection to happen. so i would encourage people to wear masks and keeping six feet of distance but if you're going to sit and chat for somebody else while be aware that is increasing the potential risk. >> understood. really important points particularly on the nuance and rejecting some of the black and white frames. thank you very much. up next, a big question. with the state inspector general fired last week because he was

doing his job and overseeing and investigating the head of his department? when is what they do. mike pompeo allegedly using his staffer to do personal errands and we have new reporting from nbc news after the break. did you know that 70% of your immune system

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president trump speaking at the white house this very hour. unscheduled event. he addressed this news on vaccines, as well as the rise in the markets. trump saying, quote, it feels

much different than friday. this is a very positive day. that does match the market's optimism about these trials that show a potential vaccine. meanwhile, new developments in president trump's removal of the state department inspector steve linick. two congressional officials say linick was investigating secretary pom pail owe's decision to approve billions of dollars of armed sales to saudi arabia, which congress opposed. there have been other issues also raised and this is, of course, the first of several. i want to bring in josh. as understanding several different watchdogs have been ousted. it looks to at least the president's critics as a pattern. what does your reporting show? >> reporter: that is certainly the concern that there is this pattern where inspectors general from now at least four agencies

have been removed the last several months. these are supposed to be the people keeping an independent eye on the government's operations and provide accountability. today we are learning new details throughout the afternoon about the circumstances surrounding the removal of the state department inspector general in particular. we know now that there is not one but at least two investigations that linick, the inspector general at the state department, was pursuing at the time that he was abruptly removed from his job on friday night. so, yesterday, at nbc news, we reported that the inspector general was looking into whether secretary pompeo had used a appointee to do household errands such as picking up the dry cleaning and making dinner reservations for him and his wife and even walking the family dog. now, today, we can report, according to congressional officials, that the inspector general was also looking into the sale of arms to saudi

arabia, an "morning joe" declaration that the trump administration issued last year that allowed them to circumvent congress and the notification process that lets congress to weigh in on armed sales so attorney runs. instead the president authorized pompeo with a emergency declaration to side-step congress and sell the arms to saudi arabia in the middle of a lot of concerns about human rights, about how those weapons would be used in yemen and we know the inspector general was looking into that. officials on the hill telling us they believe that the removal of the inspector general was direct retaliation for these investigations that he was pursuing. we have been asking the state department over and over again for comment. the only thing we have so far is a tweet from "the washington post" which apparently spoke to pompeo today in which pompeo said that the inspector general wasn't performing a function in a way that we tried to get him to do and was trying to undermine what it was that we

were trying to do. that from pompeo. the first on the record comment about the removable of this inspector general. >> josh lederman, thank you very much. i'm joined by moss who represents whistleblowers throughout his work and deputy director of the james madison product when he represented lawsuits against bush and obama and trump administrations. we want to give that disclosure to people have the sense of your expertise but where you come at these issues. when you look at this now being four inspectors generals in a row removed, what do you see, bradley? >> sure. you see very much a systemic pattern here with the trump presidency of trying to break down or trying to dismantelpiece-by-piece a lot of forms set up in the '70s after nixon that were designed to provide some kind of checks and

balances within the executive branch to try to rein in some of the imperial presidency. we saw it with the whistleblower saga and the way the president continues to denounce and smear b whistleblowers. he doesn't view inspectors general other than to issue reports against his opponents. he loves when they do reports about fbi problems with reports but he doesn't want them talking about him and the coronavirus testing and the preparations they were doing at hhs and doesn't want them providing congress with information about potential impeachable offenses. >> given your knowledge of the law in this area, as mentioned the watchdogs under federal law different than most other administration or agency officials in that they literally do police the agency they serve. at least when they find evidence to do so. is this a whole in the law that

if a president comes along and wants to continue to oust them, there is nothing to be done about it? what do you suggest the solution would be for those who agree with your concern or critique? >> yes. so under the existing law, it's true. the president can remove the inspector general and doesn't have to do anything other than simply notify congress he had lost confidence. this was actually litigated a few years back with respect to inspector general that president obama had removed with a very thin explanation as to why it had been done and the courts ruled against the former inspector general saying, sorry, you don't have any basis to challenge it. the only way to address this if people believe this is a concern as i do and many other transparen transparency advocates do there has to be reform you can remove for cause. not that the president has lost confidence. otherwise it provides the idea that inspector general's role is to just what the president wants and knots effectively the idea

of an internal auditor. >> do you know, bradley, how this compares to -- you mentioned other administrations and we should be clear and fair that other presidents have clashed, of course, with independent investigations, criticized investigations that touched on them, et cetera. but how does this, what looks now like this rush of four in a very short period compare to removals in past president? >> i don't think we have ever seen this broad and as you mentioned a rush. a large wiping away of various i.g.s like this. every president has clashed with i.g.s and what is concerning with this particular administration is the view of donald trump on these oversight mechanisms. it's been seen outside of the ig issue, whether it's congressional oversight or the ability of whistleblowers to raise concerns through lawful

chajs and you' channels. the concern is whether donald trump is trying to undo 40 or 50 years of legislative reforms that no matter who was president and no matter which party held power there were some checks and the larger issue and i think congress needs to look into as they are considering right now reforms to the i.g. statute. >> bradley moss, thank you. when we come back, new words from hhs secretary who addresses the w.h.o. what he said about how the outbreak is being handled when we come back.

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only discover has no annual fee on any card. health and human services alex azar took on the world health organization and its own virtual send z servelt assembly. hundred countries are calling no an investigation. xi jinping announcing they will provide $2 billion for other countries to fight this virus. for more we go to senior international correspondent keil simmons in london. keil, our viewers here stateside are familiar with the president, more than other political figures in the united states taking on the w.h.o. but this is a reminder of how wide the controversy is even if

you drain the u.s. domestic politics. what are you seeing today? >> reporter: that's right. and i think when the history of the trump administration's foreign policy is written, what happened here may get a chapter because what you saw was world leader after world leader calling for leadership and what you got from the traditional leader of the western world any way, the united states, was the health and human services secretary coming on criticizing the world health organization, accusing it of a failure that cost lives. and criticizing china for what he said is mockery of its transparency obligations. but as you mentioned, earlier in the day, the first major world leader to speak was the president of china, coming on as you mentioned coming on and promising $2 billion towards the

coronavirus effort. even saying when the world called for a national investigation, agreeing to that but saying let's do that after the coronavirus and already that resolution has been watered down so it doesn't specifically mention china. okay, it's looking like china is outmaneuvering the united states on the world stage today. >> very striking. does that mean in your view there is some limit to at least the trump administration's efficie efficient cassy here? that is the talk at the press conference. you're telling some of this has hit its wall on the street, so to speak? >> reporter: the issue is, it's not about whether you agree with the u.s. position that china blocked information, that china didn't act properly at the beginning of the coronavirus. the question should be asked

about all of the world health organization has ended up skewed toward china. how symboly the chinese leader was the first major world leader to speak. it's not whether you agree or don't agree with that. it's effectively what happened today is the united states kind of really wasn't present. they just didn't give the world the same level of leadership. just quite plainly the health and human services secretary is not the same as the president of china in status of world leaders. you didn't see president trump who had the opportunity. he could have spoken remotely by video to this assembly and made the points he has been making he didn't do that and instead left other world leaders, australia, the europeans, to lead and there was a gap there, i got to say. >> very striking. really helpful reminder about how it's actually working out in the field. keir simmons, thank you, sir.

