The white house and a whistleblower at the department of health and human services. Dr. Rick bright claims he lost his position at the federal Research Agency after refusing to embrace hydroxychloroquine as a possible coronavirus treatment. The office of special counsel says there is sufficient evidence of retaliation. Ofc says it will ask for a 45day hold on brights removal to accommodate with the investigation. Heres what the doctor told cbs news. I am frustrated at the lack of leadership. I am frustrated at the lack of urgency to get a head start on developing lifesaving tools for americans. Im frustrated at our inability to be heard as scientists. We see too many doctors and nurses now dying, and i was thinking that we could have done more to get those masks and those supplies to them sooner. And if we had, would they still be alive today . President trump has said that bright was a disgruntled employee and that he was trying to help the democrats. We will dig deeper into those stories tonight, but we begin in california, one of the states that is beginning to reopen. California currently has more than 66,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, more than 2,600 californians have died. Businesses are slowly getting back to normal. Mothers day is tomorrow just in case you forgot, so the california flower mall in los angeles has been pretty busy, and that is where we find nbcs Gadi Schwartz to start us off. Whats the mood like there . Im sure the vendors are very happy it be back at work and have customers coming in. Reporter yeah, right now theyre so busy they dont even have time to think. But you have to consider this area so busy today was virtually a ghost town weeks ago, and that was after two months of a lot of these mom and pop shops inside going through a lot of fear, uncertainty and coming pain. They were paying 10,000 of rent each month, so that was about 20,000 right out the door. They had inventory in the back that they had to throw away. And then this week they started brand new. So all the flowers youre seeing right now, these are fresh. These are the crowds that are inside trying to find presents for mothers day, and you can see theyre trying to enforce social distance inside, keep everybody about 6 feet away. That is very, very difficult. But they do have people inside going and making sure everybody has masks. If they dont have masks theyre giving them masks. And this is just one of the little shops here. This is the california flower mall, which is one of the bigger facilities with a rot of different vendors inside. And then youve got these little mom and pop shops here that had to unfortunately destroy about 30, 40,000 worth of flowers and restart from scratch. So they were telling us a little bit earlier they had to borrow money just to buy some of the flowers theyre selling today. And so whats happening is you have pretty big crowds out here as you can tell, and youve got officers down on this corner trying to keep things moving at least on this sidewalk. They want to make sure everybody is moving along if they cant technically enforce that social distancing to make sure everybody has their masks on. But this stretches all the way down. And one of the interesting things out here is this stretch of the flower district represents about a billion dollars in Economic Growth and Economic Activity every year. And so what were seeing is these flowers that on one hand people are risking their health to come out here and buy these flowers for their mothers to show their appreciation, but on the other hand were seeing the livelihoods of all these flower vendors that are basically running to the finish line again this day its basically their black friday where they make about 60 to 70 of all their revenue for the year. Josh waw in. Thats nbcs gaditia warts for us in los angeles. All right, lets explore whats happening across america today. An msnbc contributor and White House Correspondent for the New York Times. Also with us is dr. Eric gusbi, a professor at the Uc San Diego School of medicine and also director of hiv policy for the clinton administration. Starting with those two people who tested positive for coronavirus at the white house, they happen the Vice President s press secretary and the president s valet. What do you make of that . I mean, is it inevitable most workplaces especially large workplaces like the white house, is it inevitable they will be touched by covid19 one way or another, or does this seem unusual . I think it is correct to say its an inevitable event. People as they move in and out of thaueir lives, their daily activities and in this case the white house get exposures they are aware of or not aware of and transmission occurs. And there lies the problem. And there was a new yothe nk times article this morning. What else have you learned about these two cases . The case of katie miller who serves as Vice President mike pences press secretary really rattled everyone in the white house. Shes someone who sits in the situation room with the Coronavirus Task force, around the president and Vice President all the time. This one has brought about a change. Now people are going to get tested more often. People became aware of the gaps in the testing. People are trying to figure outright now if they had contact with her, where did she sit, where did they sit in relation to her. And weve seen some new reports that theres no top down guidance saying that people should selfisolate, but dr. Han, and dr. Redfield, two people who serve on the Coronavirus Task force are selfisolating to be cautious. We will see. But this case certainly rattled people, and now were hearing from Administration Officials that they expect, you know, the