and accessoriesphones for your mobile phone. like this device to increase volume on your cell phone. - ( phone ringing ) - get details on this state program call or visit good afternoon, out here in the east, and a good morning out west. i'm chuck todd. the state of florida has reported more than 10,000 new cases of coronavirus today. more importantly, that brings the state's total to over 300,000. as a country, it would put florida i think 6th or 7th on the list globally. the university of washington's model is now projecting that more than 224,000 americans will die as a result of the virus by november 1st. that technically by the way is two days before election day in this country. that rises to 240,000 if we ease

restrictions at all between now and the fall. this as the white house is now openly attacking its own experts. in an op-ed for usa today, the president's trade adviser, peter navarro attempts to discredit the nation's top infectious disease expert writing dr. anthony fauci has a good bedside manner with the public but has been wrong about anything i have interacted with him on. and dr. fauci is now having to publicly defend his credibility. >> you can trust respected medical authorities. you know, i believe i'm one of them so i think you can trust me. >> he said those remarks at georgetown, i believe, yesterday. joining me now is my coanchor for the next two hours, katy tur, and what are we watching? >> well, chuck, this hour,

president trump departs for atlanta, georgia, where he'll deliver remarks on rebuilding america's infrastructure at a ups hub. it follows the infrastructure plan which the former vice president unveiled yesterday in delaware. it also comes at a time when president trump is trailing biden by a pretty significant margin in a lot of the polls. most of the polls. we'll have a brand new nbc news "wall street journal" poll coming out at 5:00 p.m. eastern, so watch out for that. and in an interview with cbs this morning, the president did seem to concede that the pandemic has taken the wind out of his campaign's sails. >> is covid-19 the greatest threat to your reelection? >> i don't know. i've done a great job, and now i have to do it again. i was sailing to a win. we were sailing right into a win. >> meanwhile, oklahoma governor kevin who was at the president's

t tulsa rally announced he has tested positive for covid-19. >> i got tested yesterday for covid-19, and the results came back positive. so i feel fine. i felt a little bit achy yesterday. >> chuck, he was at the rally. he wasn't wearing a mask. it's unclear if he got it at the rally, but it is an indication of the way he has been treating this virus. there was that tweet he sent out in the beginning of the pandemic encouraging people to continue going out and eating at restaurants indoors, saying how packed everything was. >> look, you know, at the end of the day, though, as much as we sit here and we look at some of these state responses and they have been uneven, let's remember why they're uneven because we have no federal response. we have no federal plan. we have no federal guidance that gets championed. we have federal guidance that gets ignored or sort of shelved,

and i do think that, you know, i mean, i believe the governor of alabama is issuing a mask order but the governor of florida, not one for the statewide level. but again, as much as i think this is what happens, and i saw michael osterholm quoted, every country that's succeeding in controlling this virus has had a strong federal response. those who have struggled had a weak federal response. it seems clear which side of the column we're on. a few days after retweeting the claim that the cdc is lying about the pandemic, president trump's administration has moved to sideline the agency even more. the cdc is kweconfirming that is no longer in handling data. the centers for disease control will not be in charge for data of the federal government. hospitals are being told to send the data directly to a federal data base in washington. this is of course raising

concerns at the white house, and hhs, may not be as forthcoming with this information. joining us now is kelly o'donnell from the white house. and kelly, it's not news for those in the white house to hit the cdc. i mean, peter navarro, on meet the press, about three weeks ago, blamed the cdc, said it's the cdc's fault that we had a bad start to the response. now he's out there hitting fauci. but there seems to be no effort at actually, if we think there's a problem at the cdc, why not fix it. >> well, we've just been talking on a conference call with the department of health and human services and the head of the cdc dr. robert redfield about this new plan and what they are describing as an acknowledgment that the public health infrastructure of reporting be computer system and the way they have processed information has

been antiquated, he says and this is an attempt to streamline it. one of the big questions is this an effort that will ultimately lead to less transparency, less public awareness of the material, and information is powered, it helps people decide what they're going to do about their own lives as well as local and state governments to form policy. that's why this feels like such a hot button. this new system was developed in april. it's now going online. this is an effort to make things simpler, we have heard from the spokesperson from hhs who talks about this being a faster, complete data system. that's what you areour nation n. this is michael caputo to defeat the coronavirus, and this is an operating division, the cdc of health and human services. they will be a part of it, but they won't be leading the way. that's part of what we heard. so the question is will this make it easier? they're arguing that the system has been cumbersome and outdated, this is a new system that will work better. that's their argument.