massachusetts governor charlie baker unveiling phase one of his state's reopening plan. we could see manufacturing and construction and houses of worship reopening as long as they follow social distancing. the governor addressing the need for everyone to do that while they reopen. >> today, we lay out a road map to reopening massachusetts while we continue to fight covid-19. these two will be inseparable. getting back to work and fighting covid until there is a medical breakthrough with treatments or vaccine. and we cannot move forward unless we commit to continuing to slow the spread. we will continue to show you those scenes of different parts of the country and what reopening looks like. now breaking news. lawyers for the trump administration's ousted vaccine expert turned whistleblower dr. rick bright on nbc news is reporting the national institute of health to begin a new

assignment. lawyers tell us he is, quote, prepared to begin working when nih is ready. bright alleges he was reassigned or demoted pushed to the side because of his own objections to fast tracking the use of hydroxychloroquine. coming up, how tough do you think you have it under your own quarantine? well, after the break, we have the story of two scientists whose expa edition to the arctic has a quarantine of their own. you'll want to see it when we come back. or could things go a different way? i wanted to help protect myself. my doctor recommended eliquis. eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. almost 98 percent of patients on eliquis didn't experience another, and eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to.

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we all know how the coronavirus pandemic has raged around the world. it's hit packed urban areas and more sparsely parts of rural america. and we're seeing that virtually no corner of the entire earth has escaped the impact, even the arctic. two scientists are stranded, isolated at the top of the earth after a planned eight month expedition the boat they were going to take home was canceled

due to covid-19. they were the first women to ever go to the winter in the arctic circle without any male team member. a scientific distinction. >> hi there. can you imagine going through lockdown stranded between norway and the north pole? 90 miles away from other people enduring the coldest winter in 15 years? that is exactly what these two women, citizen scientists are going through as they carry out their research into climate change and essentially finding themselves stranded in one of the most remote places in the planet. here's their story. >> reporter: when it comes to social distancing, it doesn't get more extreme than this. the arctic. two citizen scientists are stranded during the coronavirus pandemic. >> this is tiny living at its

best. 20 square meters of space that we've been in for over eight months. >> reporter: the two women have been living in this hut since last august. and it's basic. >> we haven't had a shower in eight months. that's because there's no running water. >> global travel restrictions mean they missed their ride home, scheduled for last week. now they have no idea when they'll be able to return and it's a case of survival. they're having to ration food. dressing to go outside is a 15-minute affair, and comes complete with a rifle. they've had several close encounters -- >> oh, my god. >> with curious neighbors. >> these have really thick nails on them. and it's designed to keep the polar bears from both climbing the roof and also getting in the window. >> they admit times have been tough. >> we have disappointment as i'm sure others have had during these days. >> reporter: but their work

keeps them going, braving the elements to collect environmental data, even working with nasa. and they're seeing the bright side. >> we gave up what we thought was our normal life to come here. as it turns out this is more normal than the life back home. >> reporter: and until nature decides otherwise, these hostile but beautiful surroundings will continue to be hilda and suniva's home for the foreseeable future. and you know what i will say is the last time i spoke to the two women, they were in remarkably good spirits despite not knowing when they'll be able to return home. embracing the fact that they have more time to carry out research at a time when many other scientists can't carry out their projects due to lockdown. if you wonder why they don't just find another means of transport home, you have to remember they're at the mercy of the weather here. constantly measuring the thickness of the ice before they even move to make sure it's safe. so just another level of ris

income what is an incredible tale of resilience. >> really remarkable. a reminder of the different ways people are living through this. thank you so much. >> thank you. that wraps up the hour for me. i'll be back here tonight though, 6:00 p.m. eastern on "the beat." we have a lot planned. the katy tur picks up our coverage after this quick break. if you have asthma or copd, these are challenging times, and you may have a lot on your mind. we want to help, with real questions from you,

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good afternoon, i'm katy tur. it's 11:00 a.m. out west and 2:00 p.m. in the east. here are the facts this hour. there are more than 1.5 million confirmed cases of covid-19 across the united states. more than 90,000 people have now died nationwide. the world health organization could be veend t con veenld the annual convention meet big teleconference for the first time in history. hhs secretary azar chastised the organization saying it "failed at its core mission." biotech company moderna announced pronlsing results from a small human trial of a covid-19 vaccine. participants in the study produced some antibodies to fight the coronavirus. and the market rallied on the news of that study as well as the loosening of restrictions across the country along with comments from the fed chair powell that suggested more emergency lending may be on the

way. but powell did also warn that the economic recovery will be slow and the worst may be yet to come. texas is entering its next reopening phase today. gyms, nonessential offices and manufacturing plants can resume business as of right now. the state saw the largest one day increase in new cases on saturday with more than 1800 confirmed. given that, how are folks feeling about returning to business as usual? let's go right to texas with nbc's presilla thompson. always good to see you. so with the rise in cases, is that giving anybody over there in houston any pause about going out and trying to act as if business is as usual? >> good afternoon, katy. so those numbers that we see certainly haven't stopped folks from coming out to the gym today. we spent the morning here at cross fit where a steady stream of folks have come in throughout

the day to work out. and i spoke to them about those numbers and asked if they were at all concerned and they told me that it's what they expected. as the economy has been reopened for a few weeks here and more people are out and more testing is being done, they expect those numbers to continue to rise. the bigger concern is getting back to the daily lives. take a listen to what a few folks told me. >> just ready to get back to some normalcy like i said before and just get back to more economy, more stuff going. i mean it's affected every business, it's affected our business. i don't know a business that it hasn't touched. so just ready to get back to work. >> i think we need to do whatever he can to safe protocols to reopen the economy. >> and, katy, the other thing that i heard from a lot of people here today is that the idea that they're not really sure how to make sense of all this. they're a little confused. they're hearing a lot of different numbers in terms of hospitalization rates, death rates, numbers of positive cases and testing. and they're trying to figure out

how to make sense of it all. and that's only compounded by what one man tells me that he feels is bipartisan leadership where he is hearing one thing from local officials and another thing from state officials and yet another from federal officials. he feels like the responsibility is now on him to try to figure out how to make sense of all of this which we know can be tricky considering the coronavirus is spread communally and impacted by what the people around you are doing. katy? >> so i have a question for you. you're wearing a mask. i notice the two gentlemen in the interview were not wearing masks. how prevalent is mask wearing down in houston? >> you know, the city is certainly trying to push the messaging of wearing masks. they initially were hoping to enforce that. but the state government stepped in and said that you can actually give people fines or tickets so what we have seen is they're trying to hand out masks to people when they see folks without them. but i have to tell you, i haven't seen many folks with