valet, mr. Trumps personal valet and katie miller serve in very different roles around different people in the white house, both popping up. They expect there will be a lot more coming in the next few weeks. Dr. Goosb, the cdcs director said in a statement the question was just a document in draft. Doctor, how significant is this in your view . I think that we are at a moment where the country as everyone has said is saturated with staying inside. Its been a long period of all of us trying to adjust to that new way of living. I think that the need for individuals to know and have a triage that allows them to be seen and cleared for reentry into the workplace or back to school, et cetera, really raises the freed and question for sear yo logical testing byvulg the information of what the sero status is of the individuals theyre working with, so rational decisions can be made that protect that individual and those at the workplace. Im sorry, doctor, when you talk about sero status youre talking about testing for the virus itself, right . Thats correct, im sorry. That is testing for the antibodies that when expose today the virus you develop an immediate antibody within hours to a day and a half, and then you have the longterm memory antibody that comes in later. Thats what im talking about. Anne, your latest reporting is about older voters in the u. S. , pertinent to latest election. New polls suggest this pandemic may be decreasing their support for President Trump. Older voters were a key part of the trump campaigns victory. What more have you learned . This is a critical issue for the president if it continues over the next six months. Older voters have long been a critical vote for republicans to counter balance the advantage democrats have with younger voters. And trump has benefitted from that. And weve seen especially in reaction to the coronavirus briefings that really scared a lot of older voters public and private polls have showed joe biden with a double digit lead over trump among voters over 65. Theres a lot of voters older than 65 in key states like florida and michigan and pennsylvania, you know, a lot of white house officials have pointed this out to trump, and theyre trying to highlight events and policies that he supports that will bring his older voters back into the fold. And we will see six months is long time before the election, so we will see if this is durable problem he has or just right now. But the fear of reopening the country too early could literally cause this is people their lives is making them wary. And they see joe biden who they see as a moderate san acceptable alternative to trump. So this is critical voting block because of the pandemic theres new trouble for the president in the numbers right now. Dr. Goosby, one last question before i let you go. What about a vaccine . The most optimistic estimates predict we dont have a vaccine for at least 9 months, some say 1 or a year and half. The countrys largest syringe manufacturer says we need to ramp up syringes because were going to need them very soon. I think tony fauci is correct in saying its going to be a year at least before we are able to identify a candidate and take it through both safety and efficacy trials that require that you include enough individuals in the trial that you identify rare events in terms of side effects or mad outcomes. So the establishment that the works, the establishment that indeed those who are vaccinated are protected when exposed to the virus, and that the longterm use of this vaccine in millions of people does not uncover a rare but bad side effect that puts the individual at an increased risk. So that time line is fixed because you cant go through enough people to have identified a rare event. Just because it works does not mean its ready. Annie karni of the New York Times and dr. Eric goospy, thank you so much. Coming up later we will check on jobs in texas. Neiman marcus one of the countrys largest retailers now its filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy. J crew also filed for bankruptcy this week. Also protesters in georgia demanding justice for Ahmaud Arbery. Friday would have been his 26th birthday. The shooters say they thought arbery was a burglary suspect. We will discuss the case next. We will discuss the case next. Good morning, blair. [ chuckles ] whoo. Im gonna grow big and strong. Yes, you are. Im gonna get this place all clean. Ill give you a hand. And im gonna put lisa on crutches wait, what . Said shes gonna need crutches. She fell pretty hard. You might want to clean that up, girl. Excuse us. When owning a Small Business gets real, progressive helps protect what you built with customizable coverage. And im gonna eh, eh, eh. Donny, no. Oh. Lets be honest. Quitting smoking is hard. Like, quitting every monday hard. Quitting feels so big. So try making it smaller, and youll be surprised at how easily starting small can lead to something big. Start stopping with nicorette. Show me what youre made of. So we showed it our people, sourcing and distributing more fresh food than anyone. We showed it our drivers helping grocers restock their shelves. We showed it how were donating millions of meals to those in need. We showed it how we helped thousands of restaurants convert to takeout and pop up markets. And how were encouraging all americans to take out to give back. Adversity came to town. So we looked it right in the eye. And it wont be us. That blinks first. Few stories have broken into the headlines during this pandemic other than the pandemic. A racially charged shooting in georgia has. As has the call for justice in the death of Ahmaud Arbery. Its been months since arbery was shot dead. His alleged killers were arrested thursday after video of the shooting surfaced. Arberys family says back in february he was out for a jog in brunswick, georgia, unarmed. Thats when two men in a pickup truck approached him. Former officer Gregory Mcmichael claims that he and his son travis thought arbery resembled a local burglary suspect. Mcmichael adds travis shot arbery in selfdefense. This friday would have been rhi 26th birthday. Protesters marked the date partly by posting videos of themselves running 2. 