field of chronic care when it comes forward, management? it's a whole new world. politicians and scientists can and on that note, that is our broadcast on a tuesday evening. unify behind that and by doing thank you so very much as always for being here with us. so, encourage the american on behalf of all my colleagues public to take the actions to around here, good night. protect their health and the pluck health scientists say are warranted. >> let me ask you about this decision by the trump administration. i'm going to quote from "the new york times," ordering hospitals to bypass the centers for rachel has the night off disease control and prevention tonight. and beginning on wednesday send we've got a lot to get to this hour on what has b got all coronavirus patient information to a central database in washington. not even sure what that's some scary news that justice ruth bader ginsburg has once supposed to mean. what do you think it means? again been hospitalized. >> well, you know, over the according to the statement from course of its history, there the court, quote, justice have been struggles, power ginsburg was admitted to the struggles between cdc, which is johns hopkins hospital in baltimore, maryland, early this located in atlanta, and some of morning for treatment of a possible infection. the people who work at the she was initially evaluated at department of health and human sibley memorial hospital in services in washington. washington, d.c. last night and one of the great things after experiencing fever and about cdc being located in chills. atlanta is that it can step she underwent an endoscopic procedure at johns hopkins this aside from a lot of politics afternoon to clean out a bile that you get with any agency duct stent that was placed last that's based in washington.

august. the justice is resting the decision to have hospitals comfortably and will stay in the hospital for a few days to directly report to washington rather than cdc makes no sense. receive intravenous antibiotic treatment, end quote. cdc is the agency that needs to we'll have more coming up later in the show. receive that data, needs to look but, boy, today has been at what's happening in states. topsy-turvy right from the start. if they're getting data on how nothing has gone according to many people are hospitalized and plan even if you're someone like how many are in the icu, cdc vice president mike pence. this morning pence headed out to needs to be able to look and see the great state of louisiana to how does that cor late with meet local officials about the actions that states have taken. state's handling of the who's being affected? are they getting data broken coronavirus pandemic as well as plans to reopen the schools in down by right and ethnicity to the fall. of course as soon as vice ensure that everyone in every state and every county has what president pence was wheels up, they need to be safe? we learned that one of the top you don't want that information going directly to washington republican officials in louisiana would no longer be where it can be influenced even there on the tarmac to meet him more by politics. when he landed because that >> how does the cdc come up with official had just tested things like guidelines? positive for coronavirus. for instance, the cdc on the boy, that's one way to stomp on websiten spread -- how a message. tough to argue that the virus is to prevent the spread of under control and that schools should be reopened when the very covid-19 in children says limit people you're meeting with about time with other children. those issues are coming down if children meet in groups it can put everyone at risk. with covid-19. children can pass this virus on of course none of the headlines to others who have an increased right now are encouraging risk. feels pretty benign. because that is a problem that when things like that, when

seems to get worse by the day. florida, california, and texas guidelines are written at the are the three most populous cdc, is there a thought to states in the country. politicization? is there a thought to the idea yesterday all three states alone that someone might not like the way we're presenting this? logged nearly 30,000 new cases. how does it come to somebody. >> yeah. so it's a process of reviewing that's nearly 20% of yesterday's the literature. for something like this about worldwide total. spread between children, there's the united states has 4.4% of a lot of data. the world's population, but i'm a pediatrician and worked on yesterday we were 30% of all new infectious diseases at cdc for a cases in the world. long time. there's a lot of information out here's a sobering headline from there about how children share the texas tribune today. viruses, about how flu spreads. texas hospitals are running out of drugs, beds, ventilators, and and a lot of the guidance that's been developed around prevention even staff. of covid comes from the even though we've become experience with influenza and accustomed to the dire local the experience in previous reporting, this one puts you on pandemics of influenza. your back heels. and it's really important that we learn from other nations to quote, a coronavirus patient was see is the same thing happening here, or is it possible that children are less likely to flown by helicopter to a spread it to each other with hospital in ocampo 120 miles covid than they are with the away because closer facilities flu? and if they are less likely, could not take him. that could change how we ambulances are waiting up to ten approach this. hours to deliver patients to so that scientific inquiry is such a critical part of cdc, and packed hidalgo county emergency it's so important that the public is brought along with

