. >> let's start with nbc's dasha burns in jacksonville, florida. she'll be with us throughout the entire show this morning. florida leading the way in new cases again, breaking the daily record, but that beach behind you is actually staying open this weekend, i believe. >> reporter: yeah, ayman. it takes a couple of seconds out here to see the beaches definitely open. take a look around. still early in the day, but people are already setting up for a big beach day here. we got some people swimming, we even have some fishermen over here, we saw a bunch of lifeguards drive by wearing their masks and i was here since 6:00 in the morning, ayman. even at that hour there were groups of people doing yoga. some people taking advantage of this holiday weekend and the open beaches. very different story here than in south florida where most beaches are closed. but this picture you're seeing here coincides with some grim mile stones for the state. yesterday florida hit a record of more than 10,000 cases in a single day. and duvall county hit 767 cases in just

dasha burns in alabama, thank you.y, over to you. >>> and november is shaping up to be a huge month for the balance of power in congress, as republicans fight to maintain control of the senate. with us now is nbc news national political correspondent steve kornacki. steve, big race in alabama. what else are you watching? >> today, obviously you just set the stage for alabama, tuberville, sessions, the winner gets doug jones. jones won that special election in december of 2017 against roy moore, a democrat winning in a state trump carried by 28 points. trump heavily favored to win alabama by a large margin again. in the preliminary that set up this runoff, tuberville did outperform sessions. there's also this. democratic runoff in texas. the winner of this runoff is going to face-off against john cornyn, the republican senator in november. of course, interesting in texas, the presidential race polling in texas, biden versus trump, has been very competitive. a state trump won by nine points in 2016. a state no democrat h

. >> joining me now from alabama, nbc's dasha burns and joining us to make it all appear a little better board -- at the big board, steve kornacki. dasha, let's start with you. we know this is a divisive republican race, but, oh, there is definitely still a pandemic taking place. what changes have been made to adapt to the pandemic and making voting safer in that state. >> reporter: yeah, ayman. there is absolutely still a pandemic and it is particularly bad in the state of alabama which has seen a 30% surge in just the last two weeks. still, when it comes to voting, it is almost business as usual in the state today. this voting location behind me here in a suburb of birmingham is one of almost 2,000 polling locations across the state, that are open today and welcoming people in person. now, when it comes to safety measures, we are being told that they're being cleaned regularly, that social distancing is in place. and when it comes to masks, jefferson county does have a mask mandate, but the secretary of state has come out and said that election officials cannot require voters to wear m

nbc's dasha burns is in montgomery, alabama. dasha, we've watched face coverings and mask mandates become politicized. this new mandate there in alabama considering the pandemic is intensifying there, how is it being received? >> reporter: hey, craig. alabama is certainly no exception to the mask politics we're hearing across the country. in fact, there even seems to be a bit of a split within state officials. the governor had been pretty resistant until this kind of order until yesterday when she said the numbers do not lie. craig, the numbers here do keep going up. but the lieutenant governor has actually come out against the order. he said it's an overstep on the part of the government. he says it infringes on individual's rights to make their own health decisions and on the rights of business owners to their property. craig, we've been strolling the streets of montgomery here this morning and talking to people about their reaction to this order. i've got to tell you, the conversations i've been having here this morning sound

nbc's dasha burns joins us from dasha, 154,000 people in florida in nursing homes. what do officials think can be done to protect them? >> reporter: the situation you just described has everyone from local and state officials to leaders in the industry on high alert. one expert i spoke with this morning likened the situation to a category 5 hurricane. that is the level of threat this vulnerable population is facing right now. just this morning, the governor tweeted new action on the part of the state government for these long-term care facilities. he said, i directed the florida health department to send incident management teams to florida long-term care facilities back in march. we are deploying these teams for a second statewide mission protecting vulnerable -- the vulnerable remains a priority. i spoke to the head of the task force on long-term care facilities in hialeah, a city with the largest concentration of these facilities in the state of florida. he talked to me about what it is that these facilities need. he says they need more support. take a listen to

