no declaration from the associated press. these are incomplete results. more is coming up, but m.j. hagar is leading royce rest right now. the winner is going to face off against john cornyn, republican senator in november. keep in mind here, cornyn looks like the favorite in that race right now, but the polling in texas recently in the presidential race has shown joe biden running dead even with president trump, a state president trump won by nine points. biden running even, biden's campaign putting resources into texas. so let's see what happens here when a nominee emerges on the democratic side, does this race become competitive? so keep an eye on that one, as well. but when the votes are tallied, we'll know which democrat is facing off. and now we know democrat doug jones, the most vulnerable democratic senator will be facing tommy tuberville and not jeff sessions.

june 28th and associated press reports on the state driving down birth rates in the province forcing bigger women to use contraception in some cases into aborting their unborn children july 19th a new york times investigation into forced labor weeks compelled to make face masks and other kinds of p.t.e. . perhaps those stories are what gave the drone video new life the attention it always does or. this clip show is roughly 100 men in uniforms shackled their heads shaved. their such graphic depictions of people who are clearly detained confined being taken someplace and on some level be the images invoke memories of other gross human rights violations particularly ones committed against ethnic and religious minority and. the officers are wearing black uniforms winter labeled goods which has been translated as. being in china are usually responsible for major threats especially counterterrorism operations interestingly enough we see some blood dressed in civilian clothes being escorted with the group the absence of a standard uniform suggests to me that they haven't been formally proce

an associated press poll indicates 3 out of 4 americans favor requiring people to wear masks outside of their homes. here in the nation's capital, face coverings are now mandatory. meantime, applications for first-time jobless benefits went up this week for the first time in months. also breaking tonight, new fox battleground state polls, the president trailing joe biden in three key battleground states, we'll bring that to you in a minute. a chief white house correspondent john roberts starts us off. >> just a typical thursday at the white house. you'll recall a couple of months ago, president trump told roy cooper the governor of north carolina if he couldn't guarantee they could have a big event in charlotte for the big speech at the convention, they were going to move it. the president was happy to have it in jacksonville but his team came in with drawings of what they put together, he said drawings were very compelling but the decisio situation in fla just meant that he could not go down there and have a large crowd to watch him give the acceptance speech, here's what the presid

lastly i want to go back to jordan goudreau this character here according to reports by the associated press u.s. officials are now investigating this former green beret for arms trafficking but as far as we know he is still in florida right now laying low after those failed plans in venezuela so where is the accountability here and what's he got to hype. gerrard. would ask will criminal law to the state department are going to want to wipe their hands clean as if they had nothing to do with worth $15000000.00 bounty on the head of the democratically elected president. as well running 10000000 are on the local bay and the other group of the bryant leadership and of course that is well known as well as true crime like nicaragua like you like little until most step in brazil or like the reemerging argentina were what our group or not is the true crime it what our leaders on korea or which is being one of our and we don't believe. our prosy soaked in blood of the day with the john bull the only any other better and was high we got to leave it right there unfortunately professor danny shah senio

joseph varon, the associated press notes as of them shooting this footage today dr. varon has worked more than 100 days straight without rest in north houston. here's the texas tribune's picture worth a thousand words about what has happened in texas hospitals to get them to this point. the vertical dotted line you see there on sort of the left side of the screen that shows the date when texas' republican governor greg abbott started proverbally pounding his chest and brag about how texas was going to open up the whole state more than anywhere else in the country. the rising line to the right shows what's happening in texas since. as of memorial day texas had just over 1,500 people hospitalized. today they are edging toward 10,000. the texas republican party had been planning until today to hold a giant indoor in-person 6,000-person state convention in houston next week. the houston regional alone has over 55,000 cases of coronavirus. it's also home to the world's largest medical system, the texas medical center. it's now into its third week operating at full or beyo

. -- >> i am vice president of the club and associated press u.s. video assignment manager. the killing of george floyd by 25ice in minneapolis on may black lives matter protest and renewed an urgent out cry for police reform. at the same time, our nation has stru