rooms. and short-staffed hospitals in that so that when guidance midland and odessa have had to turn away ailing covid-19 changes, people understand why and they're willing to make the patients from rural west texas changes in their own behavior. if they're not hearing that facilities that cannot offer the process, they'll be very care that they need. skeptical, and you look that quote, epidemiologists say the trust which is essential. state's hospitals may be in for >> dr. besser, good to see you a longer, harder ride than as always. thank you for joining. places like new york, where hospitals were stretched to capacity in the spring and some parked refrigerated trailers as we mentioned earlier, today florida recorded its outside to store the bodies of people who died from covid-19. highest single-day death toll of the coronavirus crisis so far, and that's in addition to well, those stark images of makeshift morgues on the streets recording 29 -- i'm sorry -- to of manhattan are now being seen recording 9,000 daily new -- new in texas cities. one such trailer has already daily cases. been put to use in houston. that's shy of sunday's record of 15,000 cases but it's more than they're now being requested all enough to continue the already across the state. in corpus christi, the morgue severe strain on florida's there is already full. hospitals, particularly those in the county judge that oversees the southern part of the state. last week one local official the city has been urging residents to take the virus began sounding the alarm about the impending shortage of beds seriously, telling the local tv and staffing at her miami-area station, quote, i am fou having to order additional body bags and morgue trailers. hospital. >> we've converted an entire people have to understand how real it is, end quote. central tower into negative

the military meanwhile has started sending medical pressure so that we can personnel to help in the state's overwhelmed hospitals. accommodate more covid patients. in san antonio where medical >> i'm busting at the seams facilities are being pushed to inside the hospital. capacity, the military is i'm busting at the seams in sending dozens of nurses and terms of the, icus. respiratory specialists to hospitals across the city. >> she is leah carpenter. another military team is headed she is a nurse, and she is also to houston. others will be deployed in the ceo of memorial west in pembroke coming days and weeks depending on where the need is greatest. pines. >> my icu is beyond capacity. as texas tries to get a handle on this crisis, things are also we're at 106% of capacity at this moment. getting worse in florida. >> that was leah carpenter, ceo today that state set a new of a hospital near miami on record for new coronavirus friday. by monday, carpenter was unable deaths just days after setting a new record for the highest to do any further interviews number of daily infections. because she had to pitch in and help combat the patient while all the metrics in the overload. a spokesman told "the daily state keep ticking upward, the beast," quote, while leah is the governor, ron desantis, seems to create memorial hospital west, she's also a nurse and is be in a bit of denial. "the daily beast" notes he's currently taking shifts in the begun characterizing the new hospital during the surge, so she's unavailable to us for the surge of covid-19 cases as a, time being. by late yesterday, carpenter had quote, blip, even noting that finally emerged but only to warn florida has had a lot of that while her hospital has the different blips. that might help him sleep at resources it needs right now, quote, if the surge continues, i night but it definitely seems at have significant concerns about odds with what medical staff in his own state are saying.

nbc news was able to obtain whether or not we will have what we need. joining us now is leah footage of the icu at memorial west hospital near miami. carpenter, nurse and ceo of as of this morning, that memorial hospital west in hospital had just two adult icu pembroke pines florida, part of the memorial health care system. beds available. one nurse there told "the daily leah, thank you for being with beast" that given the massive number of cases and the lack of us. it's a remarkable story that space available in the emergency you've actually had to pitch in. room, hospital staff have you're obviously not doing it started treating people in the for the photo op, so you actually have staffing problems. hallways. another icu nurse warned that we've heard about personal things are only getting worse. protective equipment shortages. we've heard of convalescent >> we're definitely seeing a plasma shortages. surplus this month of patients you also on top of that have a coming in covid-positive and staffing problem. >> that is correct. critical care patients i can tell you we started really initially having space concerns, unfortunately. before when this first began, we had increased numbers, but now but with a little creativity and it seems to be over capacity, ingenuity of my construction and we're starting to get to a teams, we've been able to expand point where it's -- we see it as and create additional spaces much worse than when this first elsewhere in the hospital. we're staffing adequately at began. so with that said, i want to this time, but i can tell you just put out a message to take that it's more related to nurses this very seriously. don't take it as a joke because taking additional shifts and

