us to discuss all of these hot topics watkins he's an acclaimed author and college professor and ed martin a bestselling author and president of the phyllis schlafly eagle forum are joining us today so gentlemen good to see you it's been a while so i want to go over to do you 1st. now that this virus has been going on in the us a few months we can see a trend of where and who it's impacting the most on a heat map the we're seeing places like new york city detroit and new orleans a light up that map those are predominantly black neighborhoods how do you read those numbers. well there's a number of things that we can see those numbers to. african-americans in this country are less likely to have assurance to them or subset the ball to be. as many things right because the. dominant areas 3 and i have to get americans are are being deemed as essential employees out there the people working there a lot of these markets and these delivery services. are incarcerated so. is it in the more i think the support of people you know that divide us doesn't discriminate but at the same time if you are per

federal response to the colbert 19 epidemic with the former chairman of the republican party missouri ed martin stay tuned to watch in the books. the world is driven by a dream shaped by frank person of those. the day or thinks. we dare to ask. as we head into the big kind singularity it's to say the most important thing that ever happened to humanity sensed the creation our invention are just covering a fire. in this community there are people who believe that it's ok to suffer actual food on my table it's really hard there are no jobs and you see that i've got kids and asked eat and as a parent. i can come up with a logical argument there's a lot of conflict in the game between the 2 most of the conflict i would say revolves around money and most of them money is made. that's why you know each other they know each other is good the state of california makes $6000000000.00 a year of prison complexes you get so when you live where. you don't care and wonder why here is a monster so you don't care about anything. it's an election year and though coronavirus threats have taken over life as we kno

let's begin with martin savidge and ed lavandera. marty, in atlanta, for reopening day for the state. >> reporter: it started, it is off to a hit or miss depending where you r tare. the shopping center, there are a number of businesses that under the letter of the executive order could be open but they are not open. there is one that tells us they will open, they're not open yet, the hair salon. there is a lot of pushback that has come since the governor outlined his plan. the businesses, a lot of them entail hands on, so you wonder about that, the pandemic. but on top of that, it is just the sheer what kind of message are you really sending? here is the mayor of atlanta, she has been about the most critical of this, this is that she said recently. >> in order for us to get through this pandemic and to get to the other side of this crisis, we have to socially distance. and in a normal world, we would be able to look to our president and to the white house and receive sound guidance and advice. but instead we're now telling -- having

martin savidge, thank you for that reporting. let's talk about texas and louisiana as those states prepare to reopen many businesses as early as this friday. >> ed lavandera joins us now from dallas. ed, as you know, in some places as the restrictions are relaxed, folks don't respond well to that. they're taking it more slowly than state officials. what are you seeing in dallas, what are you seeing in oklahoma? >> reporter: let me give you the big picture of what will be happening this week here in texas. the governor is going to lelt t -- let the stay-at-home order thats s that's set to expire this thursday expire. that means businesses can reopen. that would include retail stores, malls, restaurants, movie theaters. all those businesses can reopen but only at a 25% capacity. now, there's some debate on exactly how all of that is going to be enforced, but that's what we know as of now. what is not included -- it also includes libraries and museums and people can play outdoor sports in groups no larger than four. what is not included is hair salons, barber shops, bars, gyms. the governor here in texas said that could be revisited in mid-may. if

martin is the front-runner this season. ♪ i've been running around always looking down at all i see ♪ >> oh, hello. >> painted fac ee ee ee edthat is francisco's take of the kings of leon hit somebody." "american idol" will return with a virtual competition. you can watch and cheer on francisco and grace sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. right here on abc7. >>> this morning on "good morning america" we're hearing from meghan markle. narrating a new documentary on disney plus called "elephant." >> very lucky to have hands-on experience with elephants in their natural habitat. when you spend time connecting to them and the other wildlife, you understand we have a role play in their preservation. >> you can watch a full report on the new documentary coming up on "gma" at 7:00 right after "abc7 mornings." >>> let's talk about what is going on weatherwise today. our coolest day this week we'll hit 67 in places like fairfield and antioch. those are the exceptions. a lot of low to mid 60s today and even 50s creeping in through the coast and over towards san mateo as the breezes pi s kick this afternoon and shoot through the valley gaps. t

martin savidge, thank you for that reporting. despite warn frings from health officials, some businesses are allowed to reopen as soon as friday. >> it is balancing act we're seeing take place across the ed lavandera is in dallas this morning. is there restrictions on how many businesses can open and how? >> reporter: there is. this is what the texas governor described as a phased approach. we're standing in the parking lot of a popular movie theater in northeast dallas. this parking lot has been empty for weeks. it is exactly the kind of business that starting on friday the governor here says can reopen. a quick list of what can be open, the stay at home order in texas is set to run out and expire on april 30th. that means on friday, may 1st, retail stores, malls, restaurants, theaters, can't -- can open but only at 25% capacity. if you look at the trajectory of coronavirus cases here in this state, the stay at home order was put into effect on april 2nd, and that trajectory has gone up. but state officials here say they believe they're beginning to see the flattening of the curve and they feel that because of that, they can begin to open the economy up here a little bit. they say the o