hey there. i'm joshua johnson. good to be with you today from nbc news in new york. on this memorial day weekend president trump says he wants you to get back out there, to the beaches, to church to life as normal. we'll show you how he's trying to lead by example on that front. all 50 states are in some form of reopening. still this is anything but a holiday weekend across america. our reporters on the ground will give us a sense of that just ahead. we begin with the latest sobering numbers on coronavirus.

the united states is approaching 100,000 deaths. that's about 30,000 more than what the white house predicted back in march. president trump is reportedly questioning whether this number is being inflated. he's also reinforcing that life should return to normal. the president is spending today in virginia at one of his golf courses for the first time in more than two months. yesterday he forcefully ordered that places of worship are essential. he also claimed that he could order them to reopen. >> at my direction the centers for disease control and prevention is issuing guidance for communities of faith. i'm identifying houses of worship, churches, synagogue and mosques as essential places that provide essential services. some governors have deemed the liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential but have

left out churches and other houses of worship. it's not right. so i'm correcting this injustice and calling houses of worship essential. >> nbc's monica alba at the white house. hey, monica, this golf trip for the president is actually kind of significant. tell us about it. >> exactly, joshua. this is the first time we've seen the president hit the links in about 75 days. the last time he went to a self-branded property he owns was in early march when he was down in mar-a-lago before he deemed the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency. so this is the first time we've seen him do this kind of outing in the last couple of months, and it comes as hez trying to signal to the rest of the country this memorial day weekend if you want to get out and golf or play tennis or go to the beach all of that is acceptable if you socially distance. he's trying to say that is also what he's going to be doing. he has notably said that golf is

one of the only forms of exercise he gets, so he's returning to something he enjoys and spends a lot of time doing, but it is also worth pointing out this is an administration posture they want to be projecting in the weeks ahead, this return to normalcy they've been trying to amplify over the last couple of weeks, joshua. >> now, monica, the president did not just order churches to open. he included a message to governors. let's listen to that. >> the governors need to do the right thing and allow these very important essential places of faith to open right now. so this weekend. if they don't do it i will override the governors. >> and it's more accurate to say the president did not order churches to open. he ordered them to be deemed essential and open if they so. the president does not have the constitutional power to override a governor's orders about churches, but what kind of reaction have we seen to what

the president said? >> that's the most important point there, and the president notably didn't take any questions after he made that announcement because he wouldn't be able to cite any legal authority in which he could override the governors. it is up to the states to decide how these houses of worship are going to open, what the guidelines will be and how that will happen in their own time line dictated by them. this came after a week of back and forth where the cdc was trying to issue guidance on houses of worship but the white house couldn't get on the same page as them in terms of what they wanted to present to millions of americans, but the president got ahead of those and made his own announcement and you can see this being critical to his election hubs. they have seen both internal numbers and public polling that shows a possible erosion there, and that's part of the reason why the president wanted to come out and get ahead of this announcement. the key thing here is we've

already seen some governors saying they're not listening to the president, they're going to set their own metrics how this will happen. and if there are places going to have service this weekend they encourage it to be groups of ten or less. they want everyone to wear masks or face coverings and potentially move services outdoors if that's possible, joshua. >> we'll talk a bit more in a few minutes about those cdc guidelines for houses of worship. that's nbc's monica alba at the white house. >> as you probably already know memorial day weekend looks quite different this year. coastal states across the country are reopening beaches with restrictions. florida, new york, new jersey and texas are just a few of the states letting citizens onto the sand for the unofficial start of summer. social distancing and capacity limits are in place. in california beaches in 15 counties including los angeles, san diego and santa barbara are open ahead of the holiday. california has nearly 91,000 confirmed cases.