one minute you could be coughing really just their commitment to and next minute unfortunately making sure that our patients you could be admitted to the have everything that they need. hospital. >> you could be coughing one so many of my nurses are taking minute, and you could be admitted to the hospital. one to two additional 12-hour we're actually going to speak to that hospital's ceo in just a shifts a week, and they do it moment. that hospital is so busy that with a smile on their face. but we're concerned. we're concerned about their the ceo has actually been leaning on her training as a well-being. >> yeah. i'm always fascinated when i'm nurse. she started taking shifts in in a hospital to see nurses and order to relieve the burden from doctors with a smile on their some of the staff in the hospital. face, understanding that the that's the state of where things turmoil and the trauma that goes are right now. given that cities and states all along with that job. how is everybody holding out across the country are now in because we have now -- we are crisis, now is the time that we should be relying on science, now into our fifth month of and yet the trump administration medical professionals being on doesn't seem to share that the front line of this sentiment. late this afternoon "the new devastating illness. york times" broke a stunning bit >> so i think a lot of it has to of news about how the white do with leadership. house has further sidelined the it starts at the top with our cdc. board and our senior execs. quote, the trump administration has ordered hospitals to bypass we make every effort to make the centers for disease control sure that our employees are well and prevention and beginning on taken care of, not just from a wednesday send all coronavirus financial standpoint but making patient information to a central sure that their mental, database in washington, a move emotional, spiritual well-being that has alarmed public health is taken care of as well. and we give a great deal of experts who fear that the data will be distorted for political focus on that even while they're on their shifts, making sure

gain. quote, from now on the they have the support that they department of health and human services and not the cdc will need. you know, it's not just about the ventilators and all of the collect daily reports about the equipment that they need, but we patient that each hospital is need to make sure that their treating, how many beds and ventilators are available, and physical and emotional other information vital to well-being is healthy too. tracking the pandemic. the news is said to have come as >> tell me what you're seeing in a shock inside the cdc, but it's the hospital with respect to just the latest assault against patients. an institution that the white for those in the one who still house has been trying to neuter think this is a civil rights for months now. issue and they should be free to today four former cdc directors hang out with anyone they want wrote an op-ed blasting the way and not wear masks and not the agency has been politicized social distance, what's the under the trump administration. message that what you're seeing makes you want to deliver? quote, the cdc is home to >> so my message would be that thousands of experts who have this is as real as it gets, and for decades fought the deadly if we don't all come together in pathogens such as hiv, zika, and terms of masking, social ebola. despite the inevitable challenges of evolving science distancing, and frankly keeping away from each other just for a and the public's expectation of certainty, these are the people little while, this is going to best positioned to help our get worse. country emerge from this crisis it's not a joke. the masks are absolutely needed, as safely as possible. and i just can't stress enough unfortunately their sound science is being challenged with that if we don't all do our partisan pot shots, sowing part, you will absolutely overwhelm the hospitals, and we confusion and mistrust at a time won't be able to do what it is

when the american people need leadership, expertise and that we're destined to do. clarity. it's not too late to give the cdc its proper role in guiding >> i want you to talk to me a little bit about what this response, but the clock is overwhelming the hospitals ticking. joining us now is dr. richard means. in broward and palm beach county, hospitals are at 83% and besser. he was one of the four former directors of the cdc who today 73% of capacity, and all but a published this op-ed in "the washington post" entitled "we handful say that their intensive ran the cdc. care units are at or near no president ever politicized capacity. the reason i ask you to tell me its science the way trump has." what this means is because for people who think they're not going to get covid, emergency dr. besser, good to see you again. rooms and icu beds exist for thanks for joining us. >> nice to be here. everybody who gets sick in any >> you and your four colleagues who ran the cdc wrote in the way, in an accident, something op-ed in "the washington post," goes wrong with your appendix, public health experts face two you need emergency care. opponents, covid-19 but also when these icus are full, they're full for everybody. political leaders and others >> that's absolutely right. attempting to undermine the it's so dire at this point where centers for disease control and we've had to actually separate prevention. richard, i want to remind our parts of our hospital. viewers that a couple of months so we have two emergency rooms ago, the cdc had prepared -- it now. we have one for, as you said, had already been done -- a document that would allow appendicitis and all of those other, you know, very critical churches, schools, workplaces, everybody to safely return to issues that people come to an emergency room for. work and to reopen. and then we have a separate and for some reason, that