here is nbc's dasha burns. >> i almost get nervous driving it because i don't know like what other peopletients who require that level of care, we're just cramming patients in. each of these patients has a tube down their throat. we're chasing that at all times. >> reporter: doctors dealing with a crush of coronavirus patients. >> i'm seeing patients that have been here since the beginning of the pandemic. we've had patients who are now on day 50, 60 plus, with the infection. >> reporter: lauren bloom and ronald dicacci are residents at rutgers hospital in new jersey. >> it requires a unified effort. it still does. >> reporter: it's not over? >> it's absolutely not over. >> reporter: as coronavirus cases surged, they were on the front lines. now after the physical and mental stress of nicing the pandemic, their in financial stress. rutgers declared a fiscal emergency because of coronavirus. the university froze wages for 20,000 employees, including medical residents who are treating covid patients. >> residents are notoriously underpaid and overworked. >> reporter: what's your hourly wage

let's go now to two of those hot spots, dasha burns is in montgomery, alabama, priscilla thompson in o grande city, texas. dasha, you've been speaking with doctors on the front lines of this crisis, what are you hearing? >> reporter: hey, ayman. the doctors i've been speaking to this morning tell me that the situation in the state of alabama is dire. they say they and their staffs are exhausted, they're emotional, they're stretched thin and right now they don't really see a light at the end of the tunnel. alabama has been setting new records almost every day for the last couple of weeks. yesterday, another record day of hospitalizations, more than 1300 patients hospitalized. 40 covid related deaths yesterday and another record and across the state of alabama, icu beds are 87% full. there are only 211 beds available in the entire state right now. drs. tell me at this hospital behind me here, jackson hospital, there are no icu beds left. and the most likely way a bed becomes available is if a patient dies. a doctor told me that happened at this hospital recently and as soon as that happ

dasha burns in montgomery, alabama, dasha, thank you very much.ck, 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 on

nbc's dasha burns is in doral for us, waiting for the president to arrive.ha, set the scene, we know that he's meeting with the venezuela community there, the largest venezuela community. and also a critical voting bloc, right? >> reporter: that's right, kristin. first the president is headed to southern command where he when view a counternarcotics location. and sit down with the venezuela community here in doral. he's expected to show support for them to show he cares about what is happening in venezuela. this is an increasingly influential political group in the state here, where, as you know, the state can have laser-thin margins. there is a group like this can make or break a presidential race. earlier, i spoke with an individual in the room with the president later today, his name is ernesto. he's a member of the independent venezuela citizens. i asked him what he wants to hear from the president. take a listen what he told me. >> i expect to hear today to hear from the president, maybe more sanctions or some action that he's going to take against the

carol lee, dasha burns, thank you. >>> joining us now is dr. michael osterholm. you have said countless times to me, 60% to 70% of this country will get this virus. this is the reality of this situation. but the folks that run the federal government didn't necessarily believe this reality, yet here we are, all of the predictions may have had what month, what state would be a hot spot wrong in, beyond that here we are. is there any way to turn this around? >> actually, there is. that's the challenge, i think, that's before us. this is only in part a decision that the virus is going to make. some of us, our own ability to make a decision, that is are we willing to really clamp down again, shut down in the way we did in march in these states with these high levels of transmission and then get the virus under control, get it to one or two cases per 100,000 population per day and then we can do what the rest of the world has done, whether in asia, europe, canadian colleagues, look where they're at today. they're managing this on a day-to-day basis without having a com