the question and the anxiety is considering the tensions between this white house and this important agency of public health, is there more to it, and that's what we need to figure out down the line. chuck. >> very quickly, kelly, i know the president was asked today about peter navarro's op-ed about dr. fauci, and the president tried to put, well, you tell me. do you consider what he said an attempt to put distancing between himself and navarro's criticism. >> well, what's confounding about this is if the white house said peter navarro did not follow the white house procedure, in other white houses that would lead to some kind of punishment for lack of a better term. some sort of rebuke of that conduct to say you must follow these procedures if you're going to publish when everyone will read that op-ed as a reflection of the white house for which meter navarro works. today the president sort of brushed that off and said that's just peter i have a good

relationship with dr. fauci. a good relationship on a personal level does not mean the president is listening to dr. fauci's advice or using his advice. he hasn't spoke to him in weeks based on our reporting. chuck. >> kelly o'donnell at the white house getting us started. thank you, and katy, over to you. let's go to los angeles. eric garcetti is warning a second round of stay-at-home orders could be coming. l.a. county has reported 140,000 cases of covid-19, the highest number in the state. that accounts for more than 1% of the county's population. it is also larger than the population of charleston, south carolina. joining us now is nbc's joy fryer live in los angeles. joe on monday, mayor garcetti said los angeles had more confirmed cases in the entire country of canada. he warned that more restricted measures in los angeles might need to be taken. it is now wednesday, what's

happening? >> yeah, well consider this. in l.a. county, the recent batch of numbers in a single day, 4,200 cases reported in just the county, not the state. 2,100 are hospitalized. those are record numbers right now. i spoke earlier with the coo of cedar sinai medical center, one of the big hospitals in the region. they have noticed a gradual increase but there is still plenty of hospital capacity there and room to make more capacity if needed. that is good news, it's clear. l.a. officials are deeply worried, eric garcetti said l.a. has a color coded system. right now it's orange and it's very close to red. once l.a. hits red, things have to shut down more t. that means staying at home. you can only leave to go to work or essential services. we saw the governor shutting down restaurants, and salons and houses of worship, and barbershops and gyms.

80% has had those closed down. that's had a huge impact on businesses starting to reopen, that survived the first shut down, trying to get their feet on the ground to get going again. take a listen to what gym manager told us here in l.a. >> i don't fault gavin newsom for shutting down the gyms. it's devastating to us and most businesses. i don't see how most small businesses or brick and mortar businesses move past this. i don't blame gavin newsom, i blame the people that walk around not wearing masks thinking that's it's somehow infringing on their rights. >> there have been reports in the state of businesses trying to defy the orders that came down from the governor this week. of course officials have said they will do their best to enforce these orders to make sure the businesses that are not supposed to be open right now, do stay closed. katie. >> joe fryer in los angeles. joe, thank you very much. and chuck, i understand we have some breaking news on george floyd. we do. and while it was something we expected, moments ago, it became

official, the family of george floyd announced they will be suing the city of minneapolis and the police officers involved in his death. attorneys for the floyd family, ben crump and antonio are addressing the details in a press conference. floyd's death ignited calls to abolish the minneapolis police department and has led to quite the nationalized social reform and police reform movement. the four officers involved in floyd's death all face criminal charges. all have been fired. let's go to shaquille brewster live in minneapolis. shaq, it's interesting, it's not just the city of minneapolis, and it's not just the police officers. it's everybody here. i take it this suit couldn't happen until the criminal case is done with the police officer. is that not the case? >> well, chuck, the press