masks on. and i was at the beach a few weeks ago reporting and at the gym and haven't seen a lot of them and it's hard to go to the beach wearing a mask. people are focusing on the distancing than the actual mask. >> well, staying outside is good. distancing is good. but if we all wore masks and all protecting everybody from our germs and if you're not spreading germs, the virus has no place to live. so that's my psa for today. presilla thompson, thank you very much. let's go to florida. the state reopened nearly -- the state has reported, excuse me, nearly 800 new cases yesterday. still though, governor is moving ahead with his full phase one reopening. that allows restaurants and museums to operate at a reduced capacity. but there are some city officials that are saying that they're not quite ready yet. so joining us now from florida inside because the kernlg is we not great there today is kerry

sanders. kerry, good to see you safe at home. where what are you seeing down there in terms of the readiness of not just business owners but people to get back to going out and visiting shops, going to beaches, acting like they did two months ago, three months ago? >> well, there is absolutely a pent up demand. people have been especially in south florida which is a more urban area. we're talking about broward county and miami-dade county where people have really recognized that the numbers are higher and the number of coronavirus cases right now in the state we have 46,442 cases. but the majority of those cases again in south florida. but most people don't really even those who live here don't think about counties. they think about the cities they live in. so broward county, most people think about ft. lauderdale. miami-dade, people think about miami. but you have a lot of municipalities and as you noted, there is a little bit of confusion. will in fact, probably a great amount of confusion as the governor issues the ability for businesses to reopen.

because it's been pusheded do do the local level. so why miami-dade, the mayor announced the opening phase one is today. very popular. miami beach, still closed. people are sort of like confused by all of this. according to the mayors who decided to delay openings throughout south florida is that they really didn't have enough time to absorb the 175 page that's were issued in miami-dade county. for instance, on how these reopenings will take place and what the rules and regulations will be. but along, for instance, lincoln road on miami beach, the lincoln road mall is a very popular place for people to go to. business owners are anxious wondering, okay, when do they get to open? they're ready to open. it looks like they're going to open on wednesday. this is what they had to tell us. >> the guests have been calling me, asking many he to come n we're already sol lidly booked r

the first three days. we're only taking two clients at a time. and only two technicians at a time. everybody will have a mask on during the treatment. everybody will have a shield on. the technicians will have a shield on. and they'll have a clothing coverage for the technicians. >> and, of course, she runs a spa there. but so many businesses anxious to reopen. i think one of the more interesting things is people think about restaurants. well, along famed ocean drive, you're going to see that a lot of restaurants are not reopening and that is because tourists are not coming because hotels remain closed. so the general sense across the country is let's get the restaurants open. we'll get the people in there. we'll get the business going. it doesn't necessarily apply to much of tourist heavy south florida. if the tourists are not here, the restaurants don't believe they can sustain enough business with just relying on locals to keep it going.

>> and there are restaurant industry representatives trying to convey that message to the president now when looking for more direct and usable help from the federal government. kerry sanders in florida, kerry, thank you very much. and tens of thousands of auto industry employees are getting back to work today dozens of u.s. plants at ford, gm and fiat chrysler are resuming production. nbc news got an exclusive look at how one ford plant is trying to keep workers safe. so joining us no you is nbc's cynthia mcfadden. this is the big question. everyone wants to go back to work. they want to do it safely. companies don't want the liability. workers want to protect themselves and families. and at an auto plant, how exactly are they doing that? is it easier than there other places? >> well, i don't know about easier, katy. i will will say this. the ceo of the ford motor company is very confident that they can do it and do it safely.

they call back 59,000 workers today. and they say that their experience with -- they implemented a 64-page plan. everything from where can you park and what door can you go in to temperature taking, mask wearing. take a look at how the ford plant, the new normal post coronavirus. we went inside. >> reporter: at the massive ford plant in michigan, a new normal will greet workers. >> i have to wait for the other employees to move into the plant so that we're socially separated. >> reporter: a factory the size of 30 football fields now with just one way in. everyone who enters must wear a facemask and be cleared by this device. >> this camera gives you a real time reading of your temperature. >> yes. >> and i'm good to go? >> yes, sir. >> thank you. >> reporter: adrian price is one of ford's top engineers.

he's also one of the leaders of the restart. >> this is an exclusive. no one else has been in here. >> reporter: he showed us some of the new safety protocols. the part of the automaker's 64-page playbook for getting back to work. the a return that is full of potential risks. are you confident that you can keep all 59,000 people you're bringing back to work in the u.s. safe? >> i sure am. in fact, cynthia, what i know is we're ready. >> reporter: jim hackett is ford's ceo. the company announced they would provide testing for any employee who showed symptoms of the virus. and we know that there is a terrible problem with people who don't have any symptoms but who are carriers. the. >> i had one of my peers that run a very large company say to dr. fauci, should i just test every employee every day? and dr. fauci said that is not practical. the only reason that all of us aren't being tested every day is there is not the system to do that yet. i would be all in, in fact, i tried to see if we could get

equipment right away. >> reporter: jason stein is the publisher of "automotive news." i says the automakers need to start producing. >> it's absolutely essential. two months the industry really had a hand break pulled on what was full acceleration. and they went to a standing stop. >> reporter: tell me what happens to the auto industry if they can't get back to work. >> what you'll continue to see is dramatic losses. there is no way they can sustain themselves if they're not producing vehicles on a daily basis. >> reporter: you were quoted saying if we keep the economy turned off, we're going to have a fate worse than some of the things that the virus is causing. when nearly 90,000 americans are dead, what precisely did you mean? >> each one of those things stand without argument. 90,000 deaths is a pure tragedy. and 36 million people out of employment is tragic. and so you can't solve the

paradox by saying one is more important than the other. you have to figure out a way as a path forward. >> reporter: well the idea would be to not add to the misery in any way, of course. katy this was not a voluntary request to employees to come back to work. this was a mandatory recall. but the ceo tells me that if there are individual workers who are uncomfortable, feel unsafe about going back to work, they will work with them on a case by case basis. now this is the plant, the one we just showed you, where the president plans to go for a visit this coming thursday. katy? >> in battle state michigan no less. cynthia mcfadden, thank you very much. let's bring in now the director of colombia university's national center for disaster preparedness dr. erwin redlener. it was 80 degrees on friday here

no new york and a nice day on saturday. i was driving to do an errand. and the streets were packed with people. a lot of them, vast majority were wearing masks. but it did underscore to me how hard it is to keep people inside unless you're willing to go to the extremes. so as the weather gets nicer and as more people around the country are being let out, it seems like the reality is that there is going to be a lot more action outside of the home. let's talk about ways to do it safely. can you go outside, wear a mask, wear gloves, maintain social distance and get back to some semblance of normal safely if you follow those measures? >> yeah. sure. there is safe ways to go out and there is very unsafe ways to go out. i also was in the central park and, you know, most people were but not all people were wearing masks. the social or physical distancing was not being upheld uniformly. and i think people are just

taking a risk. we understand the pressures not only to get outside but to get back to work. that interview with the ford ceo was very important understanding of the balance between safety and getting things back to normal. i mean i have seven grandchildren. keeping them inside and locked up in the house is not good. but we're certainly trying to do everything we can to follow the appropriate guidelines to reduce the chance of somebody really catching something. especially with kids, by the way, who could be totally asymptomatic and bring the infection back home to grandpa or somebody else in the household who might be at risk. >> so it seems like the cat is out of the bag in a lot of places. even in the places where there are more strict stay at home measures like here in new york. so what would your advice be to local officials, to lawmakers for their messaging for the public? >> let's say there are two types of messaging. one thooz has to do to the publ. can i take my kids to the park?