. >> thanks for that, and now to nbc news reporter dasha burns in myrtle beach, south carolina. dasha, cases there spiking, the state reporting more than 36,000 cases yesterday and now 100 virginia teenagers are testing positive after visiting myrtle beach. >> reporter: andrea, that's all exactly right and it's all happening as the city reaps for fourth of july weekend, one of the peak times for tourism here. officials worry it could also be a peak time for transmission. it's not just a concern for myrtle beach. it's a concern for surrounding states whose residents are going on vacation and sometimes coming home with covid. some governors have told their residents to maybe rethink their visits here. the city is trying to take more precautions. tomorrow they will be voting on a mandatory mask order. if that passes, it will be effective immediately. i spoke to the mayor of myrtle beach about that vote and about her reaction to what some of these governors are saying about her city. take a listen to what she told me. >> i think the mask order is crucial, especially this weekend. an

with me from montgomery, alabama, is nbc news reporter dasha burns. what are you hearing on the ground there? >> hey, chris. well, i have been in alabama for about three days now, and i am noticing interesting trends when it comes to the mask debate. the conversation that's happening in the political sphere, the governor, lieutenant governor, other politicians, sounds pretty different from the conversations that i have been having with both doctors and residents here. doctors, of course, are desperate for people to wear masks. yesterday, i was at a hospital that has no icu beds available. and the health care workers there tell me that the best way to keep their hospital from being overwhelmed is for people to wear these things. and today, i have been strolling the streets of montgomery, talking to residents, and chris, every single person i have spoken to today, and this is only anecdotal, but every person i have asked has agreed with the mask mandate. take a listen. >> i am thrilled about it. i have been wanting her to do it for a while. >> i agree.

nbc's dasha burns joins us from a school in broward county where officials and parents are scrambling forward. what are you hearing about the plan to force all the schools to reopen? >> reporter: craig, the emphasis is really on that word plan. right now from what i'm hearing there just isn't a concrete, agreed-upon plan here just yet. school districts are trying to figure out everything from sanitation to how cafeterias would operate to school buses, the data they need to gather to figure out how many students they should expect in these buildings next month. education officials i've talked to say the devil is in the details, and they just don't have those details quite yet. broward county is one of the largest school districts in america, 241 schools here, all of which will have to make significant changes by august 19th, the school start date here. craig, some of the parents i've been talking to have said they were pretty excited about the order to reopen schools in person. they say that they've been seeing their children struggling over the last several months. one couple i talked

dasha burns is in miami where she caught up with a plaintiff in that lawsuit and some of her fellow teachers. dasha, what are some of their biggest concerns? >> reporter: chris, that's right. the debate over whether students should be roaming hallways like this one next month is heating up. the plaintiff i spoke to in that lawsuit told me the part of the goal was to get the governor's attention. she said right now he's simply not listening to educators. yesterday governor ron desantis held a press conference where he once again pressed schools to reopen in person. he said teachers are chompingamn the bit to get back in the classroom. the teachers desperately want to be back with their students but they say they're extremely concerned about schools reopening while the state remains one of the world epicenters of the virus. it was clear in our conversation how much they love their students. take a listen to some of what they had to say. >> there is nothing i want more than being back in front of my students. i love my job. i get paid to be goofy and sing songs and teach kids about music. but t

>> nbc's dasha burns there in florida. thank you. >>> washington's d.c.a new rule ordering they wear a face covering. people will still be allowed to dine indoors in restaurants across d.c. how will this impact the ability to control the outbreak there. joining us is dr. kavita patel great to have you on as always. let's talk about this. does requiring residents to wear face masks in public, but allowing them to sit down and eat inside of a restaurant make sense from a public health perspective? >> hi. good to see you, ayman. from a public health standpoint, it makes sense to have a mask mandate, period. and that includes when you are indoors and do not need to take off your mask. obviously, you need to take off your mask to eat. but it makes all the more sense to be as vigilant about wearing masks in all other situations, and i've read through the executive order. i practice in the district of columbia. and i think that it's concerning we're seeing an increase in cases and to that effect, i still see less than before, ayman, but i still see a good number