conference is happening right now just over my shoulder. i believe you can see it on the screen right now. that's one of the questions we'll be asking. what we heard from the family attorney benjamin crump when he took the podium ten minutes ago. he announced this federal unlawful death lawsuit against the city of minneapolis. he said when officer derek chauvin, when he had his knee on george floyd's neck, according to the family attorney, he had the entire weight of the minneapolis police department on the neck of george floyd, and blamed training procedures, t k tactics that the police department has been employing. that's the explanation we heard when he first approached the podium. as i said, the press conference is going on right now. that's one of the questions we'll try to ask, when this will take place and what they hope to come from this specifically. just up the street from me, you have a situation where the criminal case against the four officers involved in mr. floyd's

death, you have a situation where the judge is allowing small groups of the public to view that body camera video. the body camera video of the two officers who helped hold down the legs of george floyd, and who helped push his back down. they're allowing, over the objection of media organizations who have filed to make this video public, they're allowing people to come in for in-person viewing of the body camera video. our affiliate viewed the video. we're dgoing to have more detais about the officer and mr. floyd. i'll be going in in 20 or so minutes. we'll have more specifics about exactly what happened on that memorial day in which george floyd was killed. chuck? >> i have a feeling there will be more media requests to have that public, but i look forward to your reporting on that. i know the minute you get your eyes on that, you will report back to us in minneapolis. shaquille brewster, thank you,

and katy, over to you. >> and chuck, that additional $600 weekly unemployment benefit that soca have come to count on during this pandemic has set to expire at the end of the month. the question now is the white house and congress inching closer to an extension? there is some indication that maybe they are. we're live on capitol hill after the break. plus, alabama democratic senator doug jones joins us later in the hour, fresh off of tommy tuberville's victory yesterday in the republican runoff, beating jeff sessions. you're watching msnbc. runoff, b. you're watching msnbc. ss can be ready for it. a digital foundation from vmware helps you redefine what's possible... now. from the hospital shifting to remote patient care in just 48 hours... to the university moving hundreds of apps quickly to the cloud... or the city government going digital to keep critical services running. you are creating the future-- on the fly.

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the $600 weekly unemployment benefit currently helping 30 million unemployed americans expires at the end of the month unless congress acts, but now "the washington post" notes there are indications senior

trump administration officials might be willing to negotiate an extension of the benefit. joining us now is nbc news correspondent leann caldwell. is there any indication that steve mnuchin and nancy pelosi are meeting again to discuss potentially keeping it at $600, maybe bumping it down to $400 or $200 extra? >> no indication that mnuchin and pelosi have spoken but we know mnuchin and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell did speak just this morning, and we're hearing from these administration officials, some signs that they might be open to extending this some sort of expanded federal benefit. here's what mnuchin and trump's economic adviser, kudlow said recently. >> we'll figure out an extension that works for companies and for those people who will still be unemployed. >> we would like to see unemployment reforms. we like return-to-work bonuses of a modest nature.

>> >> reporter: kudlow is talking about a return-to-work bonus because what republicans and the administration have been worried about is that the additional $600 a week is an incentive to keep people at home, as many people are making more on unemployment insurance than they are at work, but the reality on the ground as states start closing up again, as employers start shedding jobs more permanently, those signals are starting to dictate to republicans that something might need to be done. i just got off the phone with an aide to senate majority leader mcconnell, and he said that the majority leader isn't necessarily opposed to some sort of enhanced benefit. he just wants to make sure that people are not making more money at home than they were making at work, katy. so these negotiations are just now beginning. we could start to see the outlines of some sort of

proposal by the end of the week or perhaps early next week. >> the senate doesn't come back in until july 20th. is this going to get done before the end of the month, and then before everybody goes on their late summer recess? >> yeah, it's a huge time crunch. not only before they leave for recess, but these unemployment benefits run out at the end of the month. they do not have a lot of time to do this, but talking to people on both sides say that there is incentive to get something done quickly. but, you know, the way it works around here on capitol hill is there is a lot of partisan bickering but when there's a necessity to move quickly, they can do it. but we'll see. we haven't even see legislation or details yet. >> leann caldwell on capitol hill. thank you so much. and chuck, so interesting because just a month ago a number of republicans were saying no way, no how, we're not

going to extend that but as this virus is taking a toll on red states and forcing closures again, as leann was saying, boy, your tune changes, and suddenly the necessity becomes a whole lot more urgent. >> well, and there's no doubt this extended unemployment is why the economy hasn't experienced the full-on negative impacts that the lot of people expect. i think in that sense, that's something that the white house sees. after the break, some promising news on the coronavirus front, as a vaccine that's being developed here in the united states is set to begin its final trial stage later this month. you're watching msnbc. e later this month you're watching msnbc. how about no no uh uh, no way