if they stay socially distant and wearing masks, that's fine. it's a different story for getting back to business as usual. because as the ford ceo was saying, we don't have the ability to do what is necessary which is to do daily rapid on site testing to make sure that if you're taking your family to the restaurant that the kitchen staff, servers are all negative . if you go to the nail salon that people that are taking care of you are, in fact, negative and are negative as of that day. it's hard and expensive and kind of shocking that we don't have that technology up. but we don't. and that's where it really gets difficult in terms of the reopening of the businesses which is now ubiquitous across the u.s. katy? >> can you attribute the low spread of the disease in a place like hong kong where mask wearing is just a more normal function of society on a regular basis as the factor that stopped

the widespread of this disease? mask wearing from the beginning for all of us have made it less impactful here? >> listen, we only had one tool in the toolbox and that is appropriate public health messages and methodologies like separating ourselves, stay at home, stay in shelter, masks, hand washing, sanitizing, so on. that's all. that's all we have. we don't have a vaccine. we don't have medication. we only have that. and that is really what is responsible for the slowing of the acceleration of the number of case and the number of fatalities. and we just have to keep paying attention to that, unfortunately. once we get a vaccine though or medication or other tools in the toolbox, we'll have other options. but right now, man, that's what we have, katy. >> masks aren't great but there are a lot of places selling slightly more fashionable versions of them, making it more

palatable. one more question for you. you mentioned vaccine. there is some promise in some of the human trials in one of their studies all 45 participants showed signs of antibodies for the coronavirus. what wh what do you make of this? >> this is misrepresentation in the extreme. 45 people is zero. we have many, many months if not a couple years to go before a vaccine like that will be available and safe for the seven pillon peop billion people on the planet. we have to make sure it works and safe. we're so far from that it's hardly worth talking about. they're getting a lot of publicity. i'm concerned about that. it's wishful thinking. it's establishing a hope for a more rapid development vaccine which i don't think is reasonable. >> dr. redlene rechlt, alwaare,

you. wisconsin just had the first weekend without a statewide stay at home order. the state also hit its highest single day of new coronavirus cases. and cases are on the rise in illinois as well. it doubles the testing capacity from just a few weeks ago. we'll go to a new testing center on chicago's south side. first though, the uncertain future for our restaurants. we teased this a moment ago. some owners fear they will never reopen. and andrew zimmer is back us with in just a moment.

president trump is sitting down with restaurant executives and owners today to discuss what the future holds for the hospitality industry. restaurants already operate on thin margins. closures due to coronavirus threaten to close many places permanently. as we've explored on this show, that do cause rape wia ripple e across the entire economy as millions of americans lotise thr jobs. let's bring in the creator and host of what's eating america, andrew zimern. we talked about this a lochlt now the president is holding a meeting with restaurant industry leaders. are you hopeful that they're going to come to a consensus? >> well, it's an absolute sea change in in the history of our industry. this is the first time that restaurants have had a seat at a

table inside the white house with both the president and secretary mnuchin. i'm cautiously optimistic. i think as business people, they have to understand that, you know, for the second consecutive month it was restaurant employees that were leading at the top of the unemployment statistics. we have half a million independent restaurants in america. they have 11 million employees. the total restaurant community is much bigger than even that. and, you know, the unemployment numbers and the insolvency, bankruptcy, people on public assistance coming out of both the supply chain leading into the restaurant, the restaurant is a business community itself, and then on the backside, the devastating effects to local economies just on trust taxes alone, it's a devastating number. and those trends will will continue unless our government takes action.

so i'm grateful to the white house for taking seriously these unique challenge that's are facing us. >> what specific action does the restaurant industry need? >> well, it's -- it really comes down to two things. and both of which were in buried in that hero's act. the ppp remains an eight week band-aid for an 18-month problem that is overwhelming independent restaurants who face insurmountable odds as they meet the new requirements for public safety. it's just not feasible for many restaurants to open. they can't afford to make the changes that are necessary to keep their employees safe. we need to keep the employees safe so that we can increase consumer confidence. you know, consumers are going to drive this recovery consumer demand will drive this recovery. so we need to get it right first time. we can't afford to mess it up. we need the backstopping from a morrow bust ppp that has a

longer window, tail attached to it going into december. and most importantly, the stabilization fund for independent restaurants that we called for on the 29th of april. that's $120 billion backstopping of independent restaurants so that we can remain open, stay open, pay our bills, be that link in that chain of this many trillions of dollars piece of economy and get people back to work as it ramps up from 25 to 50 to 75 to 100% of occupancy. >> so the restaurant industry employs more than 15 million people across the country. . there are now 5.5 million restaurant employees out of work. most restaurants, although you're going to see big names at this meeting including the head of panera bread and restaurant brands international. most restaurants across the country, nine out of ten of

them, have 50 or fewer employees. it sounds like what you're arguing for is more akin to a bailout than a loan. and at what point does that, i guess, does that money -- what sort of limitations need to be put on it? if the demand for the restaurant industry just does not bounce back, say people just are not comfortable crowding into tight places, where do you find the line between okay we tried and, you know, okay we got to move on to other measures? >> well, you just made the argument for me. i'd like to hit your first point. there are some big heavy hitters at the table today at the white house. there are also four friends of mine there, all of whom are members of the irc, two are on the leadership committee. >> the independent restaurant coalition so people know what that is. >> that's right, sorry. saverestaurants.com is an important site for people to go

visit. you hit the nail on the head, katy. this industry is way too big to allow to fail. historically, the bail -- whether you agree about the politics of it or how it was administered, airline industry, bank bailouts in the past have worked to keep those industries solvent. i think what we're asking for here is the same recognition for an industry that is even bigger than those. much bigger. in fact, the only employer that is larger in america than independent restaurants just on its own is the u.s. government's defense department. it's a staggering number. i think what we're trying to backstop against is exactly what you said. don't force us to open, you know, in a state at -- or give us the option to open without giving us the tools that we need to. of most restaurants at 25 or 50% of income can't pay their debt service. they can't pay their rent. it just a physical

impossibility. it's such a huge chunk of the economy. 4% of our gdp is independent restaurants. if it that breaks down, not only does that disappear but everything on the supply chain going into it and everything going out of it breaks down. >> we were talking about 36 million people out of work, 5 1/2 million being from the restaurant industry. that is a sizable chunk of people and sizable industry. andrew zimmern, i thought someone did a switch on me. with the beard and big glasses, sir, you are almost unrecognizable. >> it's a new look. >> thank you so much. >> sorry i sprung that on you. thank you. >> you look great. thanks so much for joining us today. we appreciate it. good luck. coming up, more states are reopening and companies are calling employees back to work. but with schools still closed, what do parents do about childcare? this is a really big issue. with me from oregon is our nbc news correspondent steve patterson.