more than 3,600 people have died. nbc's steve patterson is in ven ventura where most beaches, parks and trails have eareopene. >> reporter: i really drew the short straw today. turn out for something as beautiful as today with a slight breeze, sun beaming down, you see people walking. but this is probably a shell of what it would normally be on any one given weekend. there is some worry, though. you have this many people out, it is so nice. take a look out here. you see the beach. not a whole lot of people but that's because they shouldn't be congregating. this is only beaches open for recreational activities, swimming, surfing, jogging, walking. we've seen all that today, but as we've been mentioning the crowds are sparse. a lot of people are respecting the social distancing and respecting the rules on the beach. however, health officials are worried because so many counties

across california now moving deeper into the phases of reopening. the state's in phase 2 but some of the reintersectiostrictions . you can go into a restaurant and have a meal, go into a retail business, go into a mall, enjoy the beach. this is all kind of happening all at once with this holiday weekend opening up. so there is some worry about people not respecting the rules. however, i would say most people are social distancing. they're just taking a walk. not a lot of people wearing face coverings although you do see some of that as you walk by. but we talked to people about, you know, do you feel comfortable out here, you know, with this many people on a holiday weekend all things considered. ? we got a wide range of responses. listen to this. >> we are excited. i mean, of course we love coming out and enjoying good food and being able to come out, but at the same time we're practicing

social distancing. >> and we carry our mask with us. >> i'm not worried about being outside. i'd be worried about, like i'm not going to go to a restaurant anytime soon other than take out. being inside -- i feel okay being outside where the air is helping and it's breezing away. >> it's in the back of my head that, you know, there's a possibility of getting infected, but i just try not to think about it so much. >> another quick live look at some beach goers and surfers enjoying the day. a lot of people did say they're not worried. maybe ventura county there were only 900 infections so far and 30 delgs although we've seen the infection rate continue here as, you know, the state continues to reopen. very cautionary, optimistic outlook from people who are on the beach and people watching from sacramento making the decisions. joshua back to you.

>> 65 degrees and sunny on the ventura pier with nbc's steve patterson. leaning to the side without a care in the world. steve, get back to work. don't make this look so easy. steve, thanks very much. beaches in texas have been open for three weeks now as part of governor greg abbott's phased reopening plan. galveston is already seeing large crowds this weekend. social distancing there has been a challenge to say the least. this report on the popular jeep weekend event raised a few eyebrows to say the least. >> after several weelks of being stuck inside thousands have flocked here to the peninsula to make the most of their time while out. >> been in quarantine and i need to get out and party. >> jeep weekend. as for the enforcement of social distancing they say it's challenging to enforce. >> i mean you can't. it's just -- it's not possible to do that on this beach with

the amount of people that we have here. >> those people in texas are part of a state that has more than 54,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and at least 1,500 known deaths. nbc's priscilla thompson in galveston with the latest. it's high 80s and sunny in galveston right now. what's the city expecting this weekend and how are local businesses preparing for it it? >> reporter: it's a little warmer here than it is out in california, and that has definitely drawn folks out to the these beaches. the officials here tell me they estimate up to half a million people may turn out this weekend to enjoy the water and the sand. and so they're asking folks to exercise that social distancing. but where that becomes a real challenge is actually across the street from the beaches at those restaurants that can only operate at 50% of their occupancy. so one thing officials have done is closed down some of the

parking and the roads in order to make space for people to distance while they're waiting to get into those restaurants. i talked to one owner of a popular restaurant here about the challenges he's faced with crowd control on weekends like this one. take a listen to what he told me. >> inside the building it's much more easy to control because of tables that are closed for social distancing, we've removed the chairs from those tables. so inside the building, very organized, everyone is accommodating. outside the building, incredibly difficult to maintain social distancing because guests are outside, and they don't really want to be told what to do while they're waiting an hour or two or in some cases three hours to get inside. >> reporter: as for the folks on the beach the tourism commission is actually going to be flying a banner up and down the beach asking folks to maintain that 6 foot distance. and we just learned that president trump's re-election campaign will also have a banner out here tomorrow and monday

promoting his campaign. so lots of banners in the air here in galveston. >> taking advantage of the crowds, i guess. that's nbc's priscilla thompson joining us from galveston, texas. this is an important religious weekend. this evening is the end of the holy month of ramadan. tomorrow many catholics will celebrate ascension sunday that commemorates christ's physical transition into heaven. the cdc's guidelines include social distancing and face coverings. they also recommend offering virtual spiritual care and using virtual donations instead of passing the plate. new research indicates coronavirus is beyond control in 24 states. that could get worse as we restrict less and move around more. let's discuss it with nbc medical contributor dr. natalie azar. how are you doing?