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there are a lot of developments in the coronavirus pandemic. over the last 24 hours, here are the facts as we know them at this hour. walmart, america's largest in-store retailer announced today that starting monday, they will require customers to wear face masks in all stores. they join best buy, costco and apple who have mandated face coverings. i have seen walmart signs that say in this community, they order you to wear a mask if that said community has a mask.

they had these pre-printed signs. now it will be regardless of what's happening in the local community. researchers in france have reported the first case of a mother transmitting the coronavirus to her baby while pregnant. and the baby was born in march, and has since recovered. the researchers have said this kind of transmission appears to be extremely rare. hong kong disneyland is closed again after a spike in coronavirus cases. the same day disney reopened its paris theme park, and as you know, orlando's disney park is currently opened as florida is the world's virus epicenter. and the president's former physician, actually the former physician of the last two presidents, dr. ronny jackson has come out against face masks. >> i think that wearing a mask is a personal choice, and i don't particularly want my government telling me that i have to wear a mask. >> last night in texas, ronny jackson won the republican

nomination in a very red district, he is likely coming to congress after november, katy. >> you should wear a mask. you should just wear a mask. that's all i have to say to that. the coronavirus continues to spread in florida, chuck, with more than 10,000 cases reported today. the state has more than 300,000 confirmed infections so far. for context, florida has more cases than the united kingdom. also for context, there's not a statewide mask order in florida. the state also reported a record high of 132 covid-19 related deaths in a single day. a bipartisan group of mayors is now telling governor ron desantis he needs to convey the urgency of this crisis to the public. joining us now is nbc news correspondent kerry sanders in flo fort lauderdale, florida. i have a question about the meeting between desantis and the

mayors, they came with questions about implementation, statewide masks order, places for lower income people to quarantine, and the mayor of hialeah wasn't allowed in. what more can you tell us about what happened and what it means for your state? >> well, what it means for the state is that there is still some confusion and, again, the governor has pushed down decision making to the local level. the mayors meeting with him are asking for some sort of state leadership. if there was any symbolism in terms of a slight change in the way the governor has been handling this, it is that at his news conference, he was wearing a mask, which he had not done before. of course governor ron desantis who in many ways follows in the foot steps of president donald trump, donald trump the president wearing a mask, photographed wearing a mask, then we see governor desantis at the news conference wearing a mask. why everybody was not allowed

into the meeting was a matter of space and organization, to have some sort of social distancing. most importantly what you're talking about is kind of two different views of what's going on. the governor upbeat, suggesting that things are moving forward, suggesting that perhaps schools will be open across the state. again, in florida, that's mid august to late august, it's not labor day like much of the country, whereas the mayors are saying, hold the phone, this is not going to happen that quickly. meeting again today in tampa, katy, with others at the education department there saying, look, parents are not interested in putting their kids in harm's way. remember, the kids come home, even if they don't get sick, they might carry it home to the adults. >> kerry sanders in fort lauderdale for us. i misspoke. hialeah, not high laleah, my apologies to you, and everybody in florida. chuck, you would know that.