"the new york times" and the associated press say top russial military igence operatives are targetingrican and western audiences. the reports site u.s. government officials and newly declassified information. u.s. attorney general william forces against civil unrestderal today. he told the house judiciary coittee that "violent ri and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests." democrats charge barr has misused the justice department to defend president trump. we will get much more aftethe news summary. the mayor of porand, oregon, ted wheeler, is pressing for a cease-fire and the removal of tonight, the associated press is reporting that the trump administration has started talks with the oregon governor's office and indicated it may begin to draw down the presence of federal officers. overnight, agents agaiused tear gas after some protesters attacked a security fencdeat the feral courthouse. they have gathered near that site for two months. the democrats' presidential nominee to be, joe biden, called today for using economic aid to address racial inequities. it includes billions o

morning, wenday discussed new coronavirus relief legislation in congress with associated press chief congressional correspondent, and we talk about parenting during the pandemic with the american enterprise institute's daniel cox. watch washington journal live monday morning and be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, facebook comments, text messages and tweets. next, a hearing on domestic extremist groups and efforts to counter their activity on social media. the house homeland security subcommittee on intelligence and counterterrorism heard from former law enforcement officials and experts on extremist movements, including the cofounder of the global project against hate and extremism. joining today, assessing the threat from acceleration of militia extremists. we will look at a range of violent antigovernment activists including the movement who seek to accelerate society toward violence. is there something happening on the left, on the right? is there something happening anywhere on the political spectrum that involves violence?

according to the "associated press," a doctors association says physicians' offices are closing becausennot get masks and other necessary protective supplies, while a national nurses union is concerned gear will need to be reused. citing the results from a survey of its union members, the president of national nurses united told the "ap," "we're five months into this and there are still shortages of gowns, hair covers, shoe covers, masks, n-95 masks. they're being doled out and we're still being told to reuse them." >>> now turning to concerns of the virus at an i.c.e. detention center in arizona, where nearly half of the employees there have tested positive. nbc news correspondent julia ainsley has been covering this story for us. julia, good morning. it's good to see you. so, where are we talking about here? who's in this detention facility and why are so many of them getting sick? >> reporter: so, willie, this is the eloy detention center. it is an i.c.e. detention center, but contracted by a private company, core civic, and it can hold up to 1,500 migrants, and as we understand, has

according to the "associated press" trump wore a mask in the hallway as his visit began, but he was noted off the helicopter at the facility. since the beginning of the outbreak, the president repeatedly declined to wear a mask at rallies and other public events as we reported here as well, and according to the "associated press," he feared the mask would make him look weak and was concerned it shifted to the public health crisis rather than the economic recovery. as you may remember, the only other time trump was photographed during a mask was during a private part of a tour at a ford plant in michigan back in may. >>> so there's a new ad from the lincoln project hitting the president on his response to the pandemic. >> there was a day earlier this year when our nation's intelligence and public health experts pleaded with donald trump to take the coronavirus seriously. did he listen? no. what did he do? he probably scrolled through his twitter feed or daydreamed about his next rally or asked lindsey graham to play golf or ordered fewer tests. >> slow the testing down, please. >> and no

jonathan lemire, white house reporter for the associated press. susan page, "usa today" washington bureau chief. and dr. vin gupta. he's an e.r. doc specializing in these kinds of illnesses, also an affiliate assistant professor with the university of washington department of health metrics sciences. good evening and welcome to you all. susan, i'd like to begin with you. your publication was in the news this week. as one does, peter navarro wrote a hit job on anthony fauci. it appears in your pages. there's since been an editor's note at "usa today" saying it should have been more rigorously fact-checked. but still we're reminded it's the thought that counts. it's really a white house-sponsored, one way of looking at it, war on information, science, and medicine. >> yes. and what "usa today" has said, the editorial page editor, is that there should have been a fact-checking article with it, which has now been posted to point out some of the things that mr. navarro said that are not factually true. what's valuable about this op-ed is it puts a seni

the associated press reports nearly 80% of the state's hospital beds are in use. intensive care units are filling up in some of the state's biggest cities including san antonio and houston. despite the growing outbreak, all public school districts in the state must reopen campuses for in-person instruction in august, in order to continue receiving state funding. according to the commissioner of the texas education agency, this will happen, unless governor greg abbott issued a school closure order. the mandate does allow students to continue learning from home if they choose. the pandemic is also straining florida's health system. state health officials say more than 40 hospitals, some of the state's most populated counties have either maxed out of the their icu capacity or are close to running out of intensive care beds. as of yesterday, more than 5,000 patients were using 83% of the state's icu beds. according to florida's health agency that leaves a little more than 1,000 beds free and this comes as the state suffers a 30% surge in new cases from last week. flor