emergency room strictly for document was shelved. covid so that we can isolate it was kept from the public, and nobody at the cdc could explain those patients and prevent the why the white houses was hanging spread. right now my icu is at 187% on to it either. we're trying to figure out capacity, and i'm able to do what's behind the that by creating additional spaces. marginalization of the cdc. but it is what it is. >> i think one of the biggest sooner or later, we will run out challenges we face in this of space. response is this division, this so we've got to get control over clash of messages between public this disease, and we have got to health, which is all on the same stop the spread. you know, the good news is that page that this is a crisis. about 98% of the people who come this is something that in is in to the hospital are discharged. the early days, and what we do but if you go into an icu, you today will determine how many people die over the next months. have a 30% to 35% chance of we have steps we can take as never leaving. individuals, and if we follow >> wow. >> it's very serious, and we public health science, we will have to make sure that we're not save lives. on the other hand, you're seeing just thinking about ourselves. you know, many of the young politics being injected into people have heard, oh, young people are not impacted by it. this public health response, and but first of all, they are. the dire consequences of that. we're starting to see younger you're seeing a lack of trust by people impacted and sick and in the public in what scientists our icus. are saying, and you see a division in terms of what people but more importantly, they're are doing based on politics and the ones who are spreading it to party, and that is dangerous for those who are most vulnerable. so there is no one who is immune

the entire nation. >> you and your colleagues who from covid. wrote this op-ed have worked at it does not discriminate against the cdc at different times and anyone. >> let me ask you about the under different presidents and euphemisms that different when we have faced public health medical systems use for threats. this is by far the most serious, describing triage. you as a nurse know that word but it's not the only public well, right? you are endlessly evaluating health threat that america has faced. you say you've never seen what level of care a person anything like this. have you seen anything sort of like it? needs. when emergency rooms and icu i just didn't know the cdc. i understand there are moments beds become full, there are all where people are interested in sorts of things. it doing political bidding, but in arizona, they're using generally speaking i've never diversion. emergency rooms are saying we're seen it politicized by the administration this way. not accepting hospital rooms or >> well, you know, i worked at people are getting checked out. the cdc for 13 years, and i've but it's all some version of triage. never been prouder of any aspect it's all some version of someone making a decision about your of my career. health care that's not you it's full of incredibly because there's no more dedicated civil servants, capacity. patriotic americans who are >> so the fact is people can use working to protect lives here and around the globe. the word "diversion" as often as i led emergency response for they'd like to. but in florida there really is four years and led the agency during the h1n1 swine flu no diversion. there is an expectation that pandemic, during the beginning patients are going to be taken of that. to the closest facility for and, you know, when you develop their well-being. so you're not exempt from that guidance, you do it based on the just because you're full. best science, and it goes through a clearance process. the triage happens at that

so different agencies can point. comment on it. it also happens when they the white house can comment on actually arrive to the hospital, at which point we determine it, and it's important that where they are best fit. are they going to go into a policy is part of that process covid tent? and that conversation. are they going to go into a but once a guidas designed so covid icu or to a covid e.r., or are they going to go into a general emergency room? so there's varying phases of where that triage can happen. >> leah carpenter, we are grateful to you for the work you're doing and for the work you're doing not just as the ceo of memorial hospital west in pembroke pines but for the work you're doing as a nurse when you are shorthanded. thank you for your time this evening and we wish you the best of luck. >> thank you so much. coming up next, we'll have the latest on the breaking news that supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg was hospitalized for a possible infection, plus what treatment for the justice might look like in the midst of this ongoing pandemic. experience the adventure of a bigger world in a highly capable lexus suv.

at the golden opportunity sales event. get zero percent financing on all 2020 lexus models. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. with spray mopping to lock away debris and absorb wet messes, all in one disposable pad. just vacuum, spray mop, and toss. the shark vacmop, a complete clean all in one pad.

you should switch it to tracfone wireless to get more control over your wireless plan. they give you unlimited carryover data-- you pay for your data, you keep really? yeah, you just swap your sim card you can also keep your phone, keep your number, keep your network, $20 a month, no contract. oh, but that case- temporary- it's my daughter's old case-

well, ok, you know. you do you. available 24/7 at tracfone.com tracfone wireless. now you're in control. might look like in the midst of y sales event. lease the 2020 nx 300 for $339 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. exreinventing. it's what with comcast business, your small business can work faster, with powerful internet from the nation's largest gig-speed network. work safer, with all your connected devices automatically protected by securityedge. and work anywhere, with comcast business at home, our new business-grade internet solution for remote workers. whatever your business needs, comcast business has the solutions to help you not just bounce back, but bounce forward. call or go online to find out more.