good to see you again. >> hi, joshua. how are you? >> i'm good. i wonder how concerned you think people should be about attending spiritual services or even going to the beach in the foreseeable future. particularly with church services i know president trump's comment yesterday raised a lot of eyebrows, but if you read the cdc's guidelines they go into a fair amount of detail including those specifics about things like collection plates and decorative if you wantens a fountains and so forth. >> they do, joshua. also there's a strong push for the places of worship to really collaborate with the health department so they understand the degree of viral transmission. they are to encourage mask wearing. they're supposed to provide hand sanitizer and very regularly, you know, teach and reinforce those health hygiene measures. and just a point about this this weekend with both the places of worship and with beach goers is that we have to remember this is

very geographically complex pandemic. there is a lot of variability i should say between states and counties and cities in terms of their laws and health regulations. i think we also need to look at it as an opportunity here. because as people start to move around in the next couple of weeks whether they're going to church or going to the beach we are going to see that second wave of infections as long as we're not taking these kind of measures. and let me just say i don't know if you've experienced it yet but we're all experiencing some of this social distancing fatigue. it's kind of a new term that we're, you know, throwing around a little bit. while there's no one prescription, it's not a one size fits all, it really has to do a lot with your own risk factors and your own risk tolerance in terms of how much interaction and openness you're actually going to give to yourself. >> that's kind of the risk. there's an article from the huffington post that detailed the covid-19 cases in an

arkansas church. there were congregants that got infected. >> i know. you hit the nail on the head, joshua. and that's the thing. the cdc refers to churches and places of worship as super spreading opportunities, which makes sense. anytime you have a large gathering of people, and we know the virus spreads between people, that's an obvious risk that's there. another couple of things they point pout they would consider, you know, advising places of worship is to suspend singing or chanting or reciting because that's of course how you're sharing air among people close to you. and dr. birx made a comment yesterday about the fact how many people are asymptomatic and are transmitting this disease. so you don't know if the person standing next to you are

infected. obviously if you're not feeling well you should stay home but you know that's not going to be the case for all who are contagious. >> the cdc guidelines do not surge anyone to attend services. there are guidelines to make it as safe as possible, but they certainly do not in any way connote the risk to religious gatherings has disappeared. there's much more to come on msnbc. joe biden made a stir yesterday over his you ain't black comments regarding supporting him or president trump. what impact will that have? how much pressure does this add for biden to pick a black running mate? and why did he say that in the first place? michigan congresswoman brenda lawrence joins us next. congres lawrence joins us next

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no one likes being taken for granted including black voters. that is at the heart of a controversy over comments from a parent democratic nominee joe

biden. he apologized for something he said yesterday at the end of an interview with charlamagne the god. >> it's a long way to november. we've got more questions. >> i'll tell you if you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or trump then you ain't black. >> it has to do with the fact i want something for my community. >> take a look at my record, man. i extended the voting right to 25 years. i have a voting record second to none. the naacp has endorsed me every time i've run. take a look at the record. >> the last thing i want to do and i shouldn't have been such a wides guy. i shouldn't have been so cavalier in responding to what i thought was, anyway, i don't take it for granted at all and no one, no one should have to vote for any party based on their race or religion or background. >> joining us now is michigan

congresswoman brenda lawrence. she has endorsed biden and is a surrogate for his campaign. congresswoman, welcome. >> thank you so much for having me. >> the old folks used to say when you strut you stumble. what is your reaction to that remark and the apology, particularly why he would even say that. >> i want to be very clear no one has the right and especially a white man to tell an african-american if they're black or not. let's be very clear about that. however, let's not lose focus. we are talking about the next president of the united states. now, i want you to remember donald trump saying come on, black people, what the hell do you have to lose? you're poor, you're uneducated and oyou're unemployed. right now an four years of being in office, donald trump's administration african-americans have the highest unemployment rate, we have the highest poverty rate, and we are

