Transcripts For MSNBCW Andrea Mitchell Reports 20200427

Consistent, the last bill that they passed that only did Small Business help, and everybody supported Small Business help, should have included state and local. Now, when you say state and local, theres no personality to state and local. I get that. Dont say state and local. Say what the state and local Governments Fund police, fire, teachers, hospital workers. Fund Small Business, but also fund police, fire, School Teachers and hospital workers. How can you exclude them when youre talking about priorities . Yes, Small Business is a priority. So are police, fire, School Teachers, and hospital workers. I dont know why they passed the bill without including that at the time, and i said that. I said it to my congressional delegation. Everybody said, oh, dont worry, dont worry, that will be in the next bill. Yeah, but that was the third time they said, that will be in the next bill. And pardon me for being suspicious about washington politicians, but dont worry, dont worry. When i hear them say dont worry, i worry, deep inside. So, they passed the Small Business bill. As soon as they passed it by the way, before they even passed it, they turned around and say, oh, and i dont want to do state and local. And forget the police and forget the fire and forget the School Teachers and forget the health care workers, which is a totally different tune than they said just two days before when theyre actually trying to pass the bill. Because if they had said that before, they would have never passed the bill. So, we are where we are now. Bailout. This is not the time to be talking about dollars and cents among members of a community that are trying to be mutually supportive and help each other, because helping each other is the way we actually all advance, right . So, this is not the time to be saying, well, you put in a dollar more than i did, or i put in 5 more than you did, right . Its anacronistic to the concept of community and sharing and mutuality and sharing benefits, right . Im wearing a mask to protect you. Youre wearing a mask to protect me. That kind of sharing and mutuality is repugnant to this bailout, you got this much, i got this much. But if you want to go to whos getting bailed out and who paid wh what, nobody would be bailing out new york state. New york state has been bailing them out every year for decades. If you want to do an analysis of who is a giver and who is a taker, we are the number one giver, the number one giver. Nobody puts more money into the pot than the state of new york. Were the number one donor state. And if you want to look at who happened to be the donor states, who are the giver states, theyd have the same states that theyre talking about now. Who are the taker states . Kentucky, southeast part of the country. And by the way, i understand were one nation. You put into the pot what you need, i put in what i need, you take what you need, you take what you need. And thats the way its always been. But if you actually want to call for an accounting, which i think is repugnant to this time and i dont think its constructive and i dont think its healthy, but if you want to call for an accounting youre making a mistake, because you lose if we do an accounting. You lose. And you happen to be 180 degrees wrong in what youre suggesting. So, that phrase, bailout, is not helpful, you would say . I would say, first, at this moment in time, when people are working together and people are sharing and people are sending ventilators across the nation to be helpful and 60,000 people are volunteering to help new york state and theyre showing love and theyre showing unity and theyre showing mutuality and community, that is such a beautiful moment, right . And it tends to happen after a crisis. We saw it after 9 11, people just come together. Were americans first. Were not democrats, were not republicans. Were not east coast, were not west coast. Were not northern, were not southern. Were just americans. That is such a beautiful, special moment. To now say in the middle of that moment, uh, who owes what to whom . What . You want to talk about money now . This is not about money. Its about working together and helping and sharing and people are dying, and its about grief and its about comfort. Its not about money. But if you want to make it about money, youre making a mistake because youre going to lose on a tally sheet. And its not even going to be close. But you want to tally up who owes what to whom . Go ahead. Its not even close. Said last week . Lets go to the next governor where have casinos good day, everyone. Im Andrea Mitchell in washington, continuing our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Here are the facts at this hour. Millions of americans experiencing quarantine fatigue are beginning to break out from sheltering at home, despite an appeal on meet the press from White House Task force coordinator deborah birx that social distancing will be with us through the summer. States, including minnesota, mississippi, and tennessee, will begin reopening some businesses this week. And georgia will take the next step in its governors plan by allowing movie theaters and dinein restaurants to reopen, despite strong objections from mayors