3 miles, that represents the date of the shooting, february 23rd. Joining us now a criminal defense attorney and paul butler, a professor at georgeten law and an msnbc legal analyst, and also the a author of chokehold policing black men. The attorney for the arbery family just released this statement about Surveillance Video believed to show arbery. It reads, quote, he stopped by a property under construction where he engaged in no illegal activity and remained for only a brief period. Ahmaud did not take anything from the construction site. He did not cause any damage to the property, unquote. Now, it goes we should note nbc news has not seen the Surveillance Video referenced here, but what, if anything, paul, does that change in this case . You know, it has no bearing on the case. When the cops showed up that night at the crime scene what they saw was George Mcmichael literally with blood on his hands. He tried to turn over mr. Arbery as he was bleeding out. If there had been two africanamerican men who were suspected of chasing down a jogger and then killing him they would have been arrested that night and they would have been charged soon thereafter. Instead these two men got to go home after giving a statement to the cops who was the older mans former colleagues because hes a former police officer. And then we saw two prosecutors basically kick this down the can. So, again, theres no defense these man have that were aware of now. Even if mr. Arbery had been doing something that he shouldnt have been doing, and theres no evidence to suggest thats true, but thats a claim. Even if that was true that doesnt give a private citizen the authority to round up a posse and shoot a person down. Thats not the law of georgia. Thats not the law of united states. Thats not equal justice under the law. The arbery family attorney spoke to msnbcs joy reid this morning. Here is piece of that conversation. Listen. This was a modern lynching. Andwreck loosh, these men could have believed they were protecting their community from a criminal element but they imputed criminality on the first black man they saw. When you impute criminality on them and then you unlawfully use deadly force in order to stop them, and then you film it and brag about it and go home and there are no consequences thats by definition a lynching. What do you make of that assessment . How fair is that an assessment of what appears to have happened . We dont have all the information but based on this video that was completely horrific and graphic it did seem as though these individuals waited on him as if he was an animal they were hunting. But i want to go back to the point lee merit made with these individuals who felt empowered to take on what is cops and robbers essentially. Their claim is they were trying to make a citizens arrest, and with a citizens arrest a citizen can, yes, detain someone they believe because they have seen themselves that this person committed a felony. So when they talk about, you know, ahmaud going onto this construction site at the very least at the most at least it would have been a trespass, and that would be a misdemeanor. They didnt see him do anything felonious at all. So with regards to that claim thats not something they could use. Its a stretch. But as far as this lynching claim is concerned, i mean, this is now bringing about conversations about the hate crime law that georgia does not have. Its one of four states that doesnt have this law. And its crazy because were in 2020 now, and with hate crimes being on a steady incline with africanamericans being, you know, compromising of the largest category as victims of reported hate crimes you would think georgia would have Something Like that. We can spend the rest of this hour talking about this one case but paul in the time we have left i wonder what its going to take us to move us forward beyond this. I mean Ahmaud Arbery is now part of a long list of names of young black people who have been shot by white people under to say the very least questionable circumstances, and the list is too damn long for my taste and the list goes on and on and on with probably thousands more whose names well never know. Paul, what is the one biggest thing and assuming there is a through line here, what do we need to do to change this . Whats the one biggest thing we should be doing to change this and shorten this list . You know, the through line is the vulnerability of black bodies to violence, both structural violence, but violence were seeing in terms of this Public Health emergency in which africanamerican people are uniquely at risk. A here we see another instance of black lives not mattering in the same way that other peoples lives matter. Theres no reason it should have taken 74 days for there to be an arrest in this case. And so joshua, i wish i could say theres one policy proposal, you know, if we could just get more africanamerican cops or get people to be more thoughtful about taking out a gun at the end of the day what this is about is white supremacy, about how even in the most laceant circumstances in which is a young black man is hunted on the street like a dog, if there was not publicity for this case there wouldnt have been an arrest. It shouldnt take tweets from joe biden and