struggling with just disastrous policies under the secretary of education ms. devos. so please, america, black and white, we have to quote this on having someone that provides us a forward path as a country and one that would bring us together during that process. i believe firmly biden has that skill and he is committed to that. however, he apologized. donald trump, can i go down the list of the things he has said that were devastating, hurtful, that we -- so many people have given him a pass? i'm positive because i impart to the campaign that biden has learned a lesson from this and he does not take us for granted. >> well, and are i appreciate what you're saying, congresswoman, in terms of context. i went back and watched the entire interview which you can find on youtube. the vice president does indeed

talk at length about aspects of his political record relevant to black americans. charlamagne pressed him on relative, on the crime bill. how did you see biden's campaign push for black voters right now? do these comments indicate room for improvement, or can he just kind of keep trucking and do what he needs to do? >> right now this statement as we know should not be taken at face value. it should be taken as an off-the-cuff comment. i looked at the record. i looked at the person's compassion. i looked at their policies, and when i do that i'm 100% still with joe biden. he knows not to say anything like that again. we expect our president to be on point and to ensure that his messaging is energizing people,

and we're going to keep pushing for that. but i can tell you every day when i look at the comparison there is no doubt that vice president biden is the right person that this country needs not only for the country but i can say as a black woman in america. my heart is broken with all of the divisive policies and the lack of respect, and to have a president just look and say what the hell do you have to lose, you're broke and uneducated. so i'm ready to look forward. >> before i let you go as a congresswoman and as a black woman about the names being vetted for vp. amy klobuchar has reportedly been on that list. essential congresswoman val demings is on that short list. do you believe joe biden can win without a black woman as his running mate? >> i will tell you this, there's some phenomenal black women on that list. there's some phenomenal women

that i know personally. he must have a woman. my preference is a black woman in america today. i hope it is a black woman. it's time for this country to embrace the fact of a black woman being in a position and having the skills to lead. but if he picks some of these other women and amy klobuchar who i think is amazing, but i can tell you i was -- i'll say this publicly. i was endorsing kamala harris early on and i just know she's phenomenal. so all of these women it is who best complements, who best can bring -- fill the gaps -- all of the gaps the vice president has to make a complete package? so he has to make a hard decision. but would i be just over the top if a black woman was chosen,

absolutely. i thought we had moved forward and looking at these last four years we have not and we need to keep pushing forward. >> i should note we did show stacey abrams and kamala harris in that montage. neither of them has confirmed they are on that list. by the way you should set your dvr for tomorrow morning. that a tomorrow morning at 10:00 eastern here on msnbc. coming up, new developments in the michael flynn case. a federal judge has ordered a review of that case. meanwhile the justice department is moving to dismiss the charges. a former federal prosecutor gives us his take on what might be next. plus it's a consequence of face masks that you might not have considered. deaf and hearing-impaired people are struggling to communicate. we will show you what's being done to help just ahead. stay close. being done to help just ahead. stay close ... that's no way to treat a dog... ...you can do no wrong. where did you learn that? the internet...

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there is more fall out from the justice department seeking to drop its case against former national security advisor michael flynn. yesterday fbi director christopher ray order an internl review into how agents investigated flynn. the review will, quote, determine whether any fbi employees engaged in misconduct and should be disciplined, unquote. meanwhile the federal judge in flynn's case hesitated to immediately dismiss the criminal case against flynn. an appeals court has ordered that judge to explain that hesitation. you may recall that flynn pleaded guilty in december 2017 to lying to federal agents in the russia investigation. prosecutors say he lied about his conversations with russia's ambassador to the u.s. in 2016. joining us now is paul butler, former federal prosecutor, a professor at georgetown law and an msnbc legal analyst. paul, it's good to see you again and you are one of more than 1,000 federal prosecutors and doj officials who signed a brief