i'm sorry, i mispronounced that. >> that's all right. our friends at hialeah, that's where telemundo has their headquarters in hialeah. there's promising news on the development of a covid-19 vaccine, the biotech firm moderna released data from its phase one trial that found all of its 45 participants developed antibodies, which could be key to fending off the virus, even if it's at least temporarily. moderna will become the first company in the united states to begin phase 3 trials, which it hopes to start at end of the month. joining us now is the president and ceo of the biotechnology innovation organization dr. michelle mcmurray heath. so dr. mcmurray heath, how should we take in this news, getting to a phase 3 trial, how likely, you know, how likely is it that a drug that makes it to phase 3 can't make it to the next phase. >> well, of course, chuck, it's possible, but this is incredibly

encouraging news. almost the first bright ray of sunshine that we've had during this crisis, and it's just emblematic of the great scientific work that's taking place, not just in moderna, which is a fantastic company, but in the hundreds of companies around the world that have pivoted their resources, their manpower, their scientific insights into fighting this scourge. you know, we at the biotech innovation represent a thousand companies in the health tech space, and over 635 projects have been started in the last 24 weeks alone to combat covid. 125 of which are simply focused at getting us a vaccine. so with that many shots on goal, we are confident of success and moderna's early results show us the reason for hope. >> doctor, it's not just moderna, there's also the vaccine that's being worked on in oxford that's showing some promise as well. how many vaccines are we going to need in order to cover the

entire population. is it going to be one? is it going to be two? are you anticipating that there might need to be even more than that to make sure that everybody is able to get a form of coverage that works for their particular body? >> no one knows the answer for sure. it definitely depends on whether or not the vaccines are more suitable for certain populations than others. this is why it's so important that we're heading into phase 3 trials. for your viewers, phase 1 is the stage at which you test whether or not the new drug or vaccine is safe. at phase 2, you're testing whether or not it appears to work on a small number of patients and at phase 3, you take it to a large number of patients, hopefully with a great diversity of backgrounds, so that you can really test who it's best suited for and whether or not it lives up to expectations. with we definitely need more than one shot at goal. when we get out the other end, we have all the tools in our tool box that we need to prevent the virus from spreading even

further. doctor, what can you tell us, i mean, it seems as if a lot of experts believe the first vaccines will probably be -- they might only last two to three months. they might only last four to five months, six months, something like that. is that the case? do we know more beyond everybody developed antibodies, how long did they keep these antibodies do we know more about how likely is it we're going to need a series of vaccines versus one shot ala polio? >> it's a very very complicated question, and a good one. we don't know for sure. in the moderna case, they gave two doses, which is not unusual for a vaccine, and what was good news is that the participants not only developed antibodies, but they developed neutralizing antibodies, antibodies that seem to actually combat the virus, and this is exactly what you want to see. no one knows how long that

protection or that ability to fight the virus could last. that will come out of the phase 3 trials, the further information and insights. one of the hopeful signs is that covid doesn't appear to be mutating as quickly as a virus like influenza where you need a new influenza vaccine every year to fight off the infection. but we cannot know for sure sitting here today how long a possible protection would last. >> but i have to say, dr. michelle mcmurray heath, you have, i think, educated us well on what are the differences between a phase one, phase two, and phase three what it is we expect to learn in a phase three, and that will be how long these antibodies last as well. thank you for coming up and sharing your expertise with us. it was very helpful. katy, over to you. cross your fingers that something works and something works quickly. coming up next, we are live in alabama where residents will now be required to wear face masks

in public. the state, like much of the south, is seeing an alarming spike in coronavirus cases. and speaking of alabama, it was a big loss for jeff sessions, but a big win for president trump as the president's former attorney general lost his bid to win back his senate seat. you're watching msnbc. s senate . you're watching msnbc. woman: my reputation was trashed online. i felt completely helpless. my entire career and business were in jeopardy. i called reputation defender. vo: take control of your online reputation. get your free reputation report card at reputationdefender.com. find out your online reputation today and let the experts help you repair it. woman: they were able to restore my good name. vo: visit reputationdefender.com or call 1-877-866-8555. jimmy's gotten used to his whole yup, he's gone noseblind. odors. he thinks it smells fine, but his mom smells this... luckily for all your hard-to-wash fabrics...