dasha burns is in florida. david, to you first, hospital beds are running out and they're calling for help with personnel. what is the governor's plan and what is the state doing to contain the virus? >> reporter: andrea, i'm at the texas medical center, the largest medical facility in the world. on a given day it has the capacity to treat 330 icu patients. there are now 1,150 icu patients on campus. the administration will tell you not all those patients are here for covid-19 symptoms, just about 500 of them are, and they have the capacity to move things around, put some of those patients in different wards so she can treat more patients here. but it is serious, and people appreciate the alarm here. health officials are worried about what's going to happen here over the coming days and weeks. i spoke with the incident commander at methodist hospital behind me, she's looking at the data and wondering when they'll have to erect the treatment tents that were built in new york city. lieutenant governor patrick her

joining us now from jacksonville is nbc news reporter dasha burns.t does it look like out there? >> hey, katy. well, it's unclear how long that mask order will be in place. but at the rate things are going here, it could apply to the republican national convention held here august 24th to 27th. part of the reason the president wanted to move that event from charlotte, north carolina, to right here in jacksonville is to avoid some of those restrictions and hold a more traditional trump style rally. it's unclear whether that's going to be possible now. today, i'm at a testing site that's been set up at a large events complex that also happens to hold the arena where the rnc is set to take place. now, normally here, you would see long lines of spectators waiting for a concert, a game, or a rally. but today, instead, we're seeing long lines of people waiting to get tested for covid-19. and just to show you how quickly things can take a turn, the last time the vice president visited florida and spoke with the governor, the governor was boasting about the

my colleague, dasha burns, is in miami. you've been focusing on nursing homes there. that's been a problem all over the country, but it has to be particularly tough in a state like florida with so many seniors. >> reporter: stephanie that, is absolutely right. the state of florida has one in five residents that are over the age of 65. there are 154,000 people living in nursing homes or assisted living facilities, and these places have been hit hard. they're now seeing a major resurgence that has a lot of people on high alert here in just the last three weeks, cases among residents and staff at these facilities have more than doubled. and it has governor ron desantis taking new action. just this morning, he tweeted, in march i directed the florida health department to set incident management team to all florida long-term care facilities to check on infection control, screening procedures and ppe supply. we're now deploying these teams for a second statewide mission. protecting the vulnerable remains a priority. stephanie, what i'm told by experts is that the big concer

dasha burns is in miami how much are outbreaks in nursing homes contributing to the crisis playing outat state? >> ayman, this surge in florida is posing a major threat to its elderly population. the state has one in five residents over the age of 65. 154,000 people here living in nursing homes or assisted facilities. those places have been hit hard. they've been a concern from the beginning, but just in the last three weeks, ayman, cases among residents and staff at the facilities have more than doubled. governor desantis tweeted new action. he directed incident manage teams to be sent to all -- we're -- and ayman, leaders in the industry are also raising a red flag. they say they need more support this morning. i spoke with the ceo of leading age florida, a brup that represents aging providers. take a listen. >> if covid-19 were a hurricane, it would be a category 5 in florida. we have looked at the latest numbers, 370,000 or so positive cases in florida, a little over 5,000 deaths, just under 50% of those are in long-term facilities. they are mike roe comicrocosms the cities where t

joining me now from myrtle beach, south carolina, is nbc's dasha burns. ood to talk to you this afternoon. what are people there in the community saying about the impact the coronavirus is having, potentially as well, not just from a health perspective, but obviously as we see this playing out from an economic one? >> reporter: yeah, ayman from what i've been seeing and hearing here so far, i don't know how effective those warnings you just played from those governors are going to be here. it is a beautiful hot sunny day here in myrtle beach. take a look behind me. a lot of people out today enjoying some time on the beach. idol see a lot of social distancing for the most part. it's only wednesday, we're not even in the thick of the fourth of july weekend quite yet. this is, frankly, what the city wants. they want to see people coming in and spending money here. this entire economy is propped up by tourism. that is the industry here. and they suffered a lot of losses over the last few months. and they are now trying to make up. so the city and the businesse