of the states biggest cities. This hour, new Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is expected to lay out a roadmap for his state to reopen, but not any time soon. Small business owners, meanwhile, shut out of the first relief package, can start applying today for the new funding of the paycheck protection program, until those funds run out. The first 350 billion was riddled with problems, including millions grabbed by Larger Companies that did not need or deserve the emergency loans. And moments ago, new York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that some parts of his state might be able to unpause on may 15th, but he warned his neighboring states to, quote, be smart before reopening their industries and businesses. He also said in new york city, the percentage of people who have tested positive for covid19 antibodies increased to nearly one in four. And we begin with nbcs sam brock in atlanta. Sam, lets talk about georgia. Its been a controversial reopening there. What are you seeing today . Reporter it has. Were talking about restaurants and movie theaters today, andrea. Over my shoulder right now you see one of the most recognizable breakfast chains anywhere in america. And i dont know if you can tell from where you are here, but it says 6 00 a. M. To 3 00 p. M. I can tell you right now that at 6 00 a. M. , it was not like the flood gates were opening and suddenly customers were rushing in. What weve seen this morning so far at this location, which is one of 330 that opened for indining i should say, diningin Services Today about four or five people. Now, my colleague, blayne alexander, is at another restaurant in the atlanta area. Im hearing the exact same thing from her. People are proceeding cautiously with some trepidation as they go inside restaurants, but understanding, andrea, that the governor of the state, brian kemp, did put into place 39 different regulations that would make it possible for restaurants to open to dinein services. Some of those requires screening the employees before they come in temperature checks. Its full sanitation of the property, obviously, constant wiping down, or i should say sanitizing of the property, constant wiping down. And other things like closing off tables. Youll see some red tape over the booths, plastic bags over chairs. They have to ensure that theres six feet in between customers and that they dont have more than ten people in any 500squarefoot space. Now, heres the irony to this, an trea. We were also reporting this morning on quarantine fatigue, whus a study that just came out from the university of maryland. Thats what the lead author is calling this, the idea that people are coming outside more with less social distancing. Their study found that 44 out of 50 states right now in this country just in the last week ended up seeing a drop in social distancing. What theyre measuring is how often you leave your house, if its more than a mile and if you stop for more than ten minutes, then it counts. The three states that had the biggest drop three or four, i should say would be louisiana, the carolinas, and tennessee. Of the ten states that saw the biggest drops in social distancing, almost all of them, eight out of ten, are in the south. Now, is that because of the fact that were getting warmer weather right now down here . Is it all these protests, the loosening of restrictions in states like georgia and South Carolina that weve seen in play in the last week . Could be a combination of all of those. But while people are proceeding very cautiously with restaurants and movie theaters, we do know that theyre out. I mean, we were at Piedmont Park in atlanta yesterday. Hundreds of people out there, andrea, in groups. Many of them were social distancing. Others were not. But its good that people are getting outside right now as some of these new restrictions get lifted. Andrea . Sam brock, its all very interesting and concerning at the same time. And concerns over a potential spike in california, coronavirus cases, as beach communities in counties surrounding l. A. Saw tens of thousands of residents rushing back to the water to beat the heat. Nbcs joe fryer is in ventura county. Joe, what are you seeing there . And are people Wearing Masks . Thats one thing that i wonder around the country. How prevalent is the use of masks . Reporter i can tell you from what we witnessed, at least over the weekend, at the beach here in ventura and what we saw at some of the other beaches, not a lot of people were Wearing Masks when they were out and about at the beaches. We are at ventura, which is one of the beaches that was opened this past weekend and is open right now. Take a step out of the way so you can take a look. Not terribly crowded right now. It is monday. The rules here in ventura are pretty simple. You can be on the beach. Youve just got to keep walking. No sitting, no sunbathing. Even some folks who are in the water there surfing. Obviously, its monday. Pretty quiet right now, but it was a different story at beaches that were open in california over the weekend, especially on friday and saturday when a lot of Southern California saw aboveaverage, even record temperatures. Orange county to the south of here saw huge crowds, tens of thousands