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president trump just stopped by to speak with reporters for a few minutes at the white house on his way to his 2 marine 1 as he gets ready to go to atlanta. let's listen in. he had something to say about the alabama senate race. here it is. >> won't be long, we'll be back here pretty early. just going to see a lot of interesting topics. the markets are very good. the country is doing well. jobs are growing fast. we want schools to be open and they will be open, and they'll be open, i think, relatively on

time. hopefully perfectly on time most places, and do you have any questions? >> what's your reaction to attorney general jeff sessions' loss in alabama yesterday? >> i'm very happy that tommy tuberville won the race. i think he's going to be a great senator. we don't have a good senator in there right now in jones. he's not doing the job. he should be doing a much better job. certainly he doesn't represent the views of the people of alabama. that's for sure. so we're not happy about him at all. i don't think the people of alabama are happy with their representation in the senate. and tommy tuberville is going to be a great senator. he was a great coach. i spoke to another coach last night unrelated, and he said tommy tuberville was a great coach, and he's a great guy. some day i'll tell you who say that. he's somebody respected, so it was a great, it was a tremendous win for tommy tuberville last night.

i'm very happy about it. and also a tremendous win for ronny jackson. and it looks like it could be a tremendous win for a gentleman named gonzalez. you know about that too. that race is going on. by the time i got involved, a lot of votes were already cast. i got involved really at the last moment. we think he can easily win that area, and two very good candidates, reyes is a great candidate, and so is gonzalez, but when i got involved, a lot of the early votes were cast. and it was a big comeback. it was a big comeback. so that's going to be a very interesting race. the other they think, very very amazing, somebody you all know is ronny jackson. admiral ronny, doc ronny, we call him a lot of different things, but everybody agrees they respect ronny jackson a

lot. >> it could happen. antifa is no good. they're bad. they're bad people. and it could very well happen. >> mr. president, why do you want coronavirus data going into -- why make that change? >> didn't change for me. look, they're all on the same team. we're all on the same team, including dr. fauci. i have a very good relationship with dr. fauci, and we're all on the same team. we want to get rid of this mess that china sent us. so everybody's working on the same line, and we're doing very well. we're doing well in a lot of ways, and our country is coming back very strong. when you look at those job numbers, we've never this job numbers like we have right now, so it's coming back very strong. ok okay. he made a statement representing himself. he shouldn't be doing that.

i have a very good relationship with anthony. thank you very much. thank you. >> katy, two things, number one, that struck me out of this, number one, we haven't seento b lawn in some time. that's number one. number two, you heard last night during a presser, he was talking about he wants to do this more. me thinks that whatever advice he's getting from folks, he's decided he has to engage in the press more. so you're going to see a lot more of him. but it is also notable that he did try to distance himself even more from navarro's op-ed than he did this morning. worth noting, that's for sure. >> if he really wanted to distance himself from that, and if he really wasn't behind this idea that dr. fauci, there's an opposition research or there's a team of people that are trying to tear down his credibility, he'd put an end to it. peter navarro wouldn't be in the administration any longer. dan scavino, his right hand man

on social media since the campaign would not be posting images calling dr. fauci dr. faucet on facebook. this just wouldn't be happening if the president was okay with it. the other thing that i noticed there, chuck, and i think it's just worth pointing out, jeff sessions, i was in mobile, alabama, in august of 2015 when donald trump had a pretty big rally down there and the surprise guest was jeff sessions. he came out in the rain, put on a make america great again hat. >> i remember it. >> it was the first endorsement by a sitting senator for donald trump, and he campaigned with him. he was rewarded mightily by being put into the attorney general position, and then because jeff sessions in the circumstances of the russia investigation, did the right thing and what was required of him in the rules, which was to recuse himself. because he did the right thing, donald trump punished him by

refusing to back his campaign in the senate, trying to tear hem down, actively campaigning against him. it's something i have heard from people who have worked for donald trump both in the past and the present, you are only as useful or once you are not useful to him, he is not loyal to you. his loyalty is one way only. you got to be completely loyal to him, and that's it. >> yeah. there's one more gift jeff sessions gave donald trump, steven miller. anyway, back to you, katy. >> that's true. that's true. steven miller was on jeff sessions senate team, and miller, hard line immigration hawk before he joined the trump administration came over and basically put structure around what trump wanted to do with immigration. chuck, let's bring in nbc news reporter, dasha burns in montgomery, alabama, another southern state experiencing a surge in cases and