reported just monday and doctors are sounding the alarms about hospital capacity nbc news reporter dasha burnsat st. francis hospital in greenville, south carolina dasha, you spoke with a doctor today. what did he tell you >> reporter: hi, andrea. greenville is the third most populous county in south carolina as of this weekend, hospital occupies was at 75%. and doctors here are telling me they are gravely concerned that if this trend continues, they could see their hospitals overrun, which would be an absolute nightmare for them. this hospital behind me here has seen a 100% increase in covid hospitalizations over just the last four weeks. and i spoke with dr. blackstone, chief clinical officer here, and he told me that this surge they're seeing is significantly worse than what they saw at first. he says patients are younger, they're sicker, they're staying in icus for longer, and now medical staff are getting sick, not in the hospital but in the community where the spread is so high and dr. blackstone told me he's seen some heartbreaking situations here. take a listen to what he told me earli

dasha burns is there in myrtle beach. myrtle beach and fourth of july, this is one of their biggest weekends of the year. how are they going to keep people safe? because, you know, travelers are coming and you know those businesses want to be open. >> reporter: yeah, stephanie, that's right. fourth of july, a peak time for tourism here. health officials also worry it could be a peak time for transmission. cases are surging in south carolina and here in myrtle beach. and it's not just a problem for this area. it's also a problem for the surrounding states, whose residents are coming here for vacation. we've seen some concerning headlines this week. 100 teenagers from the d.c. area came to myrtle beach for vacation, came home with covid. it was a dozen of teens from ohio last week. it has gotten to the point where governors from these states say if you're thinking about a trip to myrtle beach, you might want to rethink that. for this community and the businesses here, they do not want that. they are desperate for people to

da dasha burns joins us from south carolina >> greenville is the largest school district in the stateat means the stakes are high here some jaws dropped to the flaws when they heard that statement from the governor. he also asked the state superintendent to reject reopening plans that do not have a full-time in-person option she told me this morning she does not plan do that. she will let districts decide what's best for their communities in greenville, they say that five days a week in-person option for every student may not be practically possible or medically advisable as cases are going up. now, today in this school behind me, they have two classrooms on display that show what in-person learning could look like desks are socially distant there are not collaborative areas. that means fewer areas in these classrooms, and there may knnote that option at all come august 24th if the trends in this state continue for some parents they're not taking any chances at all. i want to introduce you to bridget fuller, she said she plans on keeping her kids at home this fall listen to why she ma

nbc's dasha burns is in greenville for us. greenville county, this is the third most populated in the state. hospital occupancy was hovering around 75% over the weekend. how are doctors and nurses handling the surge >> hey, stephanie. well, frankly, they are struggling and they are sounding the alarm that if this trend continues, hospitals in this area could become overrun and that's just their worst nightmare. this hospital behind me here has seen a 100% increase in covid hospitalizations in just the last four weeks. and doctors here are telling me that this surge is significantly worse than the first they say patients are sicker they are staying in icus for longer and now medical staff are finding themselves in the hospital beds. and they tell me it's not -- they're not getting sick in the hospitals. they are getting sick in the community where spread is so high right now i want you to hear from dr. blackstone, the chief clinical officer here take a listen to how he describes the situation right now. >> pushing our maximum c

let's go to nbc news reporter dasha burns in montgomery, alabama where the hospitals are under tremendous pressure because of the surge there. is that what led the governor to issue this mandate for masks? >> reporter: yeah, absolutely, andrea. the governor said that the numbers do not lie. and they paint a pretty grim picture here. there are records on hospitalizations, case numbers, and deaths. she announced at a press conference that overnight they had more than 50,000 cases total here, more than 1,100 total deaths, and just yesterday the state had 40 deaths. now, this has doctors here concerned and overwhelmed. icu capacity is down extremely low in the state. 87% of icu beds in the state are full. there are only 211 beds left statewide. at this hospital behind me there are no beds available. i've been talking to doctors here all morning. i think we have sound from one of them. take a listen to what dr. thrasher told me earlier today. >> we're running out of space in the hospitals. we're running out, more importantly, of personnel. we have almost 5,000 health care workers who have beco