what does it look like? >> well, katy, i don't know if can you see it, just over my shoulder is a site that i literally have not seen in months which is children playing. i think game of dodge ball going on back there, maybe some kick ball. kids riding bikes, throwing the ball around. just, you know, automatically you have this smile on your face to see a sight like that. if you look closer, you'll notice a few things that are much different in this time of covid-19. first of all, the instructors, all of them, have to wear facemasks. in order to have kids in class, they have to follow a strict set of guidelines set by the state which have eased a bit which is why we're able to be here and why the facility is open. but one thing is the masks. another thing is the size of the class. st you can see this is just one class. there is only one teacher per about ten students at a maximum. that class will use the playground equipment, use the equipment in the classroom. use the bathroom all by itself. so it's about keeping kids kind of sectioned off.

another thing is as you go in, there are temperature checks for parents, students, teachers, every time anybody goes inside there. they have to go through that system of checks. so another sort of safety set of protocols. that allow this to happen. but all of this is balancing against the fact that these daycares have to find a way to get ppe for the workers, get the facemasks, get extra sanitary gear and equipment. every time they use something, you have to sanitize it. literally every time. we spoke to the regional vice president, this is kinder care, by the way, of kinder care in the west coast about dealing with those issues and why this is important and why they're sectioning offer the kids. here's what she said. >> right now most of the groups in my states, we can have ten people total in a classroom. and that includes the teachers. so where we have close classrooms, we can put ten in each pod and we're keeping the

same children with the same teachers. so we are being told by our medical experts that's the safest thing to do is keep the environment as clean as can be and as consistent as can be. >> so another balance is, of course, the ratio of kids, you know, to operating in this these conditions. it's the overhead versus the enrollment and such concerns comes up for places to wonder if they can open or last beyond this time of crisis. that is a major concern. kinder care, 46 kids inside. i spoke to one of the instructors. i spoke to a parent who said such a relief after months and months of having the kids in the house to finally have an outlet, especially as states are opening up and people are going back to work. katy? >> steve patterson in oregon, steve patterson, thank you very much. coming up, illinois is now home to the most infected county in the nation. we'll look at the state's plans to dramatically ramp up testing. and then we're going to go to

wisconsin which hit a single day record in new cases on the first weekend out of lockdown. the state's lieutenant governor joins us next. i am robert strickler.

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in illinois, confirmed cases of coronavirus spiked in recent weeks due to the dramatic increase in testing. the department of health announced it processed over 20,000 tests on saturday. a number that far exceeds the state's april goal of 10,000 tests a week. illinois also doubled the number of testing sites from 112 in april to more than 240 today. nbc news correspondent shaquille brewster joins me if a new testing center on the south side of chicago. . so shaq, how are they able to scale up the testing dramatically? >> they're expanding the testing cry tear yachlt all essential workers, all front line workers

can now go and get tested. they can come to a drive up facility like the one behind me that is state run. and get tested without payment or referral from a doctor. that is also true for anyone that has a chronic illness. they can do so even if they don't have a symptoms. they can do so for someone that encountered someone that tested positive can use the same facilities. officials are saying they're hoping that the increase in testing will help them understand where things stand in this state as they try to stop the spread and control the virus. however, a local official here in chicago said the numbers that we're seeing in cases are far, far, far behind the actual numbers in terms of infections. so they're hoping that the testing will help shed some light on exactly where they stand. it's also important to know as the state is increasing the testing, they're receiving more pressure to reopen more quickly. the governor is facing towns and municipalities that are going against orders, the stay at home

orders and using their own reopening policies. there was a church in chicago this weekend that decided to open and hold services despite the stay at home order. the mayor said that church will now face citations for defying the orders. so you're seeing officials trying to handle both the spread of the virus but also the p ushback from the stush push back from the stay at home orders. >> shaq, thank you very much. and wisconsin had had the first open weekend after the governor's stay at home orders were struck down by the state supreme court. restaurants were open for dining and hundreds crowded the resort town and many were maskless. many did not appear to be practicing social distancing. the carefree scene did not reflect where wisconsin currently stands in the fight against covid-19. on saturday the state set a single day record in new coronavirus cases. joining me now is the democratic lieutenant governor of wisconsin, mandela barnes.

lieutenant governor, thank you for joining us. the reality is people are going to get outside and go to the bars. they're going to go to the open establishments. the supreme court overturned the decision. what can lawmakers now do to encourage people if they are going to go out and shop or do whatever to stay safe? >> so the majority in our legislature has already proven that keeping people safe is top of mind for them. you can look at how long it took for them to convene to come up to pass a package to relieve people. and you can look at the fact that they went to the supreme court to strike down our stay at home order. you look at the numbers from this weekend, it shows exactly that the state of wisconsin was not ready for some grand reopening. we were supposed to take a measured approach is what the data and science shows. we didn't do. that i'm very pessimistic about

this legislature coming together to do something with the idea of keeping people safe. they have not proven that they were willing to do that in the first place. i don't expect that to happen any time soon. >> do you think there is any number of new cases that might make this legislature take a breath and say this is maybe not a good idea? if the rate keeps rising, it's 8.3% where the tests were higher, slightly higher than 6% from the previous day. >> i don't see that happening. i don't know what it's going to take. they ignore the science when it comes to climate change. and now they're ignoring the science when it comes to a pandemic. we have a, again, a majority that is not concerned with facts. the facts show that wisconsin was simply not ready and lives are going to continue to be put at risk as a result. they are proving that they want to do anything for the economy even if it means people are going to have to suffer as a result. >> so we're looking at a ved id from a bar the other day. the nurse said she wanted to get

out and not worried. if you have nurses getting out there and saying they're not worried, people aren't wearing masks, they're not social distancing, i mean, is this a -- is this an anomaly or just a group of people that are not representing the wider wisconsin public and others are taking precautions and wearing masks? what is this? >> i absolutely think it's an anomaly. the numbers showed in the latest marquette poll that the state of wisconsin, our residents were strongly in favor of the stay at home order. they felt it was necessary. the it is frustrating when you see people packed at bars, even more frustrating to see a nurse say the things she said. i would like to remind people, we all have lives. we all have things we want to do. but it is very irresponsible for us to put other people's lives at risk as a result of us and this selfish desire of wanting to be out and get back to things

as they were before before it's time to do so. >> do you feel like you lost this battle? >> i don't feel like we lost this battle because the court of public opinion, that's where we want people to understand what they need to do for the most part. the majority of people still get it. the majority of people are still willing to make these sacrifices. i like to remind folks, this doesn't bring us any joy. this is not how i prefer to spend my spring and my summer. of we've had had a very long winter. the weather is finally starting to change. there are so many more things i would like to be doing myself. and so everybody across the state and even the majority of people across this country get the moment that we're in right now. this is something that we never -- that we haven't dealt with before in our life times. and we're going to have to approach it in a way that means that we have to change our idea, our focus about what our daily lives should be. >> wisconsin lieutenant governor

mandela barnes, thank you very much for joining us, sir. >> yep. thank you. and still ahead, nascar is back. sort of. and from art museums in italy to beer gardens in germany, how is europe lifting the lockdowns while keeping covid-19 at bay? can my side be firm?