of people showing up at beaches there. And some of those images were concerning to some people, wondering how people can properly social distance, not just when theyre at the beach, but when theyre at the parking lot, when theyre walking from the parking lot to the sand. It was so concerning. Newport beach is now having a meeting tomorrow. And on the agenda is whether to close the beaches there for the next three weekends coming up in may. People argue who were at the beach that it was a good chance to get out, get some fresh air, as long as they kept six feet away from people, it would be okay. But others are concerned that when you get that many people close together, it doesnt really slow the spread of the virus. Its a totally different story in l. A. County. Beaches there are closed. L. A. County, the number of deaths in the past week there doubled. It is the epicenter here in california. California saw its deadliest week yet this past week since the pandemic started. So, definitely people in l. A. County are taking precautions. Theyre telling folks, stay inside as much as possible. If you do venture out, try to stay in your own area, in your own neighborhood, and avoid large crowds right now. Here in ventura, one thing that theyre also doing is theyre telling folks, keep moving on the beach. No sitting, no sunbathing. They say if it gets too bad, if people arent listening to the rules or it gets too crowded, they will shut things down for a 24hour period. Then if people come back and its still a problem, strike two. Theyd close the beaches down for 48 hours here. Then if it comes to strike three, they would actually close the beaches down until the emergency order here is lifted. So far, though, that hasnt been necessary. They feel in ventura, people have really been paying attention to the rules and keeping things moving. Andrea . Thanks so much, joe fryer. And of course, sam brock in georgia. And joining us now, dr. Joshua scharfstein, vice dean for Public Health practice at the Johns Hopkins school for Public Health and dr. Dara cass, emergency medicine physician and yahoo news medical contributor. Welcome both. Dr. Scharfstein, from what youre seeing around the country, people, governors, first of all, and then people just breaking out and violating guidelines even where there are restrictions. What is your prognosis Going Forward in terms of having enough social distancing to keep flattening the curve around the country . Well, there are a few concerns. One example in georgia, there are still a lot of cases and theyre not consistently declining. Another is that the Public Health infrastructure for responding to cases is not as strong as it needs to be. And the third is that health care and nursing home really dont have the ppe they need to withstand a surge. So, that makes whats going on now risky, frankly. Now, we dont know whats going to happen until it happens, and maybe some people have the attitude of, well, well just see what happens. But from what we know, this could be a problem. And hopefully, theyll be able to pick up the signs of that before it becomes a big problem. And just to update on whats happening in new jersey with phil murphy, the governor there, to both of you, he has Just Announced that they are going to extend the sheltering in place, the lockdown, basically, for new jersey, right next to new york, which has had the second highest incidence of the coronavirus. Hes going to extend it indefinitely. So no reopening there. And we are seeing a red state blue state divide in the way governors are responding in a lot of these cases. Dr. Cass, lets talk about the Public Health issues and the concerns that the w. H. O. Expressed, first confusing concerns about Antibody Testing, then trying to clarify. They werent saying that the Antibody Testing doesnt reveal some immunity. Theyre just saying that they dont know yet, that they havent and that a lot of the tests that were rushed out have not been proved to be Accurate Enough to tell. Is that correct . That is correct. I think that one of the things that people are very frustrated by, especially with our fatigue on information, lack of information and quarantine fatigue is that they want answers to very, what they think are simple questions. Like, if you get the virus and you have antibodies, are you immune . It seems like a super simple question to ask and answer, but actually, its not, because we havent seen this virus for long periods of time and dont actually know what the antibodies do for either shortterm or longterm immun y immunity. And all the w. H. O. Said was we do not have evidence yet that having antibodies gives you immunity. And the reason they reacted was because communities wanted to let out people with antibodies as somehow immune passportholders. And i think there was a little bit of concern that that was too much, too fast, without appropriate information. And so, i know that a lot of people out there are confused by what feels like conflicting information, and really, its a lot of incomplete information. And so, thats why we really need to encourage people to go slowly in asking and answering those questions and acknowledging that theres just a lot we dont know right now. And the conflicting information is also, of