hospitalizations. the governor there just issued an order requiring people to wear a face covering when in public and in close contact with other people. so dwhat's been happening down there? >> reporter: i have been talking to doctors all day. i have been having some heartbreaking conversations. they say the situation here is dire. they're exhausted, they're emotional, and right now, they don't really see a light at the end of the tunnel. they tell me this mask order could not have come soon enough, and the governor in explaining that order at her press conference said that the numbers do not lie, and the numbers here in alabama are pretty staggering. they have been hitting records in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths almost every day for the last couple of weeks, and i think we have an image, a graphic of hospitalizations in the state, and when you look at the charts, the curve is just staggering. 50% surge in hospitalizations in just the last two weeks.

and that means they're really putting a strain on the system her here. icu beds are 85% full in the state. 253 beds left in the entire state of alabama. this hospital behind me here does not have any icu beds available right now, and that is putting medical staff on the brink. i want you to take a listen to what dr. thrasher told me earlier today. so you're getting short staffed because staff are getting sick or having to quarantine? >> yes, that's a big part of it, but also the emotional trauma on these heroes here, is tough. i get pretty emotional about this. yesterday excuse me, one of our great nurses, been here 27

years, broke down. she said, i can't take it anymore. >> reporter: and katy, while we're out here talking about the numbers, they are in there taking care of the patients and they are just begging everyone to do their part to stop the spread of this thing, and despite the mask order, katy, the governor did not say anything about rolling back any of the reopening. businesses are still open right now, and the folks i've been talking to here just want to make sure people are wearing their masks and doing what they can, katy. >> if you're not going to do it for yourself, for your family members, if you're not going to do it for your neighborhood, your city, do it for those doctors who are facing death and tau trauma, and who have to be at the bedside of people suffering from this disease. god forbid, be there while they are dying alone because family members can't come in and be there with them because there's

not enough personal protective equipment. you know, take some personal responsibility. have some empathy, have some respect for those who are doing the tough jobs, like that doctor there you just interviewed. no one wants to see anyone break down and cry, not a doctor when they're trying to do the right thing. dasha burns in montgomery, alabama, dasha, thank you very much. chuck, over to you. and family members say to me, if you knew wearing a mask would cut your chances of getting cancer, wouldn't you wear a mask? you just heard president trump addressing the senate race in alabama. former auburn university football coach tommy tuberville will face democratic senator doug jones in november. let's bring in the sitting senator from alabama, democrat doug jones. senator jones, it's good to see you. let me just start with sort of a big picture question here for you. you're going to have to, in order to win re-election, you're going have to win the support of voters who vote for donald trump and doug jones.

make your case to that voter. >> well, my case is to the people of alabama, regardless of who they're going to vote for for president. i think, chuck, you interviewed me. we talked in 2017. i said then i was going to focus on alabama and the kitchen table issues of jobs, economy, health care. and we have done just that. 17 bipartisan bills, been named one of the most bipartisan senators in the senate. we have gotten things done for the people of alabama. and that's what folks are looking at. especially in this time of crisis that we're facing in alabama and across this country. that's where i think people are going to look, and they're going to judge the senate race independently from anything else. >> you know, it seems to me, i'm curious what lessons you took from the runoff. my guess is the former senator, jeff sessions, is probably, going to say to you, good luck getting tommy tuberville to engage, to debate.

are you concerned that you're not go to be able to get him in a socially distanced, of course, but in a room to have a debate? >> no, i'm not concerned about it because we're going to have the resources and get up there. we have gotten support from folks in alabama all over, and i appreciate all the support we have been given, especially with the fact we've got dark money ads coming against us right now, so i need all the help i can get. we're going to take our message to the people of alabama, my record to the people of alabama. that's something that tommy tuberville has not done in this race. you have not heard him talk about any of the issues. jeff sessions didn't talk about any of the issues that alabama faces. even last night, you never heard him talking about the pandemic and the health crisis that we're in right now. and so those are the things that i think people in alabama are going to look to, and they're going to look for leadership. they want somebody who can get things done. >> senator, tommy tuberville is trying to, instead of talking