opposing the justice department's move to dismiss the case. this saga has been going on for a while, and there's a lot of stuff going on. so i think it's understandable if some folks don't remember quite what the big deal is. what is the big deal in this matter that led to you and others signing onto this document? >> michael flynn pled guilty in federal court to lying to the fbi about his dealings with hth russians. he said on three different occasions under oath in federal court before two different federal judges that he was guilty. now, all of a sudden the trump-barr justice department wants to dismiss the charges of a person who's convicted himself of a felony. so what the judge wants to know is what's up, what's going on? so he says before he makes a decision he wants to hear from

the justice department and from michael flynn's lawyers. and in an extraordinary move this week michael flynn's lawyers appealed before the judge had decided the case. and it's one thing for defense attorneys to be vigorous advocates for their client. i'm not mad at them, joshua. the concern is that the appellate court typically would say wait a minute the judge hasn't decided the case. you can't appeal yet, but instead what this very conservative court did, three federal judges, two appointed by republicans, they told the judge explain yourself. what's going on? and so the concern is they're sending a message to judge sullivan that he should go along with the barr-trump program and just dismiss the charges. and of course the judge wants to know is this in the public interest to dismiss the charges?

if so, i will. or is this about the hookup? is this about michael flynn getting a hookup from president trump and bill barr? >> zooming out from the details of this particular case i wonder what you make of this appeals court request to the judge, whether this kind of request is unusual or is it a common procedure that just happens to be happening in an uncommon situation. >> it's extremely unusual for the federal appellate court to go along with this request. so what they're asking the judge to do is to explain himself, explain what he's thinking even before he's decided the case. so this is an extraordinary remedy that's intended for when a judge exceeds his authority. but even attorney general barr has conceded that judge sullivan does have the discretion and the power not to dismiss the charges

against michael flynn since, again, michael flynn has admitted under oath that he's guilty. so there's no question among lawyers that judge sullivan has this authority. the concern is why is the appellate court, again, with these extraordinary conservative judges, one appointed by president trump, why are they apparently part of this trump-barr apparatus? and the concern is about the rule of law, joshua. the concern is about, again, is this a favor that president trump is doing for his man, michael flynn. >> right. msnbc legal analyst and georgetown law professor paul butler, thanks very much for making time for us. coronavirus is just one natural disaster making news around the world. the death toll continues to rise in parts of india and bangladesh after a powerful cyclone.

it struck the region on wednesday. more than 100 people are known to have died. flooding has cut power to an estimated 14 million people. the damage from this powerful cyclone is up to $13 billion. in southern pakistan a plane crash has left nearly 100 people dead. the pilot of the pakistan international airways flight was reportedly dealing with mechanical problems while trying to land the airbus a320. it crashed into this residential area. two passengers survived. and the world health organization says south america is the world's new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. cases have skyrocketed there in recent weeks especially in brazil. its president has dismissed covid-19 as a little flu and criticized governors who ordered shutdowns. brazil has south america's worst outbreak with more than 300,000 cases and more than 24,000

deaths. it's on track to replace russia as the second largest outbreak on earth. you may not know sign language but anyone could tell the difference between me saying thank you and thank you. your face has meaning, too. so you can imagine how much harder face masks can make communication for deaf and ha hard-of-hearing people. more on what's being done to help the deaf community adapt, and frankly to help us adapt to the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing people. tell us more about the challenges here. >> joshua, yeah. that's a really good point. this isn't just a one way street. all of us hearing people have to make sure we're including deaf and hard-of-hearing people in our every day interactions, in our medical communities and everyone has access in the ability to communicate as we're staying safe with these face masks. and as you said there's a huge difference in facial communications.

these cues we have on our face a lot of people i spoke with described it as facial grammar. these are important parts of conversing especially if you are not speaking and not using language in that way. and so there are a lot of complications that are putting up these barriers in everyday interactions. going to the grocery store, going to the bank, filling out a prescription. these are complicated processes now with everyone wearing a face mack. so if you're deaf or hard-of-hearing there are these additional barriers coming up. take a listen actually to an asl professor i spoke with in california. she spoke with me through an interpreter and described how she's facing some of these challenges. >> i have to rely on other peoples' behavior to kind of give me a heads up. navigation of spaces that require communication, which is everywhere, at the store or essential places like hospitals is really, really a challenge. and it is difficult.