course, exacerbated by the conflicting information, the different points of view from the administration itself. Take a look at what we saw on meet the press from dr. Birx, in sharp contradiction to what Vice President pence had said on a radio program. I think, honestly, if you look at the trends today, that i think by memorial day weekend we will largely have this coronavirus epidemic behind us. This memorial day, 2020 . Is that realistic, that its behind us . Can you explain what he means by that . I think he means that in the models and in tracking our actual data. Because previously, we were using models based on data from around the world. Trying to understand what we can do as a people to ensure social distancing will be with us through the summer to really ensure that we protect one another as we move through these phases. And perhaps because of all this confusion and what has not been done by the administration, dr. Sharfstein, you have joined a Bipartisan Group of scientists and former officials from different administrations in a letter to congress, saying in this next package, if there is a next package, despite objections from senator mcconnell to any next package, if there is a next package, that there should be a number of things that will improve testing, isolation, such as having hotels have a place where people can isolate once they get over an infection. What are the major demands or requests that youre putting to our congressional leaders . So, this is being led by the cms director under president obama and President Trumps own fda commissioner. And the idea is that we have to be able to respond to cases in ways other than just shutting everything down. We have to be able to find people with infections, help them to isolate themselves, find their contacts, help them to quarantine. And that may require giving them a hotel room or even providing money so that they dont have to go out and work or get, you know, keep going out for food again and again. We have to treat this as a Public Health crisis and respond by cutting off the virus ability to spread from one person to another. And if we invest in those types of activities, it will not only reduce the spread, it will reduce the chance that we have to shut everything down again. So, thats why we got such broad support for this, and i really hope that congress is listening. Its a really important step towards solutions, possible solutions, as we face this over the long term. Dr. Sharfastein, as always, thank you so much, and dr. Dara kass as well. There will not be a Coronavirus Task force or briefing today, but President Trump will meet with Business Leaders this afternoon and the event is going to be open to the media. The white house is trying to cut back on the president s increasingly disruptive daily coronavirus briefings, long and disruptive, after sharp criticism of his dangerous suggestion that people might ingest deadly disinfectant to kill the virus. A New York Times review of his comments during the pandemic shows that by far the most recurring utterances from mr. Trump in the briefings are selfcongratulations, roughly 600 of them, which are often predicated on exaggerations and falsehoods. He does credit others more than 360 times for their work, but he also blames others, more than 110 times for inadequacies in the state and federal response. And thats just a start. Joining me now are nbc News White House correspondent kristen welker, who is also, of course, coanchor of weekend today, michael steele, former Republican National Committee Chairman and also former Lieutenant Governor of maryland, and jeremy peters, political reporter for the New York Times, who was part of the reporting team on President Trump that came up with those stats. First of all, let me share with all of you, Governor Hogan larry hogan of maryland, of course, a republican, the head of the National Governors association. This is what he had to say on abcs this week wooe about th president s dangerous comments about ingesting disinfectant. They certainly Pay Attention when the president of the United States is standing there giving a press conference about something as serious as this worldwide pandemic. And i think when misinformation comes out or you just Say Something that pops into your head, it does send a wrong message, and we had hundreds of calls come in our emergency hotline at our Health Department asking if it was right to ingest clorox or alcohol cleaning products, whether that was going to help them fight the virus. Kristen welker, this weekend was the First Time Since Easter Sunday where we did not have the president at a briefing and were not going to have one again. Normally, when he faces criticism, so much public criticism, he gets his back up and he reacts and overreacts and we see him anyway, but this time he seems to be taking it a little more seriously. Whats your reporting on this . Reporter i think thats right, andrea. Look, the backdrop to all of this is that for weeks, some of those who are close to the president , both inside and outside the white house have said that these briefings need to be scaled back, that President Trump should only be a part of them if there is a large announcement that he needs to be involved in. And what happened