we are continuing to follow the breaking news tonight that supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg is hospitalized. as we noted at the top of the

show, justice ginsburg is reported to be resting tonight at a baltimore hospital after being admitted for a possible infection. according to the court, the 87-year-old justice was initially evaluated at a d.c. hospital last night after experiencing fever and chills before being moved to johns hopkins this morning. a statement posted on the court website notes that ginsburg, quote, underwent an endoscopic procedure at johns hopkins this afternoon to clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last august. the justice is resting comfortably and will stay in the hospital for a few days to receive intravenous antibiotic treatment. today's procedure is not the first health scare for ginsburg. two months ago she was treated at the same baltimore hospital for gallstones. before that she underwent radiation treatment last summer for a cancerous tumor on her pancreas. and in 2018, she underwent surgery for lung cancer. asked about the justice's condition tonight during a rose garden press conference, president trump said he was not aware that she had been hospitalized before saying, i

wish her the best. i hope she's better. i think i speak for many when i say we are all breathing a sigh of relief knowing that as of now, justice ginsburg is described as resting comfortably at the hospital but it is nonetheless alarming news that she is there at all. joining us now is nbc news medical correspondent dr. john torres. we don't have a lot of details about this. do we know anything about the sort of infection that she's suffering from? >> ali, you're right. we don't have a lot of details. she initially went in for fever and chills, when they come into the emergency many roo, fevroom chills, we start thinking of infections. then you start looking back at the kind of surgeries she had and what kind of procedures she might have had before. like you mentioned, last year in august she underwent a procedure for those cancerous tumors in her pancreas that included putting that stent in the bile duct. that bile duct also goes through the pancreas and so the concern there is there's some issue

going on there that's causing that to clog off and start the infectious process. now they've cleaned it out. they're giving her the iv antibiotics. that should at least calm the infection down. then they need to start looking at the source. what's causing this? she had the gallstones. she's now had that common bile duct issue. hopefully this doesn't continue. but getting to the source is one of the important things that needs to be done here. >> i would imagine that her medical staff has a head start on it because they know the history she's had. she actually keeps very healthy. she keeps very fit, but she's had this medical history over the last few years, so at least they've got a checklist to start their detective work from. >> and that's exactly right. i think she can do more pushups than you and probably could combined. she's an amazingly fit woman. at the same time, we know that she's had those issues in that area. so that gets to be the big concern. that's what they're going to focus on. first and foremost, getting the infection under control, making sure that stent is opened up and like they said cleaned out so it

can be used again by the body. but then trying to find the source, trying to find out why that's happening, why she had those gallstones, why she's having those issues around the pancreas and the gallbladder and that common bile duct, which are all in the same area, just to make sure there's not something going on with those pancreatic cancerous tumors she had removed, that something hasn't come back or there's not other issues behind that, ali. >> no one is talking about and no one has put a statement out about this being covid-related. obviously given the time we're in right now, it's an obvious question people have. anything to glean from the information we have about whether or not this could be related to covid? >> nothing to glean from the information about whether or not this is related to covid. and if i had to guess, if i brought my crystal ball out, i'd say more than likely not related to covid because although we know covid can cause some abdominal issues, particularly some diarrhea and abdonneminal pain, she's had issues to begin

with, and once that bile duct gets clogged off, that clogging itself can start the infectious process. and antibiotics don't treat covid, so the fact they gave her antibiotics leads me to believe it's some other issue going on here and not coronavirus itself. >> it's always fascinating. we get you on tv on short notice and give you virtually no information and you create some context out of it. always appreciate that my friend. thanks for joining us. the president moved the republican national convention from north carolina to florida in order to make sure he could still hold a big event. but the guest list seems to be dwindling. we're going to have the latest on that next. ♪ ♪ and we always will. ♪ ♪ for people. ♪ ♪ for the future. ♪ ♪ and there has never been a summer when it's mattered more.

wherever you go, summer safely. get zero percent apr financing for up to five years on select models and exclusive lease offers. with spray mopping to lock away debris and absorb wet messes, all in one disposable pad. just vacuum, spray mop, and toss. the shark vacmop, a complete clean all in one pad.