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the country which was once critically overwhelmed by the virus is now accelerating the reopening. nbc news correspondent claudia levania is in florence where the museums are getting ready to receive the public once again. >> reporter: katy, among businesses and public places that were reopen today across the country are museums. the there is no better place than florence to talk about how coronavirus affected the world of art and history. florence is like an open air museum. but it's preservation doesn't come for free. so until before coronavirus the much needed restoration and maintenance projects will be funded by entry tickets in popular art galleries and museums across the city, but with the sudden drop of tourists, it looks like art and history are paying the ultimate price here as in the rest of italy. we spoke to the director of the museum. the most popular museum in italy. one of the most visited in the

world. he said that there may be a silver lining in the sudden drop of tourists. until last year, the official attracted two million visitors. look at it now. i'm in front of it. usually this place is really crowded. there is not many people around. so to visit these days, you have to either live here or try to make it here which will be fairly difficult in the foreseeable future. he says that essentially this is a one in a lifetime opportunity to find yourself face-to-face with renaissance masterpieces. but now we spoke to another director of a museum who was a lot less optimistic. he said that until, before coronavirus, the two million visitors who will visit them will essentially pay for the restoration and maintenance of those ancient buildings and art works. so last year they brought in $20 million. this went down to zero, of course, since february.

well that, means that some very important restoration work like the baptist and are now on hold. but all in all, looks like, katy, that florence is badly in need of a new renaissance. katy? >> leave it to claudio to make it look chic. it is, as he said, usually very busy. thank you very much. the and in germany, officials are hoping to replace strict travel restrictions for tourists with softer guidelines by june. until then, with tourism on hold and with oktoberfest still cancelled, many small breweries are finding themselves in danger of going out of business. but not in bavaria. the first german state to enter lockdown and home to the country's highest per capita coronavirus infection rate some of the most famous beer gardens in the world there are open as of today. so joining us now from munich is nbc news correspondent carl nasman. that must be good news for folks

out there. >> yeah, really is. this is such a welcome change for so many people here. you touched on it bachlt v. bavaria is the hardest hit area. the slowest to reopen. so for many here, it's been a couple of months since they were able to simply sit down and eat something and have a drink with their neighbors. i actually got the chance to go check out one of the beer gardens that opened today just outside of munich. it was packed. there were people there enjoying the beautiful weather. i spoke with some of the customers. at the told me this is a small step but it really does mean a lot of here's what they said. >> it's fantastic feeling to be back in a beer garden with family or with friends and with a long hard time for us in bavaria without a beer garden and now it's perfect weather today. and don't know what could be better now. >> yeah. plenty of safety measures in place as well.

this is really socially distance drinking. you see the tables spaced six feet apart. everyone required to leave the contact information for tracing later in case there is a case of covid-19. and, facemasks required but luckily not when you're eating or when you're drinking. >> yeah, there was an article, a "new york post" article that showed a face mask, where you could stick a straw in it, so you could still drink, which sounds great, except it kind of negates the purpose of a face mask. >> and a bit messy, too. >> carl, thanks -- yeah, carl, thanks so much. and after a ten-week hiatus, nascar revved back up over the weekend, but in a sport made of lefts, there was one big thing left out. you're watching msnbc.

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the return of sports kicked off this weekend, both here and abroad. in germany, the company's

football league, the bundesliga held its first -- sorry, the prompter stopped working -- its first game since the start of the virus. and empty stadiums empty of thousands stands. there was an eerie quietness and the echos of players shouting. nascar racers took to the raceway to kick off the first of its race season. again, no fans were allowed. nbc's morgan chesky has more from south carolina. >> reporter: good afternoon, katy. a lot of excitement here in darlington, south carolina. not just to get back on this racetrack, which is nicknamed too tough to tame, but drivers were just looking forward to the chance to have their sport back. it had been two months since their last race, and that's why nascar wanted to make sure that this one held sunday afternoon hit all the right notes, because so many eyes would be on it, from other sports leagues trying to figure out that right way to come back, amidst this pandemic. we know for drivers and their

crews, that meant showing up here at the racetrack hours ahead of time to submit to screening both before and after the race, with temperature checks and other medical procedures. in addition to that, those pit crews that changed the tires had to be slightly reduced in size in an effort to limit exposure. nascar officials here telling me that they've already received phone calls from other pro leagues asking what worked and what didn't, since this was such a moving target moving forward. we know that the nfl plans to reopen practice facilities tomorrow, as long as local officials give their blessing that it's okay to do so. and for baseball, we know that a draft proposal has been confirmed by nbc news that contains coronavirus rules that says social distancing even applies in the dugout. they would be advising players not to shower in locker rooms, and the time-honored tradition of spitting tobacco or sunflower seeds, forget about it. that is strictly prohibited. so all of these sports are now trying to find out how to adjust

to this brand-new normal, and it made yesterday's race here in darlington even more symbolic, as it marked the return of live sports, something that's so important to so many of us. katy? >> and we'll all take sports even without the fans for the time being. morgan chesky reporting from south carolina, thank you very much. and how do you go to a bar and stay safe while doing so? well, one maryland bar has an idea as it plans for its reopening with social distancing in mind. fish tails in ocean city tested new bumper-style tables over the weekend. customers would stand in the center of a circular table surrounded by inner tubes to keep them separated by 6 feet. the tables' wheels allow them to mingle and it is all outside, of course. and i've got to say, i kind of like it. i feel like that would be kind of fun. although, i imagine a lot of people would have their beers knocked over, bumper cars with beers. that'll do it for me today. wear a mask, everyone. brian williams and nicole

wallace pick up our coverage right after a very quick break.