shouldnt take hashtags and protests in order for an africanamerican person to receive equal protection under the law, equal justice under the law. Paul butler and i appreciate you both spending some time with us tonight. Thanks so much. We mentioned earlier americas Unemployment Rate is nearly 15 . We will check in on workers in texas and in new jersey just ahead. Stay close. S and in new jersey t ahead. Stay close re in this alone. Were automatically refunding our customers a portion of their personal auto premiums. Were also offering flexible Payment Options for those whove been financially affected by the crisis. We look forward to returning to something that feels a little closer to life as we knew it, but until then you can see how were here to help at libertymutual. Com covid19. [ piano playing ] did you know that 70 is located in your gut . So, by keeping your gut healthy, you keep your immune system healthy. Try align daily immune support to help naturally support your gut health and boost your immune system, formulated with a quality probiotic strain, align helps power your health from the inside. It adds more good bacteria to your gut, which works naturally with your body to help strengthen your immunity. For a daily boost for your health, take align every day, with a money back guarantee. Also try align gummies to help support gut health and a strong immune system. Lets be honest. Quitting smoking is hard. Like, quitting every monday hard. Quitting feels so big. So try making it smaller, and youll be surprised at how easily starting small can lead to something big. Start stopping with nicorette. This weekend dozens of states are loosening stay at home orders and letting some businesses reopen. Texas has at least 38,000 cases of coronavirus and more than 1,000 deaths. But with unemployment the way it is it is easy to see why some texans are anxious to get back to business. The pandemic has been especially tough on the leisure and entertainment industries. Lets head to houston now where we find nbcs Priscilla Thompson standing by. Travel spending is up slightly for the first time in nine weeks. What does that mean for the folks in texas . Well, it could mean that folks are ready to begin venturing out again, josh waw. We spent the day here at city center in houston and there have been a number of families out here enjoying the green space and also popping into the restaurants and shops here. And now the hotel here is also hoping to take advantage of that. Weve seen some recent travel data that suggests a lot of people have spent their time in isolation googling their next vacation destination. Now, that data also shows that folks arent quite ready to get an an airplane, but road trips are kind of going to be the way for the next couple of months. Folks looking to travel to places about 200 miles where they currently live, and that has the Hotel Industry feeling hopeful. But experts do tell us that that rebound is going to take some time. Its not going to be immediate. Take a listen to what one researcher told me. The impact of this crisis on the travel and Tourism Industry is nine times greater than the impact on 9 11 on the travel and tourism in this country. It was 2. 6 trillion. So to get back to that level is going to take a while. It make take two or three years to get back to that level. But i think you will see things pecking up. Reporter now, the manager here at the hotel marance tells me he has been seeing those bookings tick up for the month of june. As we know so much of that is going to depend on what happens in may, whether we see a resurgence of the virus in certain areas, and whether those unemployment numbers begin to come down. Because if folks dont have the disposable income to take a vacation its very unlikely these hotel rooms are going to fill up, joshua. I really hope those rooms do fill up for the citys sake. Thats nbcs Priscilla Thompson joining us from houston. More than 30 million americans have filed for unemployment since midmarch, 30 million. Unemployment is the highest it has been since the great depression, and it wipes out more than a decade of gains since the Great Recession. Nbcs Senior Business correspondent Stephanie Ruhle has more from Atlantic City, new jersey, on how covid19 is hitting their economy. Stephanie . Reporter joshua, im here on the Atlantic City boardwalk and people are scared. This is the time these businesses should be gearing up for summer. Right now they dont know when they can reopen. Youve got 20 Million People in the last month on unemployment, and yes thats an unprecedented number, but the real issue is when can we get back to business . The demand is still there somewhat because businesses would love to be opened, i would love to shop there. Their biggest concern right now, can they make their way back . Youve got Big Box Stores that are open, a walmart, a target, a lowes that arent just selling essential goods. You can go there and buy a board game, a boogie board and that divide that the bigger could get bigger after this and the smaller could get smaller might even go away. Thats nbcs Business CorrespondentStephanie Ruhle. And lets stick with the economy and bring in heather long a correspondent for the Washington Post. Heather, welcome. Hi. President trump has steadfastly said the u. S. Economy will bounce back better than ever and sooner than we might think. Whats the latest indication on what the job market will actually do . Could we be in for a quick recovery . Unfortunately it seems omthe white house thinks it will be a quick recovery. More and more economists predict that we will head into the new year into 2021, and the Unemployment Rate while it will come down a little bit will probably still be 10 . That means over 15 million americans will probably still be out of a job heading into the new year. And thats going to take a long time, potentially years to recover. And the real concern as stephanie was just pointing out is the more businesses that close, particularly those Small Businesses, there wont be jobs to go back even when the economy starts to reopen. There was a the Washington Post poll that shows about 3 out of 4 workers who were laid off or furloughed say they expect to be rehired once the stay at home orders are lifted. 