(brad) more renters find their place than any other site.as helped by digitally upgrading every one of our employees...physically. now, everybody at apartments.com can, and does, give one hundred and ten percent. [rapid typing and clicking] apartments-dot-com. the most popular place to find a place.

not actors, who've got their eczema under control. with less eczema you can show more skin. so roll up those sleeves. and help heal your skin from within with dupixent. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups.

dupixent is a biologic and not a cream or steroid. many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin. and had significantly less itch. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. so help heal your skin from within and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. we've got breaking news just now on an important senate primary. in the alabama republican primary for senate, the associated press reports that former auburn football coach tommy tuberville has beaten

former senator jeff sessions. this was a runoff with sessions trying to regain the seat he gave up to serve as trump's first attorney general. coach tuberville will now face democratic incumbent senator doug jones for that alabama seat. now, with politics moving into real stakes next month, the republican party is supposed to be gathering in person to celebrate the renomination of their de facto leader, president trump. this has become a kind of loyalty test for republicans to see whether their support for trump outweighs their regard for their own health and safety. last week the rachel maddow show started asking republican senators particularly ones in their 80s for whom there is presumably the most risk, whether they plan to attend the republican national convention. and the trms tally got up to six senators who said on the record that, no, they will not go, including 84-year-old kansas senator pat roberts who told reporters, quote, well, i have some things to do in kansas that i've got to do and unfortunately

i didn't know what was canceled and what was not or whatever, so i will probably not be going. the man has things to do. meanwhile, there is the leader of the senate republicans, this time last week senator mitch mcconnell seemed pretty gung ho according to a spokesperson who said the leader has every intention for attending. then a different answer from the senator himself. >> well, i think the convention is a challenging situation, and a number of my colleagues have announced that they're not going to attend, and we'll have to wait and see how things look in late august to determine whether or not we can safely convene that many people. >> hmm, some question about safety, is there? as of this morning, "the new york times" is reporting even more names saying no including senator roy blunt of missouri, and mario diaz-balart and

frances rooney. "the times" also notes some republicans who will not say yes for sure including marco rubio and john thune of south dakota. the tmds quotes unofficial saying everybody just assumes no one is going. which leads to another scoop also from "the times" and now confirmed by nbc news. it looks like after a meeting trump had with political advisers last night, the republican party may be moving on to a long rumored plan b, which is to hold the whole convention outside. and that sounds totally doable in florida, in late august. good luck with that. we'll be right back. ♪

don't just think about where you're headed this summer. think about how you'll get there. and now that you can lease or buy a new lincoln remotely or in person... discovering that feeling has never been more effortless. the lincoln summer invitation sales event is here.

sixty-two thousand seven hundred and ten dollars and thirty-one cents. sofi allowed me to refinance all of my loans to one low interest rate and an affordable monthly payment. and i just feel like there's an end in sight now and that my debt doesn't define me anymore. ♪ sofi is helping me get my money right. ♪ people are surprising themselves the moment realize they can du more with less asthma. thanks to dupixent, the add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. dupixent isn't for sudden breathing problems. it can improve lung function for better breathing in as little as 2 weeks and help prevent severe asthma attacks. it's not a steroid but can help reduce or eliminate oral steroids. dupixent can cause serious allergic reactions

including anaphylaxis. get help right away if you have rash, shortness of breath, chest pain, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection and don't change or stop your asthma treatments, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. du more with less asthma. talk to your doctor today about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. in a week filled with head-spinning news, this one's got to be one of the fastest u-turns. just yesterday, attorneys general sued the trump administration over a new visa policy for international college students. the white house had announced it would revoke the visas of international students whose course work had moved entirely online because of the pandemic. the new policy would have the effect of blocking some of the brightest minds who could immigrate to this country.

the a.g.s went to court to stop the trump administration from doing that. the preside the pressure appears to have worked. the white house is backing down. the administration caved and reverses the policy today just minutes before the judge in boston was set to hear arguments in the case. so the administration is no longer threatening the education of international college students or the health of universities at the moment. but when it comes to trump's handling of education during the pandemic, that move appears to close just one chapter in this saga. on the very next page is the president's push to send grade school kids across the country back into the classroom as quickly as possible. since last week, trump has been pressuring governors to open their school doors again this fall, and in the process, he's blasted the cdc for creating school reopening guidelines that