about issues, at least last night, is trying to asideline you with the more progressive wing of the democratic party. let me play a portion of what he said. >> doug jones is alabama. you take your marching orders from joe biden, nancy pelosi, and chuck schumer. and the bartender aoc. you spend the first three years trying to imbeach the best president we have ever had, and he voted to impeach him. >> the more progressive wing with aoc there specifically. he's trying to say that as a democrat, you can't adequately represent alabama because alabama is on the side of donald trump. are you feeling that that is still the case four years into this presidency, that breaking with donald trump, voting to impeach him, is something you can survive in such a red state, and if that's true, do you think something has changed, maybe in the last few months, that have made people increasingly wary of

the president? >> i don't think it's that as much as it is that people are going to look at the whole record. they're going to pick out one or two votes and try to use that somehow against me, but the fact is, we have got an impressive record for the people of alabama, whether it's on rural health and maternal health, jobs, the economy. you know, armed services, i'm a member of the armed services committee. we've got a strong military presence in alabama, a strong veteran presence in alabama. those folks know i have been there for them every step of the way. that's what's going to be important. people are going to break with the president, people are going to break with joe biden. that's going to happen, but folks are going to look at the senate race between doug jones and tommy tuberville and what they're going to see is somebody who has lived in alabama all their life, that would be me, versus somebody that has moved to alabama just 18 months ago to try to help the president, not the people of alabama. he said all along, his role is

to simply have the president's back. mine is to have the people of alabama's back, and no one else's. and that message is getting across, for sure. >> black women helped put you over the line back in 2018. are you looking toward that demographic again in november? and if so, is there somebody that joe biden can put on the ticket that would help you there or somebody that he could put on the ticket that might hurt you in your race? >> well, i think that joe biden is going to pick the best person for his ticket. regardless of where it might land on any particular state. that's what i want him to do. we have had discussions about this. i want him to pick the person he is the most comfortable with, that he thinks can bring the most to the ticket for the democrats this fall. so as we go forward, we've done so much for the folks in the base that helped me get elected in 2017. i have been there for them every

step of the way. they'll know i'll be there again, and what's interesting, we have been able to broaden that base so much by bringing in farmers, by bringing in nurses and teachers and doctors. by bringing in veterans and those folks. so you broaden that base considerably, and that's the winning coalition that comes together in the fall of 2020. >> 2017, not 2018. thank you for correcting me. alabama senator doug jones, thank you for joining us. and we should note tommy tuberville declined our invitation to appear on the show this week. we would welcome him any time in the next 111 days until november. and chuck, you want to add something? >> look, i'll just say that the former football coach should know that some of us remember when he was the university of miami linebackers coach. dallas cowboys, all sorts of things. so a lot of us know his full background. we would welcome the republican

nominee on the airways. katy. >> we would certainly welcome him. still to come in the next hour, a look at the struggle is real has had in reopening schools. what lessons can we learn from them? you're watching msnbc. and take. it. on... ...with rinvoq. rinvoq a once-daily pill... ...can dramatically improve symptoms... rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. and for some... rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. that's rinvoq relief. with ra, your overactive immune system attacks your joints. rinvoq regulates it to help stop the attack. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious infections and blood clots, sometimes fatal, have occurred... ...as have certain cancers, including lymphoma, and tears in the stomach or intestines, and changes in lab results. your doctor should monitor your bloodwork. tell your doctor about any infections... and if you are or may become pregnant while taking rinvoq.

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well, it's 11:00 a.m. out west, 2:00 p.m. in the east. i'm chuck todd. here's what's happening right now. 65,000 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the united states in the last 24 hours. not bending that curve at all. the second highest single day total since the start of the pandemic. and today, five states are reporting new highs and daily fatalities from the virus. those five states, florida, utah, north carolina, nevada, and alabama. and two other states are preparing for deaths to climb even higher. arizona and texas have requested mobile morgues in anticipation of traditional morgues exceeding capacity. >> the centers for disease control will no