3 out of 4. How likely does that seem based on your reporting . Unfortunately some of that optimism looks like it will be misplaced. What weve already seen in california, for instance, in march 90 of workers thought they would be able to return to their old job. Everybody thought it would just be a few weeks of being shutdown and then things would reopen and wed go back to some semblance of normal. As this has stretched on now you can see in that the Washington Post poll that its 80 . So its moving down. And what looks like as ive talked to Small Business owners and workers across the country the trend now is that initially people were furloughed, which is a shortterm temporary layoff. Now theyre being called back, and theyre being told that they are permanently laid off. I just spoke to a woman in florida who shes just been notified that her Health Insurance will end in may. So again, more and more signs that were seeing that these layoffs are becoming permanent. Now, republican senators are reportedly reticent to cut anymore stimulus relief checks. Some argue it encourages staying on unemployment . Stead of seeking reemployment. Youve reported many people have yet to get their stimulus payment or unemployment and that last year a Federal Reserve report ignored red flags about the health of the middle class. So where does all of this leave us in terms of helping the unemployed recover . The biggest message from economists and the biggest lesson we learn from the Great Recession is that the danger is that we dont do enough. We dont do enough to help these Small Businesses from prevent them from closing, and we dont do enough to help workers so they dont have to sell their home or lose their apartment or lose their car. That can have devastating effects for years to come, certainly on that individual family but also on the entire economy. Those people will not want to spend more and be very hesitant to spend for years and years and years to come. So thats really the danger situation were in right now. Yes, everyone hopes that the best Case Scenario plays out, that we find a vaccine soon, were able to do more widespread testing and were able to get this economy open again. But the reality is and the risk is that doesnt happen and the message to policy makers is why not do everything you can do prevent the worstCase Scenario from happening. Are both sides even communicating . There was a lot of bipartisanship at the beginning of this crisis. I hope thats not over now, right . I agree. We just had a story in the Washington Post today, and its been its been hard to watch the break down in communication in the last few day between the white house and congressional democrats. They seemed very aligned in march, in early april they got out nearly 3 trillion worth of relief and aid to the economy. Some of that money is still trickling out. Unfortunately, not everyone has received it yet. But it just seems like an odd moment particularly for President Trump whos heading into reelection, why would you put the brakes on right now . You would think youd want to do everything you can to keep moving forward. I do think ultimately you cannot sit there as a policymaker, republican or democrat or certainly President Trump and have a headline that says the Unemployment Rate is the worst in 80 years, that were back in a great depressionlike scenario. I think the pressure is onto do something. Right now republicans are really pushing tax cuts, like a payroll tax cut and a liability shield so businesses cant be sued. Obviously democrats want a lot of help for states and cities that are cash strapped and want more checks and more unemployment money. Well see can they meet in the middle. That is the Washington Posts heather long. Thank you for making time for us tonight. Coming up our trip across america continues right after the break. But first listen to how this nurse in new york describes the difficulty of staying away from her family especially her little girl. She put her head down, and then she perked herself up and there was this one tear that came down her left cheek, and she said, mom, its okay weve all got to do our part for corona. I love you to the moon or back or i love you to infinity or beyond or something to that nature. But what she said to me today was, you know, was like her. She said i i feel like when youre not here im missing my whole heart. M missing my whole heart. Come on, no no nnnnono only discover has no annual fee on any card. Overnight, they became our offices, schools and nnnnono playgrounds. All those places out there are now in here. Thats why were still offering fast, free two day shipping on thousands of items. Even the big stuff. And doing everything it takes to ensure your safety. So you can make your home. Everything you need it to be. Wayfair. Way more than furniture. And ask your doctor about biktarvy. Biktarvy is a complete, onepill, onceaday treatment used for hiv in certain adults. Its not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights hiv to help you get to and stay undetectable. Thats when the amount of virus is so low it cannot be measured by a lab test. Research shows people who take hiv treatment every day