he calls, quote, tough and expensive. well, today he quadrupled down, this time targeting l.a.'s school system for delaying the reopening as cases reach new heights every day in california. next door in orange county, california, the school board voted for reopening without requiring masks or social distancing. you can find conflicting reopening k to 12 schools everywhere across the country. in alabama, where cases have also spiked, the selma city school superintendent is calling for the city to start classes in the fall online only while at the state level, educators say they're concerned about alabama's overall plan being dangerously vague. those fights are sure to peak next month when many schools actually begin their new school year, but in one city we're already getting a preview of what this fight's going to look like in the form of summer school. protesters in detroit, michigan, have blocked buses from leaving to pick up summer school students. yesterday was the first day of the city's summer school program. about 500 kids are signed up to

take classes. protesters say they're determined to shut down the city's summer school program. protesters and some parents say they're worried that the school system is not prepared to handle the threat of the virus. they say the school district is not following the cdc guidelines. nbc's heidi brez boprzybyla was protest and got a chance to talk to a concerned parent. >> in a city where most of the covid -- a lot of the cov death. you have to ask the question why this would be the place when other places are -- you know, their students are behind too, but they are doing virtual summer school classes. our kids are not guinea pigs. our children are not social experiments. their lives have value, and so do the lives of their families. we all want our children to be educated. we all want them to be caught up. we all want them to be educated. but this is not the answer. >> this is summer school in

detroit, and they're already struggling to pick up the right answer to this high-stakes question. joining me now is elena brantley phillips, a speci detroit publi schools. thank you for joining us tonight. tell me your take on this whole thing. you've got parents who want their kids to be educated. they want them to go back to school. they're worried that the school's not following cdc guidelines. then they block the buses. where do you fall into all of this? >> well, i am a special ed teacher in detroit. i'm at durfee elementary middle school. my building holds about 400 students approximately. this is very scary, i think, for everyone. would i block buses? probably not. at the end of the day, i think that we all have to understand that people do things for themselves, for whatever their reasons are. i can't speak for them, and i'm

not going to try to speak for them because everyone has their own background. parents have to go to work. children need to go to school. and as a parent myself, if i decide that i want to send my child to school, then that's what i choose to do. i don't think it's fair that someone steps in front of me and blocks me from doing what i've decided to do. >> so you have -- there are several constituencies here, but you're two of them, right, because you're a teacher, and you're a parent. at this point, what do you think should be happening? do you think students should be going back to school online? should they be in class? should it be mix of online and in class? what to you as an educator and a parent looks like success? >> i think that as a special education teacher, let me start with that, that our students

pretty much got the shaft. the students population that i teach children with autism, they literally haven't had instruction since march. virtual does not work for them. they need to go back, and as a teacher, i realize that, and i have that passion. i will go back with them. but what i think the problem is, is that the popped has actually amplified everything that we had already going on. in our district, we've got issues. summer school started yesterday. tomorrow we're supposed to be getting temperatures upwards of 90 degrees. you want our students to sit in a classroom with a mask on in a building that may or may not working air. you want them to sit in this classroom, and they don't have

proper -- the plumbing isn't working properly because we don't have hot water to even wash our hands. we already had issues going on that were never addressed. so now you're adding in the issues or the component of the pandemic, and it's really bad. >> so are you hoping that if there could be some solution for the most vulnerable because, look, kids are vulnerable in general. all of us think our own children are vulnerable, but you teach a uniquely vulnerable subset of children. so is it your view that we should concentrate on at least getting those students in-person education who need it and then trying to figure it out for everybody else? >> i kind of think so because at this point, i felt like we -- this population has been ignored. everything was centered around the other students, and i get that, but at the same time, they have a need as well.

and it's not being met. they do need to go back. but at the same time, the district has to take some responsibility for what is going on. plans are being made about us without our input, and that's not right. i think that the majority of our teachers and staff want to go back to work, but with us not having any input about what is needed, i think it's kind of getting lost and ignored in the process. >> it wouldn't be the first time in american history that the voice of either parents or teachers or special education teachers in this country is getting lost or ignored. but we thank you for bringing your voice to our show. elena brantley-phillips is a special education teacher in the detroit public schools. she's been teaching for almost 30 years. the news these days can seem a bit grim, but we've got the

best new thing in the world coming up right after this. didn 't know meant so much. but we're all going at our own speed. at enterprise, peace-of-mind starts with our complete clean pledge, curbside rentals and low-touch transactions. with so many vehicles of so many kinds, you can count on us to help you get everywhere you want to go... again. whenever you're ready, we're ready for you. enterprise. wow. jim could you ipop the hood for us?? there she is. -turbocharged, right? yes it is. jim, could you uh kick the tires? oh yes. can you change the color inside the car? oh sure. how about blue? that's more cyan but. jump in the back seat, jim. act like my kids. how much longer? -exactly how they sound. it's got massaging seats too, right? oh yeahhhhh. -oh yeahhhhh. visit the mercedes-benz summer event or shop online at participating dealers. get 0% apr financing up to 36 months on select new and certified pre-owned models.