last week sort of underscored their concerns that these briefings may be in some cases doing more harm than good. When he does misspeak or Say Something that needs to be cleaned up. And of course, that was a key example of that. The Administration Still answering questions about his statements. As you heard there, governor larry hogan saying that they got all of those phone calls from people asking about those comments. So i think were going to see the briefings scale back. Important to note, andrea, there is going to be an event with Retail Industry leaders later on this afternoon. That is going to be a chance for us to ask President Trump some questions. But this does come as were getting a sense that the strategy overall is shifting here, andrea, as states start to reopen, that there is going to be a renewed focus on the economy. So were going to see that here at the white house today and then were going to see it in the coming weeks. I am told that President Trump is going to hold events here at the white house, but also as he looks to go out on the road and to visit some of these states that are starting to slowly reopen, to try to put the focus back on this issue that is, of course, so critical to his reelection, andrea. And to that point, he has also a disagreement among his economic advisers, because you have a very rosy scenario or rosier scenario, we should say, from larry kudlow and steve mnuchin. But then every kevin hassett, who is a real economist and has studied this, former head of the council of economic advisers whos returned to white house in recent weeks. Heres what he had to say about the outlook economically on abc. This is the biggest negative shock that our economy, i think, has ever seen. Were going to be looking at an Unemployment Rate that approaches rates that we saw during the great depression. And michael steele, republicans and Business Leaders of both Political Parties have been citing these concerns about the economy and also, of course, about the political impact of the president s misinformation, which reached the dangerous point last week at these daily briefings. Yeah, and thats actually two separate issues, andrea. So, you have the misinformation around medical information and advice, particularly with respect to, you know, disinfectants, which was a real problem and sent alarm bells that reached the white house in such a way and magnitude, that to kristens reporting, the president decided, okay, im not going to do that anymore. Then the second piece is the economic piece, which is profoundly problematic because thats what they were going to run on. Thats what republicans in the white house were going to run on in november. And so, now, given the coronavirus economy thats been created from wall street to main street, theres a new reality thats setting in. And so, this idea that youre just going to jump start the economy again is a real problem, which is why youre hearing mcconnell and others now express what some of us kind of, sort of cross our eyes a little bit at, this idea, oh, now were concerned about debts and deficits. Because the reality is, all of the stuff that was done from the original tax bill to the present spent up, and now thats coming home. And so, you have the downward pressure from what some are calling a coronavirus recession, in addition to the Economic Impact that was already in play from earlier policy decisions by the administration and republicans. And so, now everyone says, we need to cool the jets, no more spending, which is why mcconnell is really cool on a stimulus 4 package at this point. And jeremy, when we talk about the president s Public Performance during this whole time, youve really analyzed what he is and what he is not saying. Ashley parker as well, our colleague at the washington post, writing that President Trump and empathy over the past three weeks, the tally come to more than 13 hours of trump, including 2 hours spent on attacks, 45 minutes paradesi i g praising himself and his administration and only 45 1 2 minutes and those are in his scripted comments at the top expressing condolences for coronavirus victims. Here we are with, you know, 55,000 deaths across the United States. Were approaching the numbers of people who died, of people who died during vietnam over a dozen years, and this is only 12 weeks. And so little empathy coming from the president. Reporter right, and thats what we really wanted to get at with this project, andreandrea. Its not exactly news that this president is incapable of expressing much empathy, but what kind of leader is he, really, and how does he compare to other president s who handle these moments of great crisis and despair in the country . And for somebody who has a seemingly bottomless capacity to congratulate himself, these numbers really struck us. I mean, youre talking about more than 600 times where he congratulated himself, compared with about a quarter of that for the number of times he expressed unifying language or tried to Say Something empathetic. And it explains why his Approval Ratings have been plummeting over the course of this crisis. It kind of started out high because of his rally around the president , in effect. But then as americans got to see more of him and see him asking why