and get to and stay undetectable can no longer transmit hiv through sex. Serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. Rare, lifethreatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid and liver problems. Do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. Tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. If you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your doctor. Common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. If youre living with hiv, keep loving who you are. And ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you. Me too. Me too. And if youre a Small Business, were with you. Standing by you every step of the way. Bye bye. I dont know about you but i have already starting booking travel for next year. Now is a pretty good time to shop for hotel rooms and flights. Airlines have parked thousands of planes and second degrasked o take voluntary time off, layoffs may be inevitable. And when we we can fly safely this year or next we can expect a lot of changes. Heres nbcs aviation correspondent tom costello. Reporter good day from reagan airport. The words we hear most often to describe the situation is apocalyptic, also bankruptcy and depression. Consider the fact the airlines and the airports are virtually empty right now. And the fact there are fewer people flying right now than at any time since the 1950s and before the jet age. From grounded planes to deserted airports to row after row of empty seats air travel in this country has dropped a staggering 95 . Airlines quite simply fighting for their very survival. Their priority now safeguarding crew members and passengers who are already uneasy. Its definitely a little unnerving to fly just because of everything, you dont know who has what and how clean things have been at least on the flight. Reporter as of monday every airline in the country will require passengers to wear face masks from the moment they check in until they leave the concourse. Airlines already deep cleaning their planes every day with antebacterial disinfectants and the same electrostatic sprayers hospitals use, leaving middle seats open, taking longer to board and deplane and boarding from the rear of the plane forward to minimize passengers bumping into each other. First before i sit down on the plane im going to wipe my seat down with my lysol wipes and put my music in and relax and go to sleep. Reporter desperate to stay afloat the airlines have already received 50 billion in government bail out money but had to promise to keep their employees through september 30th. Now the airlines are expected to layoff tens of thousands of people starting october 1st. This is a matter of sheer gut survival. These companies have been crippled in a matter of about 7 weeks. What are you asking your employees . We have asked our employees to voluntarily reduce their hours and pay. In some cases thats taking paid time off. In some cases that is going from full time to part time on a voluntary basis. Nationwide airlines have parked 3,000 planes. Airports also struggling with a 97 drop in passengers tampa is encouraging everyone to wear masks. Guiding travelers to space out, adding hand sanitizers and thoroughly cleaning from curb to plane. Its important for us to make sure we focus on anytime where people can touch. We need to disinfect that as quickly as as often as we can. The new normal in travel may be here to stay. The common belief among Airline Execs we will not see a return to 2019 passenger levels until a very large part of the population has been vaccinated, and right now there is no vaccine. Consider the fact that Business Travel is the bread and butter for airlines. And right now a lot of businesses are saying zoom is working pretty well, we dont need to be spending money on Business Travelers. And as it relates to the average every day family traveling usually they travel one time a year. Right now those people are spending their money just trying to feed themselves and pay the rent or the mortgage. Im tom costello, back to you. Thats nbcs talk costello reporting. Still to come is it almost time for tip off . Of the Boston Celtics joins us to discuss the nba and its plans to play. But first check out this warning from an erk r doctor on the front lines of the pandemic. This virus can reerupt suddenly, and we all have to stay very vigilant. That is one thing that also comes to mind when i work here in the Emergency Department on quieter days during this new era were living in. Is even though things are quiet i really hope that no one lets their guard down and for a split second thinks they can go back to living a normal life. S they k to living a normal life. You w . Sure. Sometimes i wish i had legs like you. Yeah, like a regular person. No. Still half bike half man, just the opposite. Oh, so the legs on the bottom and motorcycle on the top . Yeah. Yeah, i could see that. For those who were born to ride, theres progressive. Yeah, i could see that. Around here, nobody ever does it. I didnt do it. So when i heard they added ultra oxi to the cleaning power of tide, it was just what we needed. Dad . I didnt do it. 1 stain and odor fighter, 1 trusted. Its got to be tide. Prosports will return after this pan temmic sooner or later. What form they will take remains unclear. Yesterday nba commissioner adam silver held a call with players about what restarting the season might look like. He gave no definitive answer on when playing might begin. Two nba teams are reopening their practice facilities. The Cleveland Cavaliers and portland trail blazers. More teams might do the same next week. Joining us now is enins canter, center for the boston cell tks. Thank you for joining the program. Thank you. I appreciate