>> so you can see, joshua, you know, a lot of these facial cues, a lot of these communicating aspects relying on people like you and me to communicate, right? but i do think it's important to point out in all of this masks and face coverings are a new normal for people like you and me, but in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community if they're going into a hospital, if they're going into the dentist or a clinic, face masks have always been a norm in those kind of settings, so these challenges are unique but they're not necessarily new. so in order to make sure we're communicating with everyone and making sure everyone has access to the same information, there are things like these clear windows over the masks like you're seeing in the photos on your screen right now that are becoming more prevalent and doing really well in certain communicates to make sure community is more stream lined. >> texting is not a substitute for asl. it's a little bit of plastic. those masks are not open in that

space inasmuch there is some clear plastic over that opening in the window. thank you for that story. still to come we're learning more about new technology to help in the fight against coronavirus. how does it work, and how serious are had security and privacy concerns? y about that, do i? harmful bacteria lurk just below the gum line. crest gum detoxify, voted product of the year. it works below the gum line to neutralize harmful plaque bacteria and help reverse early gum damage. gum detoxify, from crest. my grandparents that i never knew.ch about i'm a lawyer now, but i had no idea that my grandfather was a federal judge in guatemala. my grandfather used his legal degree and his knowledge to help people that were voiceless in his country. that put a fire in my heart. it made me realize where i got my passion for social justice. bring your family history to life like never before. get started for free at ancestry.com

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contact tracers are the latest troops in the war on coronavirus. they track down possible e exposures to contain them before

the virus can spread further inasmuch some librarians have taken on the new role of disease detectives. nbc's jake ward shows us the new app being developed to help states develop their own tracing apps. >> reporter: librarians are now hard at work as disease detectives. >> you're interviewing people. i do at that my reference desk. zp >> reporter: she's one of nearly 100 cities employees everything from assessors to attorneys now serving as contact tracers, trained to interview dozens of people a week trying to find out if they're sick, where they've been and who they've been with so they can contain the exposure and stop future outbreaks. technology can help them gather more information. apple and google are giving technology to states to develop apps that use bluetooth to alert you when your phone has been close to an infected person. states like utah have their own apps using gps data to track where you've been and discover where the steez disease is spre.

contact tracing like south korea is far more invasive. tracking exposed people through everything like surveillance footage through credit card purchases, data all fed into a national disease tracking system. cdc tells nbc news human contract tracers are the only proven way of doing this work. so to slow the spread of this virus we will need to pick up the phone when she calls. >> jake ward joins us now to discuss this further. jake, tell us about the technology behind these apps. what impact could they have if every state started using them? >> reporter: well, joshua, with no real federal oversight, i mean let's keep in mind the cdc is not providing any kind of overarching regulation of how this is supposed to work. it's not a national effort. it's being left to the state. so each state is being forced to ask itself how we will somehow automate the process of contact tracing which everyone agrees is

going to be one of the keys getting out in front of this thing. you had some states go first and create apps that would collect not just bluetooth data but gps dat data, your location on a map so they can see when you and i have have been close together but been at the same store, the same bars. this week google and apple came out with their own software, an api basically a tool kit for states to now use to deploy their own kinds of apps. but those apps will not look at your location on a map. they will only look at a bluetooth connection between phones, an anonymous moment when you and i were close enough together to conceivably have moved the virus between us. the thing to consider is no one thinks that just an app alone is going to solve this problem. we're going to need human contact tracers like her nord to get out in front of this thing.