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good day. brian williams here with you, as we start a new week. 3:00 p.m. here in the east, 12:00 noon out west. our friend, nicole wallace, will join us momentarily. first, however, a look at the headlines and the facts as we know them at this hour. as you no doubt know, over

90,000 americans have now died from the coronavirus. the cdc director tweeted late last week the death toll could reach 100,000 by june 1st, but at this current pace, we could reach that number sadly, as early as this week. new york city, the epicenter, of course, of this pandemic could soon join much of new york state and almost every other state reopening this economy. mayor bill de blasio says the city hopes to begin a phased reopening, in the first half of the month of june. that would include allowing retailers to open with restrictions and for some construction to resume. there may be some promising news in the effort to find a vaccine. drug manufacturer modderna says the first phase of human trials on its vaccine found service safe and prompted an immune response in the human body. the big caution here is that only 45 people participated in this trial, so larger studies will need to be done to determine if this vaccine can

prevent people from contracting the virus. the news was enough to provide a boost on wall street after last week's losses. as we enter the last hour of trading, the dow up more than 3%. moderna's stock is up more than 20. and without further delay, i'm joined by our colleague, nicole wallace, host of "deadline: white house." and nicole, another weekend of prodigious social media activity and media appearances by the president and especially his two sons, memorializing the 90,000 souls lost, not so much. >> not so much. and as much as the world has changed, he has not changed at all. he's reverted back to the darkest persona he sort of captured during that early republican primary. and i think in his head, maybe it worked for him then. he's hoping it works again, but it's a very polarizing look.

and i think it's safe to say, without any sort of degrees in psychology, that seeing president obama sort of satisfy the thirst for seeing more of our former presidents during this crisis really seem to get under his skin, especially when he said what was obvious to everybody, that the federal response has been uneven at best. and it was in that vein that donald trump has repeatedly ride to shift the blame for his administration's botched response to the coronavirus pandemic. he's pointed fingers, as we just said, to the previous administration, to china, the world health organization, the media, and democratic governors. now, he and his advisers are focusing in on new targets. yesterday, peter navarro, he's that top white house adviser who actually penned a memo warning the president, took aim at the cdc during an appearance on nbc's "meet the press". >> early on in this crisis, the cdc, which really had the most trusted brand around the world

in this space really let the country down with the testing. because not only did they keep the testing within the bureaucracy, they had a bad test. and that did set us back. >> also yesterday, health and human services secretary alex azar seemed to blame the virus' toll on the underlying health conditions some americans have. >> unfortunately, the american population is a very diverse and it is a -- it is a population with significant unhealthy comorbidities that do make many individuals in our communities, in particular, african-american, minority communities, particularly at risk here, because of significant underlying disease, health disparities, and disease comorbidities. >> but that doesn't mean it's the fault of the american people -- >> oh, my goodness -- >> -- adequate steps in february. >> oh, no, jake, please, please don't distort -- this is not about fault. it's about simple epidemiology

and stating that if we have hypertension, if we have diabetes, we present with greater risk of severe complications from this coronavirus. >> donald trump has gone after former president obama over a host of issues, including this pandemic. but his attacks took on a new tone yesterday, after obama called out the current administration over its underwhelming response, without naming any names. >> i didn't hear it. look, he was an incompetent president. that's all i can say. grossly incompetent. >> joining our conversation now, daily beast politics editor, sam stein, and internal medicine physician, dr. lipi roy. both, lucky for us, msnbc contributors. sam stein, i'm going to start with you, because brian and i have started off talking about the president's weekend. it was not spent zooming into any memorial services or, as brian said, spending a lot of time or energy publicly talking

about the pandemic. his public utterances were focused on people being on top of each other at golf tournaments and, as we've just played, president obama. >> yeah, another sort of weird weekend for the president, where his inner eid went out on twitter. it gets to the point now where we're sort of just wondering if he's kind of just -- not bored, but frustrated by the fact that there's very little his administration has been able to do on this. they've flailed around a lot. i was struck by the environmental comments in particular. peter navarro is actually right. the cdc infamously did have a botched test operation early on, which set us back in terms of testing. but it's exceptionally rare, as you know this, nicole, working inside the white house, exceptionally rare for the white house to attack its own administration agencies, and to so clearly trying to cast blame here. especially for navarro, because this dr. bright whistle-blower allegation.

if you read the text, peter navarro was one of those first people who was actually attuned to the calamity that was coming ahead. he had worked with dr. bright, potentially to amp up the ppe supplies that we have, to start focusing on a vaccine. so he was there. he understood what was going on. and it's just really interesting to see him be the point of the spear here to rye to deflect blame from trump. but that seems to be where we are. whether it's blaming the unhealthy backgrounds of many americans or the cdc or trump just flailing about and blaming basically anyone he can think of, we're at the stage in this crisis where it's time to get out of the way, more or less. >> dr. roy, it seems to be double-edged for this administration, where there actually are some things to point to as reasons for possible optimism. if i were in this white house, i would be looking towards some of the careful reopenings, to see if there are some lessons learned for states that are farther down the chain. but a normal white house takes

responsibility for its executive branch. they don't send presidential advisers out to trash the cdc mid-pandemic. how does that land in the health community? >> yeah, i think of -- and good afternoon, nicole and brian. it's good to be with you, again. i think of my own family. when i was growing up, good parents don't always just praise children, right? don't always just say good things. you comment on the good and the bad. that's how we grow as human beings. you know, and similarly, yeah, there have been a lot of promising things that have already been happening. like, here in new york state, thankfully, we are over the hump and the number of hospitalizations, intubations, deaths, cases that are going down. but we are still very much in the midst of a pandemic in this country, with over 1.5 million cases and growing and the number of deaths rising. we're going to reach 100,000 men and women and some children

dying from this virus, for which we are learning something new still every day. so to me, strong leadership is not about never making mistakes. it's about learning, acknowledging mistakes, learning from them, and then moving on. we have a problem at hand. let's fix it now. >> sam, talk about the migration of people in the trump orbit. it's almost entertaining viewing to watch. secretary azar, case in point. he was in, he was out of favor. but he dashed any doubt as to his loyalty last week when he gave that full-throated criticism of dr. bright, while standing next to the president prior to boarding the helicopter. and in his public remarks in the rose garden, this is a tell for any officials around trump. when you begin your remarks with

"thank you, mr. president, for your leadership," it seems to be a required line. he did so last week, and now this, as you pointed out, bla blaming, in effect, the pre-existing health conditions, comorbidities, as they are known in the business, of the american people, for the toll this has taken. >> i mean, yes. this is a tell, the degree to which you are grateful for the president, whom you serve, and the degree to which you are willing to itcast blame on othe well beyond him. and it's exceptionally rare for any politician, let alone the person who runs the department of health and human services, to criticize american's health styles for the reason that they are dying in such numbers. now, scientifically, we do have this problem. it's part of our fabric and our dna. it's one of the reasons that animates our health care debate for decades now. but, you just don't see political actors make that leap for obvious reasons. the people in charge are the

politicians and they're the ones where the buck tends to stop. but to your point, brian. if you want to curry favor with trump, you have to be able to blame someone else for the problems that clearly are at his doorstep. >> and dr. roy, similarly, it's been a tell to be able to discover the people who are reporting with some surprise, as if it's new knowledge, that, for example, in the african-american community, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes are of n often, alone or in tandem, three pre-existing conditions. way too many people are finding out about this and talking about this now. i would presume you would welcome a concerted national effort to attack these comorbidities before, god forbid, the next pandemic. >> you're absolutely right, brian. i mean, yes, in the medical and

public health communities, we've known for a long time that we've -- that certain communities, african-american communities, native americans, certain communities have been more vulnerable and are disproportionately impacted by chronic illnesses. and therefore, not, surprisingly, during an epidemic, they're even doubly affected. we know that mortality amongst african-americans is much higher than the general population from diseases such as heart disease, cancer, pneumonia, stroke. so, yeah, we need to do targeted outreach to these communities. but all of that, it goes back to the lessons that we have to learn from this pandemic, which is, we need to really fund public health and preventative health measures. we need to talk about nutrition and indidiet and exercise and r specific communities. but a quick comment about dr. rick bright. i watched that entire testimony and as a physician, a public health advocate and a former

scientist, i just feel a professional obligation to stand up for dr. rick bright, who was clearly a public servant and who puts science and data above political agenda. and i just want to say that i'm grateful to him for doing that, on behalf of all of my patients and for public safety. >> nicole talked about the trigger that barack obama represented over the weekend for the current president. it was all clear for those up last night, that seeing dr. bright on "60 minutes" was a similar trigger. our thanks to sam stein and dr. lipi roy for starting off our coverage as we start a new week. we appreciate it. a break for us. and when we come back,n in a moment on this monday, it was a weekend of reopening and a lot of states around our country will check in with the mayor of atlanta. her state was among the first, you'll recall, to ease restrictions. so far, cases of coronavirus appear to be holding steady in georgia, but experts warn it may be too soon to know for sure.