i want to start with my colleague dasha burns in broward county, florida. i'm a mom. when it comes to school safety, it's tough for me to hear that anything is too expensive, but i do want to start there because where you are, school is supposed to open in about six weeks. what are they going to do? >> well, in short, stephanie, they don't have an answer to that yet. this week, florida's education commissioner announced all schools in the state must reopen in person next month. that sent schools scrambling to figure out what that means. there are still questions around sanitation to how cafeterias would work to the data they need to gather on how many students are expected to come back. how many they'll need to accommodate. the devil is in the details, and they just don't have those details quite yet. right now i'm at an elementary school in broward county. this is the sixth largest school district in the country. more than 250 schools here that all have to make pretty significant changes by august 19s, which is the start date here. i spoke to the president of the tea

we're going to go now to dasha burns in montgomery, alabama. what can you tell us on the ground where you are? >> hey, steve. well, the governor today did issue a statewide mask mandate. she had resisted that until today, but in explaining the order at her press conference, she said the numbers just don't lie, and the numbers in alabama are staggering. they've been setting records in cases, hospitalizations and deaths almost every day for the last couple of weeks. yesterday, another record in hospitalizations. more than 1300 patients hospitalized and steve, this comes alongside record low icu capacity. today, icu beds are 85% full across the state. only 253 beds left in the state of alabama. and at this hospital, i've been here today, there are no beds available whatsoever and doctors are telling me it's gotten to the point where the way that a bed does become available is when a patient passes away and they tell me that the bed gets quickly filled. they're transporting patients from as far as 120 miles away to fill these beds. that just goes t

and 33% want 100% in-school learning five days a week, katy. >> dasha burns, thank you very much. >> and chuck, federal funding, as you said before, doesn't account for very much of school funding as it is, but schools aren't rich places, especially schools in lower income neighborhoods, and a lot of teachers out there, even though they make very meager salaries. end up buying a lot of their own supplies. so god forbid that we not only put the onus on parents to buy their own supplies for their kids, but now also adding personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer, all the things they're going to need to keep themselves safe and their children safe. when it's an issue of money, you think, give the schools all of the money they make it to make it as safe as possible. that's in everyone's best interest. >> i have to say, katy, this is what i believe is going to drive the next negotiations in this coronavirus relief bill. i think you're going to see -- because not only does it -- it's cruel to be talking about the federal cuts because the federal funding on education is usually about h

. >> for today, dasha burns, nbc news, miami. >> this is such a tough debate.re just not ready to go back to the classrooms. they're going to reevaluate in a couple months. >> there's the impact for the teachers and administrators, a lot of them are over 50. and then for the families too. maybe kids are raised by older parents or grandparents. >> grandparents in the house. >> it's a lot to decide. schools in some places start in a matter of weeks. >> dylan, i know it's something you yach watch as well as you w the weather for us. >> i feel like calvin is missing out on interactions with other kids. he's only in preschool because that's all he's got right now. but we'll kind of make that decision when the schools make their decision in the fall. but we are going to look at the weather across the country. we'll still dealing with the remnants of what was tropical storm fay. it's now a post tropical sky clone. winds have weakened significantly and as we go into this afternoon approximately already race off into canada. but there's a cold front moving to the east,

joining us now from doral is dasha burns, nbc news reporter and she has been following these developmentsn miami-dade as our county-by-county process. it's one of the reasons about miami-dade, it is about the venezuelan voters and cuban american voters and are they going to be comfortable with democratic foreign policy versus, you know, single issue voting and what about everything else? yet, he is going down here not talking about the pandemic at all. how is that playing? >> reporter: chuck, that is exactly right. this is a critical county in a critical state. you know better than anyone that the margins in florida when it comes to elections can be razor thin. so there is a world in which a group like the venezuelan community here could have an outsized impact on the presidential race. this is an increasing influential group here in florida and doral is home to the largest venezuelan american community in the united states. so it's no coincidence that the president is coming here today to have this conversation. now unlike the national latino vote which tends to lean left, here in miami,