that's why you're seeing states like new york, california, massachusetts recruiting thousands of people to be contact tracers on the phone. >> we should also talk about working from home. there are some companies including facebook who said they're shifting much more heavily to telecommuting. any security tips for people working from home to address some of the big cyber securities concern snz. >> yeah, i would say the big tips that you see most the major cyber security firms recommending fall into these categories. the first one is you have to have everything updated. when you've got a laptop, you've got a phone you feed to make sure it's absolutely update today the latest operating system so that it can have in fact have the latest security patches involved. the second is to be suspicious of every e-mail you receive. they're all saying inbound attackerize off the charts right now. so you should be suspicious of

every e-mail coming in. and this is one people don't necessarily know about, but you should in fact have the phone number of other people you work with. because when a cyber attack comes over and shuts down your company's communications it's going to be very difficult to get in touch with people via anything like slack, zoom or e-mail. so you need to be able to pick up the phone and call them if you can, joshua. >> and be suspicious of any e-mails that look a little bit funky. if it seems strange there's no shame in calling your coworker and saying did you just send me this or should i block this e-mail. that's nbc tech correspondent jake ward in san francisco. before we go the story of an american hero who saved another hero's life.

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and our associates safe, while making sure you can still get the essentials you need. ♪ -excuse me. uh... do you mind...being a mo-tour? -what could be better than being a mo-tour? the real question is... do you mind not being a mo-tour? -i do. for those who were born to ride, there's progressive. coronavirus has shown us many heroic acts, including at st. barnabas hospital in livingston, new jersey. a health care professional there

was near death after catching covid-19. his life was saved by a colleague who you might say owed him a favor. nbc's rehema ellis with the story. [ cheers ] >> reporter: after nearly a month at st. barnabas medical center in new jersey, danny radis survived a frightening battle with coronavirus. >> i had the best team working with me. >> reporter: he had a special team player. the kind buddy movies are made of. the anesthesia and the cardiac rehab exercise specialist. both veteran staffers at the hospital brought together by chance in two lifesaving encounters. >> i was having a heart attack. >> reporter: it was 2014. danny guided dr. rick patera to recovery with tough love. >> i'd have to yell to slow down. then he would yell something back to me, and that's how we started our relationship. >> reporter: you became each other's saviors, didn't you? >> absolutely. you could say we each became

each other's guardian angel. >> reporter: fast forward six years, and now dan is fighting for his life in a battle with coronavirus. his wife insisted he go to st. barnabas. it didn't take long for dr. rick to find him. >> he's as sick as you can possibly be and still be alive. >> what i had asked is, am i going to die tonight? >> i said, no, you're not going to die tonight, and not on my watch. >> danny, did it help you to work harder, to fight harder against this voyeuirus? >> i believe it absolutely did. >> reporter: outside of the hospital, dr. rick said the strict safety rules prevented danny's wife from being there, so he stepped in. >> pulled the chair out, held his hand, said, we're going to get through this. >> reporter: talk about reversal of roles. >> thank god i took him in so he was able to be there for me. >> reporter: at st. barnabas, danny was among the first to recover, giving everyone hope when the hospital was inundated with covid-19 patients. >> all of that emotional trauma

that we're subjecting ourselves to, all that's worth it. there's people getting better. >> reporter: today the two men have an even stronger bond. >> i talk to him more frequently, tell him how he helped me pull through. >> yeah, we have each other's backs. >> reporter: and they got each other through dark days forging a powerful friendship when their lives were on the line. >> that's nbc's rehema ellis reporting. that will do it for this hour. until we meet again, i'm joshua johnson. i'll see you back here at 9:00 eastern. coming up, biden campaign senior adviser julie chavez rodriguez joins us. the news continues after the break with alicia menendez on msnbc. it's best we stay apart for a bit, but that doesn't mean you're in this alone. we're automatically refunding our customers a portion of their personal auto premiums. we're also offering flexible payment options for those who've been financially

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good afternoon. i'm alicia menendez, happy memorial day weekend. here's what we're following this saturday -- as americans hit beaches and back yards this weekend attempting to recapture some semblance of normal life, the coronavirus continues to lurk in the background. less than six months out from a national election, it's becoming increasingly clear that voters are facing a fundamental choice in november. be bold and reopen the economy as president trump is pushing for, or urge caution and prioritize human laws as joe biden exemplifies. with nearly a quarter of american workers out of a job, the president