he wasnt getting more credit for all of the great work he was doing, and essentially, rewriting the history of his administrations response to this virus, they recoiled. And thats because americans expect in their president kind of almost like this priestly role in a situation like this. And what they get from President Trump is not the kind of uniter in chief that were accustomed to in these crises, but they get a divider in chief, somebody whose impulse is to wage this kind of us versus them conflict instead of bringing the nation together. And kristen welker, we know the president wants to get back out. These briefings were in place of the rallies that he had hoped to be doing during this campaign. And then he announces, without getting like final confirmation from west point, that hes going to do the west point graduation in june. 1,000 cadets are going to have to travel back. How are they going to be housed . Whos going to pay for their travel . What is their safety to come together, even if they could be socially distanced at the commencement itself . Reporter and you express some of the concerns that parents reportedly expressed to west point, andrea. They were caught off guard by this announcement by the president. We are told, and courtney kubes been doing some great reporting on all of this, that essentially, the president did not coordinate that announcement with west point, that, yes, he was scheduled to speak at the graduation, but that they werent yet ready to announce it because all of those details were still being hashed out. So, we do know that theres going to be a scaledback presence. We know that the quarters where they will stay will need to, of course, be cleaned before any of them return to campus. But President Trump insisted that he is going to speak at the west point graduation. And of course, it comes on the heels of Vice President mike pence speaking at the air force academy in colorado. So, some of those details still being hashed out as parents call and try to look for clarification themselves on this, andrea. Well, kristen welker. And we know youre the pooler today and theres a 4 00 event. Reporter indeed. So, stay tuned, everybody. Reporter stay tuned. Kristen in action again. Reporter thanks. Coming up, a look at sweden, a country taking a very controversial and entirely different approach with only limited restrictions. What are the risks there . Thats next. Stay with us. Richard engels up next on Andrea Mitchell reports only on msnbc. There are times when our need to connect really matters. To keep customers and employees in the know. To keep business moving. Comcast business is prepared for times like these. Powered by the nations largest gigspeed network. To help give you the speed, reliability, and security you need. Tools to manage your business from any device, anywhere. And a team of experts here for you 24 7. Weve always believed in the power of working together. Thats why, when every connection counts. You can count on us. And now to europe, where the pandemics hardest hit countries are beginning to lift their lockdowns. Spain, for instance, allowing children to play outside again for the first time in six weeks, but only for an hour a day. The country also recording its lowest death toll in a month. But in stockholm, in sweden, a very different picture. The country continuing to stand alone in rejecting any lockdown, despite the outbreak. Joining us now from stockholm, nbc news chief Foreign Correspondent richard engel. Richard, how does sweden justify what some would say is a highrisk experiment with peoples lives . Reporter so, it is a very highrisk experiment. And i spoke to spains equivalent of dr. Fauci today, and i put that to him. I said by the way, hes become a very popular character in this country with people getting his face tattooed on their body, tshirts with his picture on it. People like this approach here. And you mentioned spain. In spain and in italy, they locked down completely, and then they are now just starting to sort of open the door, let people out. From the beginning here, sweden adopted a different approach. They decided that they were going to isolate the elderly and the vulnerable in the hospitals and pretty much leave everybody else alone. So, from the beginning, shops have been open, stores have been open, restaurants have been open, and there have been voluntary instructions to people, voluntary suggestions to social distance. But they havent even said keep two meters or six feet apart. Theyve just said try and keep your distance from people, and the population has generally appreciated that. The economy hasnt suffered. They have had a relatively high death toll relative to population. They have lost about 2,000, just over 2,000 people, which per capita is roughly the same as the United States, but they arent had a Health Care System thats overwhelmed. They say half of the people who died were in elderly homes or actually more like hospice care homes, and society has been able to function, and they are going for what is often called herd immunity, which is allowing a certain degree of a death toll based on the assumption that the rest of the people, the herd, will get it, and therefore, be in theory more protected against it for a long