visit ncicap.org] morning, the associated press chief congressional correspondent talks about potentialongressional action relieffifth coronavirus package and then later daniel cox reviews his new report on parenting during the pandemic. we also take your calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. "washington journal" is next. ♪ washingtonis "the journal," for july the 20th. a two hour program today, the house is scheduled to come in at 9:00. lags still half-staff at the u.s. capitol to remember -- flags still half-staff at the u.s. capitol to remember the death of john lewis. this morning we are talking about pandemic restrictions in place where you live and if you oppose that. do you support them? you can tell us why, at (202) 748-8000. if you oppose them, you can call and tell us why at (202) 748-8001. perhaps you want to text us, do so at (202) 748-8003. you can post on our twitter feed, @cspanwj. facebook is available to you too, facebook.com/c-span. in a recent story the associated go back and forth over these restrictions. in georgia, the republican governor

we have dozens and dozens of officers injured, weer have three offices blinded by lasers and associated pressthe buildingur with the rioters attacking the federal courthouse, he saw the marshals and officials getting wounded, they are taking a lot, they are taking hits, how can they say that? >> she is a democrat, she's being controlled, the whole thought process of the democratic party, the radical wing is the tail that wags the dog of the democratic party and what she is missing i would think would be what america can expect if the democrats win in november, you will see mass chaos, you will cd funding of the police department, it's going to be a very bad situati situation. liz: the question is, do people protesters throw molotov cocktails, do peaceful protesters burned down federal courthouses, do peaceful protesters use tasers, slingshots with batteries in them throwing frozen water balloons, fecal matter, using sledgehammers, let's listen, here's the other thing, the mayor of oakland california criticized rioters are turning peaceful protesters into violence, group brain helmets and gogg

the associated press is reporting that the republican governor of georgia, brian kemp, who was wearing a mask today when he greeted donald trump at the airport in atlanta, there he is, his mask is off. if you watch this, he will put on his mask, put on his mask as he begins to talk to donald trump there at the airport in georgia. after doing that, he tonight has issued an order that the associated press says explicitly voids local mask mandates. that's the governor of georgia overriding every local official in the state who wants to mandate wearing masks in that local area. the governor of georgia who wore a mask when he greeted donald trump today says no one in local government in georgia is allowed to mandate the behavior that you will see everyone who is greeting donald trump there is complying with, which is wearing masks. that's the governor in the light blue suit and the red tie who just put his mask on to talk to donald trump. as donald trump goes down that line, as i watched him go down that line when it was happening live today, every single person he spoke to in that line was

after a couple weeksks of investstigation and workingg wiwith the associated press, which broke the storyere actually able to hamptononat the hotell in tetexas was being used to house in detatained indidividuals, includingng unaccompanied children but also other asylum-seekerers, cluding otother family units before they were expelled from the country. it is important to n note the distinctctn betweenn expulsion versus dedeportation. under deportation, which is a legal process, there is aa paper r trail. there is a way for u us to track what i is going on and try y to do some legal intetervention. under expulsion, what is happening iss the administration is basicacally apprehendingng people, holding them at blblack sites like this hampton inn or other hotels across the country or moving to otr governrnment prisons, before e they are just summarily expelled and disappeared from the country and it becomes impossible for groups like us or other immigration attorneys or human rights advocates to even find individuals to try and start some sort of legal process on their behalf. wen:: i wanted t

the associated press has called this. nbc news not making a formal declaration on this one.not going to do it in general. doesn't mean we are thinking something is going to happen. but tubberville will beat jeff sessions. it means that tommy tuberville will advance to face doug jones, democratic senator, in the general election in november. that's a significant race, because that is a -- we talked so much about where democrats are on offense on the senate map. this is a state where they're playing defense. i'm not sure what just happened there, but alabama is where they are playing defense, because that's a state president trump won by 28 points in 2012. certainly he is expected to win alabama this november. so jones, the democrat, going to have an uphill fight against tommy tuberville. this just topped up, this is the other run off going on in texas. m.j. hagar, royce west. no declaration from the associated press. these are incomplete results. more is coming up, but m.j. hagar is leading royce rest right now. the winner is going to face off against john cornyn, republican