your cells. trillions of them. that's why centrum contains 24 key nutrients to support your energy. so you can take care of what matters most. and try new centrum minis today.

but what if you could startdo better than that? like adapt. discover. deliver. in new ways. to new customers. what if you could come back stronger? faster. better. at comcast business, we want to help you not just bounce back. but bounce forward. and now, we're committed to helping you do just that with a powerful and reliable internet and voice solution at a great price. call or go online today.

we have a best new thing in the world, and it starts with the mountain. >> the next battle is the apex. the next battle is on the top of the mountain. how long until we reach the top of the mountain? we're still on our way up the mountain. we went up the mountain very quickly. there's no doubt that we're coming down the mountain.

we call that the battle of the mountaintop. some are on their way up the mountain. at least i call it the battle of the mountaintop. the other side of the mountain. the shape of the mountain. the mountain. the mountain. you see a curve. i see a mountain. >> you see a curve, i see a mountain. new york governor andrew cuomo was, to put it mildly, very fond of the mountain metaphor to describe new york's epic battle with the coronavirus. at one point he even dragged a styrofoam model of a mountain to one of his press conferences in case the comparison was not clear enough to anyone. he needed to do whatever he could to get the message through to new yorkers that whatever he could do to make his point and get people's attention, this is what we have been up against. this is what just happened to us. well, now the governor's taken his passion for anthropoe more fiezing the coronavirus epidemic to truly a whole other level. behold the coronavirus mountain poster. for reasons that are frankly clear to no one as far as we can

tell, the governor of new york yesterday unveiled this poster, which is kind of a 2-d monument to new york's pandemic experience. and, yes, it shows the mountain. but if you look up close, this whole thing is like an industrial sized carton of easter eggs. you can see the replica of the field hospital at the javits center, the reminders to mask up and maintain social distance, a kind of surrealist portrait of a floating nose with a testing swab hanging out the nostril. there are personal homages to his daily press conferences, his powerpoint slides, his daughters helping to pull down the curve literally. there he is in his car for some reason. and then there are these, shall we say, conceptual art pieces of this poster. here's president trump sitting on the moon. there are other forces of mother nature which the governor is calling the winds of fear and the sea of division. oh, and did i mention the sea of division is a natural habitat

for squids. there's something interesting. it's called the boyfriend cliff, which seems to be the official name for a jagged edge of the mountain with a little man dangling off the side. is this supposed to be the daughter -- his daughter's boyfriend, the one he mentioned at one of his press conferences? is the governor of new york suddenly telling the world what he would like to do to his daughter's boyfriend? i'm not sure. cuomo did not explain the meaning when he unveiled his poster. he did say he commissioned it because he loves history and he loves poster art. as for me, i love all of it, the sea of change, the president's celestial booster seat. it's a work of art if i've ever seen one for an era that is about to inspire many works of art. i encourage you to spend some time. we'll post a like at maddowblog.com tonight. try not to get lost after the best turn off of boyfriend cliff. that is the best new thing in the world. that does it for us tonight. now it's time for "the last word" with our friend lawrence

o'donnell. >> good evening, ali. so boyfriend cliff. that's the thing we want to avoid, huh? >> avoid that. >> okay. thank you, ali. well, today someone who knows donald trump better than anyone working in the white house, better than any republican member of congress, and much, much better than any of the trump voters out there who love donald trump so much that they risked their lives following his public health advice instead of dr. anthony fauci's, someone who knows donald trump much, much better than any of those people do said today that donald trump is utterly incapable of leading this country, and it's dangerous allow him to do so. >> boil it down, what is the single most important thing you think the country needs to know about your uncle? >> he's utterly incapable of leading this country.

and it's dangerous to allow him to do so. >> based on what you see now or eye what you saw then? >> based on what i've seen my entire adult life. >> that was president trump's niece, mary trump, who is a clinical psychologist. her book about president trump is on sale in america today,