time. And as i said, i spoke to spains dr. Fauci. I said, isnt this risky . Arent you just kind of rolling the dice here . And he said, first of all, were all rolling the dice in the world. Nobodys been through this before. And so far, so good. The country is still coping, and he thinks theyve been able to weather the storm and thinks that this is the only way they can do this for a long time. He thinks that some kind of restrictions are going to be required, even minimal restrictions, until there is a vaccine, and he says, you cant close schools down, you cant close societies down for a year or two or however long it takes until you get a vaccine, so theyre trying this approach. Its unique, but when history is written, we will see what kind of score they are getting. But so far, domestically, theyre getting high praise. Richard engel. Fascinating. Well look for your reports later today and tonight. Thanks so much. And coming up, covid19 has closed schools in many parts of the country. What is california doing to keep education going this summer and into the fall . Ill be joined by the states superintendent at the California Department of education next. But before we take a break, a bright idea that originated with a grand lady from San Francisco. 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Who could ever sleep . Open. But theres a different question we are being asked now. Are you going to remain open . Even when your doors are closed . Open. Thats how we show who we are. And theres another way to be open, to pull together or push, depending on the door. And we are making it work and we will continue to make it work together. Because open we stand. When i get my teeth cleaned, my hSomething Like this. She cleans with Something Like this. Its got a round head. And its got power. Go pro with oralb. Power one on for oralbs best clean ever. Inspired by dentists. Oralbs round brush head surrounds each tooth to remove more plaque along the gum line. For cleaner teeth and healthier gums. Ill only use the one thats round. Oralb. Brush like a pro. Robinwithout the commission fees. So, you can start investing today wherever you are even hanging with your dog. So, what are you waiting for . Download now and get your first stock on us. Robinhood. The pandemic has closed schools across the country, forcing students to learn from home, but how long will this Distance Learning last, and will there be actual classroom instruction in the fall . Joining us now, tony thurmond, the state superintendent of instruction at the California Department of education. Thanks so much for joining us. Obviously huge challenges for educators, for parents, for the children, and a big divide, the digital divide, the fact that people, the children are not getting their school lunches, their meals. What do you see as the Top Priorities . And how are you going to handle the summer and look forward to the fall . Thanks, andrea. You know, just to paint the picture in california, we have 6. 2 million students. All of them are now learning at home through what we call Distance Learning, where the teacher and the student are in different places. We are providing meals to many students. More than 5,000 locations where students can get one, two, and in some cases three meals. And so, i do want to commend california students and their parents and educators for their resiliency. Everyones working together on Distance Learning. My agency, the California Department of education, does three webinars a week to support educators on how to do Distance Learning in a quality way, but our biggest challenge is the lack of computers. We know that one in five students in our state lacks access to the internet, and ive created a new task force focused on closing the digital divide. Weve got to make Internet Connectivity flow like electricity, and were working hard to make sure we get devices to students and access to the internet. And theres also the pressure on parents. Theres so much work for moms and dads and Single Parents alike, just learning how to teach their own children and support these online methods, those who have the computers. What assistance can there be for parents as well . Thanks for asking. We hear from parents all the time. No one anticipated this type of scenario. We never envisioned that wed be in a Distance Learningonly environment. Parents are literally standing in the gap and trying to help their kids with the school work. And sometimes its hard to figure out the school work. And so, to those parents we say thank you, we applaud you. On this wednesday, were actually launching our First Virtual support circle for parents, where we give support to parents, where we listen to parents and their suggestions on how to further support parents, and we hope that all of our parents will tune in. The message that we ultimately will also deliver to parents is, its okay to do your best. We understand that these are unusual circumstances. And so, School Districts will have support lines that parents can call if theyve got questions about the homework, but we want parents to know, just do your best. At the end of the day, most of our School Districts have come up with grading policies that support passed not passed kind of frameworks. All of our institutions