that is the associated press reporting that. your take, ken? a coordinated effort to destroy the rule of law and to create chaos, whether it is antifa, whether other anarchists or criminals. we see this attack on the fabric of our country and our cities and, the choice is ours. do we sit on the sidelines and let it happen or in fact do we push back? i say push back. elizabeth: great to have you on. come back soon. okay. texas congressman brian babin will weigh in next. stay right there. ♪ at you need. i wish i could shake your hand. granted. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ and the clock could be ticking towards bad breath, receding gums and possibly tooth loss. help turn back the clock on gingivitis with parodontax. leave bleeding gums behind. parodontax. ♪ >> what makes me concerned for the country is, this is the first time in my memory that the leaders of one of our great two political parties, the democratic party, are not coming out and condemning mob violence and the attack on federal courts. why can't

that is according to a report by the associated press.ines on the website include, quote, russia's counter covid aid to america advance aid detente. they say they are written in english and cycle through the new organizations to enhance the legitimacy. it's not just about the pandemic. there's a focus on u.s. policy with headlines such as chaos in the blue cities and ukrainian trap for biden. >>> let's switch gears and get' first look at your forecast with meteorologist gentlemjanessa we. good to see you. >> weather department pretty busy as we prepare for the next tropical storm, the next "i" storm on record if it materializes. it's currently in the windward islands where warnings have been issued from the dominican republic into puerto rico. it's currently sitting -- you can see the movement right now. there's no defined eye so that's why it's still being called potential tropical cyclone 9. the national hurricane center just issued their 5:00 a.m. update. they are putting a track on this potential system due to the threat towards the l

. >>> >>> breaking just moments ago, the associated press reports that the pentagon will now ban thee policy is laid out in a memo signed by the secretary of defense that was obtained by the associated press. that memo lists the types of flags that can be displayed at military installations. not on the list is the c confederate flag. officials tell the ap that careful wording was a way to stop the flag from being displayed while at the same time not angering the president. >>> you are might remember this video from the ozarks of a crowded pool on memorial day. now, there has been an 80% spike in cases in the last two weeks. you remember those people. in this pandemic, people across the country are reconsidering their long term living situations. nbc's cal perry is at the lake of the ozarks in missouri. it's the latest stop on his road to recovery rv tour. he's live at osage beach. how have things changed in the ozarks in the last few months there, cal? >> reporter: it's boomtown. this is boomtown. this is where we're seeing an unbelievable business impact of the coronavirus, a positi

from "the associated press" about what the cdc was doing in terms of providing expert cdc advice on how we could reopen things in america. that "ap" reporting resulted in the initially leaked and then ultimately soft launched quiet publication of the first cdc guidelines on how a number of different entities in the united states, including schools, should decide whether and how it is safe to reopen. now, i want to show you the flow chart from that guidance that, again, first leaked and then was very quietly released without announcement in may after the "ap" did that reporting. you see the headline here, "reopening schools during the covid-19 pandemic." the purpose of this tool is to assist administrators in making decisions with k-12 schools during the covid-19 pandemic. the first column, top of the column says in bold blue type, should you consider opening. then it gives you a checklist. what's the first item on the checklist? well, is the school in a community no longer requiring significant mitigation? that's the first thing you need to check. you are trying to decide if your sc

the associated press reports the officers sound clinical as time passes.g out one officer says, you guys all right, though, someone ands. yeah, good so far, says one. another, apparently lane says my knee might be a little scratched but i'll survive. eventually one of the officers checks for mr. floyd's pulse saying he can't find one. officer chauvin continues to restrain george floyd with his knee on his neck until after paramedics arrive. we now know officer chauvin had his knee on george floyd's neck for close to 9 1/2 minutes, even longer than previously thought. another more startling piece of information we learned today has to do with the medical attention george floyd received after emts arrived on the scene. according to a reporter for the minneapolis star tribune, quote, about 19 minutes and 40 seconds in lane's video a paramedic arrived and took floyd's pulse at the neck. the paramedic walked away without a sense of urgency. the associated press reports that lane's camera shows him following an unresponsive floyd on a stretcher into an ambulance