it. Were you on that call with adam silver . Yes, i was. It was around 6 00 p. M. Eastern time. How confident do you feel after that call about the nba season this year . I mean, ill be honest with you guys. I think what silver was saying if its healthy and safe to go they want to open up the season, but i think it will be without the fans because they do not want to risk their fans health, but all they care about they just need more testing for all the players if they want to ope. Adam silver was talking about i think the latest theyre going to make a decision is going to be mid june. And even if the season is cancelled, they want to still want to open up the practice facilities. They want to move to one or two cities, possibly orlando or vegas to host the whole nba. Cities are calling in the nba and want to host the nba players. Theyre thinking about orlando. I think the one note that got me is whatever nba decides, players have to agree with, and right now where were at. Im talking to my teammates and all the players on the league. Theyre itching to play basketball. But they know it is safety first. Literally trying to do the best cant just stay in shape with pushups and situps and stuff, but i think they know theres so many people affected by this virus, so they want to be careful what theyre doing. I know youre ready to Start Playing again. I know the celtics want to make another playoff run this year. The soonest they can do it is may 18th, and i dont know about you. But just having to rely on pushups and situps at home. Its not the same as being able to go to the gym. What do you think about reopening practice on the 18th . I had a conversation with the coach. Right now theyre thinking about the facilities on may 18 th. Its going to be optional. Its not mandatory for sure. Its going to be optional. A lot of players want to be in the practice facility and start practicing, its so hard to find a gym. I think its the safer place, for the players to be in their own practice facilities, all the coaches and everybody will Start Talking about, theres going to be the individual workouts and all theyre going to do is theyre going to clean up right after the player used the weight room, player used the basketball. I think the players will be most safer at practice facilities. Kevin love from the cavs talked about going back to their practice facility. What about playing nba games . Theres been talk of playing nba games with no fans in the arena. Just the players, the officials and the sideline staff thats essential. How would you feel about that . I mean, like i i said, you know, yesterday when were talking about they are still picking up off the regular season games, the playoffs games, they want to provide rounds for sure. Playing without the press will be so weird. The playoff series is in conference finals, us against somebody else. And it will be just nothing but players. Dont get me wrong, i will take anything right now, because we are all itching to go out there and play basketball. For sure, because what makes basketball nba is the fans, so it will be awkward and a little weird. Yeah, it will be a little weird to hear the announcers say, from downtown silence. That will a little strange to watch on television. If i could ask you about your home country of turkey. It was initially praised for how it handled coronavirus. Now we learned there are probably far more deaths than previously known. What are you hearing out of turkey, including about your family, are they doing okay there . I mean, my family is doing okay, but theres so many people that are affected. The turkish government, what theyre doing, theyre letting all the murderers, child rapists leave the prisons, but letting all the Political Prisoners and journalists in the jails. This is unacceptable. If the virus spreads in jails, there are going to be so many affected in the jails. All i can do is pray for my country. Theres so many innocent people in the jail right now waiting for help. Like journalists and Political Prisoners. We should Say Something about it. One more story in turkey i wanted to ask you about, your father was supposed to go on trial in turkey. Over a failed coupe attempt in 2016. Your father has always denied involvement. Erdogan has been intense about prosecuting this and rounding up people he believes were involved with this. I know you may not have direct contact with your parents. What if anything do you know about whats going on with that trial right now . I mean, first of all, i call it the fake coupe attempt. Right now my dad is, its definitely sad, he goes to a trial every three, four months, theyre accusing him of just being my dad. They know hes innocent. They cannot put him in jail, at the same time he cant leave the country because hes going to a trial. My dad isnt the only one, theres so many people out there, innocent people waiting in jails. People know my story because i play in the nba. But there are so many people that have way worse stories than mine. Ennis cantor of the Boston Celtics, i hope your days of doing pushups and situps will end soon. Thanks for making time to talk to us. Thank you. Coming up in our next hour, the politics of protection. The president and some in his administration are reluctant to wear face masks, even after two white house aids tested positive for the coronavirus. For the coronavirus. You wouldnt accept an incomplete job from anyone else. So why accept it from your allergy pills . Flonase relieves your worst symptoms which most pills dont. Get allinone allergy relief for 24 hours, with flonase. So chantix can help you quit slow turkey. Along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. 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