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deponeending on where you l, maybe you saw it. over the weekend, crowds flocked to beaches and parks after a number of governors eased those stay-at-home mandates in response to the pandemic. and while a lot of americans worry about lifting restrictions too soon and a lot of people have preferred to just stay home anyway, the president is enthuse that enthuseiasicly looking ahead to sports events with large crowds. here's some of what he said over the weekend in an interview with nbc sports that took place with the first live televised golf event since the pandemic started. >> so when you have all of those thousands, tens of thousands of people going to your majors and going to golf tournaments, we want them to have that same experience. and we don't want them to having to wear masks and be doing what we've been doing for the last number of months, because that's not getting back to normal. we want to be back to normal, where you have the big crowds and they're practically standing on top of each other and they're

enjoying themselves. >> on that note, and joining our conversation, the democratic mayor of the city of atlanta, keisha lance bottoms. georgia, you'll recall, one of the first states to reopen its businesses amid the pandemic. mayor, i'm tempted to -- in light of the president's comments, say, baby steps here. let's not fast forward to where we would all love to be. a society so disease free that we are on top of each other at the motor speedway you have there, at golf courses, at major sporting events. but right now, perhaps too early? >> well, brian, as i was listening to the president, trying to suppress my laugh, it is unbelievable to hear him say that. my kids want every day to be christmas, but that's not reality. and so, i'm at a loss for words

with your question. you know, things have changed significantly in our state and in so many ways, it is back to business as usual, but we are continuing, just to press home to people, even in this new now normal that we're in, to continue to exercise care. nothing about covid-19 has changed. people are still at risk, especially communities of color, where we have all of these underlying health conditions that are higher than the national average, as was just discussed. and so we are trying to be very thoughtful in atlanta, and just being able to make recommendations to our businesses, we just convened an advisory council that met for over five weeks. we have 26 fortune 500 companies based in atlanta. they had representatives on this council, the philanthropic community, our faith-based community, our colleges and universities, and the list goes on. so we want the people who will be impacted in making decisions

to have input and buy-in as to how we go about in a very thoughtful and considerate manner in reopening businesses across atlanta. >> mayor, i believe i remember when we were talking to you prior to the quote/unquote reopening of georgia, which as we note, was very early, and let's also note, there's a robust conversation going on about the quality of the numbers we're all getting out of the state of georgia, but i think i remember you saying that you hoped to be wrong. that you hoped the situation would be better than you feared. and if you were, in fact, wrong, you would say to the governor, i was wrong. is there a -- is it a little muddier than being able to say, i was right or i was wrong? are we -- as of the time of this conversation, somewhere in the middle, do you think? >> well, what i can say, brian, is it's not as bad as i thought

that it would be, so i am pleased about that. but i still think it's too soon to say the reason being, whereas initially we were seeing increases between deaths and people testing positive, rising, anywhere from 25 to 30% over a seven-day period, right now we're somewhere between 12 and 15%. so it's better than it was, but still not great. we've still not see that 14-day decline, as recommended by the cdc, so we're not quite there, where i can say that we are out of the woods, because we are not. because what we know as we reopen this state, we'll also see whether or not this impacts our number of people who are testing positive. >> mayor, your governor's reopening plan was viewed as so aggressive, even by the end, taking two or three sides of it, donald trump came out against some of the reopenings of tattoo parlors, i think, and the kinds

of businesses where social distancing would be impossible. i'm in a state or part of my state that hasn't begun reopening yet. i wonder if there are any places that have been re-evaluated or any contact tracing back to where the new infections are to suggest that tattoo parlors -- i don't mean to pick on tattoo parlors, but the kinds of businesses that were having any distance at all from body-to-body contact were impossible. >> so that's a great question. where we have seen improvement in the state is that we've increased testing. testing is available throughout the city and throughout the state and it's pretty easy to get testing. i've not seen that same robust engagement with contact tracing. i know that there is work to get us there, but we just aren't there yet. and again, you know, you know, this, with covid-19, we just

absolutely will not know until a few weeks from now what the reopening of these businesses mean. now, that being said, it's my hope that with our tattoo parlors and all of these other businesses that we had concerns about, that people are making sure that they have the appropriate ppe and that they are practicing social distancing to the extent possible, if you're giving someone a tattoo, but we just aren't there yet. but we know that that's still needed, but we haven't perfected that yet. >> what is the mind-set around mask wearing? is it -- is it -- is it mainstream, does it look overly concerned? what are the sort of practices in atlanta when it comes to wearing masks and keeping that 6-foot distance between each other? >> so i have made a request to the governor that we be allowed

to require people wear a mask in the city of atlanta. one, because of our dense population. and all of the underlying health conditions that we have previously discussed. i have asked specifically in instances where people can't socially distance or where there are gatherings of ten or more, the governor denied that request. that being said, a lot of people are wearing masks and a lot of people are not. it really is a mixed bag. my biggest test is when i go into the grocery store and i would say, just anecdotally, maybe 75% of the people have on masks and the others don't. but i can tell you, my big concern is, as it gets warmer and warmer in georgia, and you know, we have very hot summers, that we will see fewer people with masks on and, again, this is going to be the time that we really get a good look at our

numbers and what impact our aggressive reopening has on our positive cases in the state. >> mayor keisha lance bottoms of the city of atlanta, tell your beautiful children, who we enjoy seeing in the pictures behind you, that we're going to work on that whole christmas idea. i think they're on to something. we appreciate you joining us very much. >> thank you. >> when we come back, president trump's systemic dismantling of the inspectors general who have the responsibility of holding this government to account. when you shop for your home at wayfair

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while our nation grapples with the public health challenges and economic turmoil during a pandemic, the administration is charging ahead with its series of attacks on inspectors general. on friday, steve lenick became the fourth ig removed by the president or the president has sought to remove in a span of just six weeks. probably safe to say this president doesn't love the idea of people looking into things. and now senior officials tell nbc news what they believe what may have contributed to his firing. lenick was investigating secretary of state mike pompeo on two separate fronts. the first was looking into whether pompeo made a staffer perform personal errands, including making dinner reservations, walking the family dog. the second area, perhaps more