the associated press shows 32% of americans approve of the president's handling of the coronavirus. 48%pprove of his handling of the economy. 20% say they think the u.s. is headed in the right direction. that is down from 42% in march before the pandemic. well today, the campaign of democratic presidential candidate joe biden will by 14.5 million dollars of ads in battleground states. arizona, florida, wisconsin and north carolina, the biden campaign spend another 15 million in camping ads joe bide announced a running mate. he has only said it will be a woman. susan rice is among the women being considered. she says she feels qualified even though she has not run for office before. >>> senator kamala harris continues to be seen as a favorite pick for joe biden's running mate. harris is considered the least risky option for biden who is under pressure to pick a woman of color. the senator is also viewed as someone who will be prepared to be president on day one. biden is expected to announce his pick for vice president early next month. the reagan foundation is requesting that the trump

the "new yk times" and the associated press say top russian atmilitary intelligence opes are targetingrican and western audiences. the reports ci u.s. government officials and newly declassified information. u.s. attorney general william barr defended his use of federal forc today.st civil unrest he told the use judiciary committee that "violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests." democrats charged that barr hasu misused thice department to defend president trump. we will get much more, after the news summary.or the mayor ofand, oregon, ted eeler, is pressing for a cease-fire and the removal of federal agents from his city. overnight, agents again used tear gasafter some protesters attacked a security fence at the federal courthouse. they have gathered near the sits for two mo the democratic presidential nominee-to-be, joe biden, called today for using economic aid to address racial inequities. it includes billions of dollars for minority-owned businesses and a tax credit for home ownership. the former vice president spoke in wilmington, delaware, and contrasted

americans view president trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic according to the poll from the associated press, just 32% of americans support the president's approach and 38% approve of his job performance meanwhile eight in ten americans say the country is heading in the chronicling direction. that's more than at any point since trump took office. the poll find 38% of americans say the nation's economy is good >>> with the clock ticking republicans are finally set to unveil their proposal for the next coronavirus relief bill the administration started rolling out details over the weekend president trump's mind was seemingly elsewhere retweeting 45 posts after 7:00 p.m. easternmostly focused on the protests for more on what we can expect from the gop plan head over to our capitol hill correspondent, tracie potts congress needs to move quickly on this. >> reporter: it's a trillion dollars and that plan ise anoth round ptection for businesses, tax credits and lawsuit protection the big thing in the air is whether lawmakers will continue the $600 a week unemployment bonus that is expiring republi

people now at this point 39 us states are seeing a rise in cases furthermore according to the associated press 75 percent of the cases in the united states are in states that voted for donald trump during the 2016 elections now in arizona and texas we've seen refrigerated trucks that may soon be used as a temporary morgue for the rising deaths i am pleading with everybody in our neck of the woods help us do your part people's lives are at stake not just the people getting sick but doctors nurses working to the bone in mass personnel transporting people now the state of florida is the worst hit and that is a state that donald trump needs to win if he's going to be the taurus in the 2020 elections drops of prove all ratings seems to be declining as americans are upset with how he is handling the code that 19 situation disappointed in the administration's response now 64 percent of americans actually said in a recent poll they distrust donald trump when it comes to his handling of the coronavirus situation and we've even heard one republican governor speaking up pretty loudly i had watched as the

it's an associated press photographer actually saw this, took a picture of it as biden took questions from reporters. on the note pad across the top says kamala harris and, do not hold grudges, campaign with me and jill, talented, great help to campaign, great respect for her. so what did joe biden say about his vp pick? >> what i said was that i'm going to have a choice in the first week in august and i promise i'll let you know when i do. >> okay. so the first week of august, next week, campaign watchers are now saying that harris, the golden state's own, could be on the top of biden's short vp list which includes women including several women of color. >> at least on the top of the short little list he had right there. defying health orders on "today in the bay," the state funding being taken away from two defiant california cities. >>> plus, load up the bases. baseball back in full swing. highlights from last night's giants' home opener and the unique way l.a. dodger fans can enjoy stadium food from home. >>> and happening now for you, mcdonald's plans to close hundreds of its und

. >> a new poll from the associated press and the north center for public affairs found fewer than one in 10 americans think school should open as usual. >> what is scary as we saw children all the way down from 10 years and younger also were able to spread the disease. >> they learned an internal memo indicates nationwide cases in children are rising, near the level of cases of patients 65 and older. laura podesta, cbs news. >> a live look at capitol hill where senators and the white house have come to an agreement over a massive coronavirus relief bill. the bell had been stalled in the senate for several days. congressional republicans have been sparring with the president and one another over the cost. overnight, an agreement that includes $105 billion for schools and an additional billion in funds for testing. the three chilean past the house a month ago. >>> they are extending its eviction moratorium for people struggling to pay rent during the pandemic. it goes to november 30th and grant people up to 12 months from the end of the moratorium to pay back the grand. in oakland nearl

the associated press obtained election data from the secretary of state's office which showed 102,428 mail in ballots were disqualified and the state's 58 counties that's about one 0.5% of the nearly 7 million mail in ballots that were returned that percentage is the highest in a primary since 2014 and the overall number is the highest in the statewide election since 2010. the most common problem was missing the deadline for the ballot to be mailed in arrive. others also did not have a signature or the signature did not match the one on record for the voter. if you have not filed your federal taxes yet you have 2 days left. this year's federal income tax deadline was pushed back to wednesday july 15th because of the pandemic so if you're filing you might want to consider doing it online because officials say there's a huge backlog of paper tax returns because so many irs employees have been working from home. taxpayers can also request an extension to october 15th. but you have to submit that extension form by wednesday. last june is now in the history books as the 3rd warmest june on

. >> barr's bizarre equivocating on that simple issue came just hours before the associated press was first to report today that russian intelligence officials are actively promoting a disinformation effort directed at american and western audiences related to the coronavirus pandemic. and while russian disinformation relating to the coronavirus is a concern, so too is the attorney general who today delivered false statements on that same topic. >> let's go to march. in that month, president trump said, i take no responsibility at all for the failure in testing. was that superb? yes or no? >> it was accurate. the problem with the testing system was a function of president obama's mishandling of the cdc and his efforts to centralize everything in the cdc. >> thank you. thank you, mr. barr. that is inaccurate. that's a myth. >> it wasn't until this -- >> that's a lie. president trump falsely called ppe shortages fake news while nurses and other health care professionals resorted to wearing trash bags and ski goggles to protect themselves. fake news. was that superb, yes or no? >> i thin

media outlets including the associated press reported it was moved from band har abbas to the strategicing channel through which 20% of the world's oil passes. they cited satellite imagery taken on sunday. the fake carrier is about 200 meters long and 50 meters wide. it carries 16 momockups of fighr jets. there's been no official word from tehran about the development. in 2015 iran conducted a military exercise involving a similar vessel being destroyed by missiles. relations between iran and the u.s. have been strained since washington withdrew from a nuclear agreement in 2018 and reimposed the punishing economic sanctions. in january iran fired ballistic missiles at u.s.-related facilities in iraq in retaliation for the u.s. killing of an iranian general. >>> next, the tit for tat consulate closures between the united states and china is intensifying the confrontation between the two global heavyweights. the u.s. state department expressed its disappointment at china owes order to close a consulate in chung due. beijing said this was in retaliation for a u.s. order last week to chose

according to a leaked memo reported months later by the associated press, health bosses nationwide wereman—to—human transmission was possible," the crisis was likely to become a "major public health event" and china "must prepare for a pandemic". but on state tv, top health officials played down the risk. we have reached the latest understanding that the risk of human—to—human transmission is low. we now know that on the 14th of january the head of the national health commission was very pessimistic, but it was not shared with the chinese public and it was not shared with the world. why not? translation: such a mistake did not occur. it was during this conference when all provinces learned of this disease. before that it was not widely known. 0nce everyone knew about it, all hospitals and disease control bodies sprang into action. there were never any secrets about it. the new rules put in place after sars say that "all relevant information" must be provided to the world health organization. china was clearly worried, but the who was left to tweet beijing's official line. chinese author

americans view president trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic according to the poll from the associated pressst 32% of americans support the president's approach, and 38% approve of his job performance meanwhile, 8 in 10 americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction. that's more than at any point since trump took office. the poll finds 38% of americans say the nation's economy is good that's down from 67% in january. >>> the rocky relationship between the u.s. and china could be inching toward the point of no return. just a few hours ago, the u.s. closed its consulate in the southwestern city of chengdu joining us now is janice tell us the latest on the ground there. >> reporter: it was just after dawn this morning that the american flag was lowered at the u.s. consulate here. behind me, you can see the bare flagpole around. there are work crews starting to paint and cover over the signs of the u.s. presence here. the plaques and the u.s. government insignia were removed over the weekend along with documents and staff. u.s. officials were given 72 hours notice to clear out. they