of Higher Learning in the state said they would accept pass not pass for seniors. So, while we cannot have graduation ceremonies immediately at this time, our seniors are going to graduate. And they can go to college and participate in postsecondary education. So im grateful that our prek through 12 educators are working together with our Higher Education educators, working together to make it possible and well be providing support to our parents. Were going to do support circles for our students and for our educators. And again, im grateful for what everyone is doing. And as a parent, you know, we hear you, this is hard work. Were going to get through this together. And so, well keep at it until we do. Superintendent, thank you so much for being with us. Really do appreciate that. And i want to pause and remember some of the lives well lived, but shortened by the coronavirus. Philip kahn was born in 1919 along with his twin brother, samuel, on the Upper West Side of manhattan during the spanish flu pandemic. Samuel died of the spanish flu a century ago, but philip went on to earn two bronze stars in world war ii. The coronavirus pandemic then took the second kahn brother, philip, on april 17th, on long island. He was 100 years old. Robert mendoza was a warrior fighting for america in iraq and afghanistan. He came home to serve his San Diego Community as a business owner. But on easter weekend, he was overcome by covid19 after just a few days on the ventilator. Robert mendoza died. He was only 43. Hes survived by his parents, his wife, and his best buddy, his 9yearold son. And single mothertobe ellie sasa l sal solano was excited to meet her new baby. She tested positive for the coronavirus after an ultrasound. She went home, she got worse. Doctors had to perform an emergency csection to deliver her newborn son. She never got to see him. 12 days later, the virus took eli solano. She was only 26 years of age. Although heartbroken, her family says her son is healthy and doing well. announcer in this world where people are staying at home, many of lifes moments are being put on hold. At carvana, we understand that, for some, getting a car just cant wait. To help, were giving our customers up to 90 days to make their first payment. Shop online from the comfort of your couch, and get your car with touchless delivery to keep you safe. And for even Greater Peace of mind, all carvana cars come with a sevenday return policy. So, if you need to keep moving, were here for you. At carvana the safer way to buy a car. The Biden Campaign marked the First Anniversary of joe bidens official launch last year with a highly produced Virtual Campaign event on saturday. The big decision is choosing a running mate. Stacey abrams and reportedly on the list of possible choices, increased the pressure from jim clyburn and others for joe biden to choose a woman of color. A President Biden will do what he has always done which is respect and value communities of color. So yes, having a woman of color on the ticket will help promote not only diversity but trust. But i trust joe biden to pick the person he thinks is the right running mate for him. Joining me now is mike memoli who has been covering joe biden forever it seems. Hes trying his best to do the Virtual Campaigning but hes ham strung and hes so far behind in campaigning. African american women in particular who are such a big part of the base that he needs to reach out to and other possible choices that might help him across the rust belt. I dont know if theres any obvious choice. Well, andrea, as David Plouffe obamas Campaign Manager in 2008 who had to guide the former president through this process, number one goal is dont make a mistake. In hearing abrams interview on meet the press on sunday, her answer changed ever so slightly on should joe biden choose a woman of color . When she was on the view she would be concerned if biden didnt do that. She walked that back a little bit. But it does speak to you as you indicate the pressure that son joe biden. Hes the apparent nominee of the Democratic Party because of how critical the africanamerican vote broadly was to him in South Carolina and then if you believe this is a turnout election all the more reason youre hearing people suggest that a woman of color would be absolutely the winning formula for joe biden. They are by far the most active and engaged segment of the democratic constituency. Bidens team is expected to announce as soon as this week the actual committee that is going to oversee this running back selection process. And biden himself, hes only said number one on the criteria is his running mate needs to be somebody that the country can see and expect ready to take over as president. Thats the number one thing for him. I did an interview with from the Hillary Clinton campaign, he advised clinton to pick elizabeth warren. An interesting choice. We both know they had an uneasy relationship at least going into the campaign. Thats right. Obviously well be tracking all of this. Mike memoli, youll be the first to know. Before we go, live from at home, it was saturday night. The second athome snl after the real tony fauci had joked he would like to be played by brad pitt and snl made that happen with their dr. Fauci Fact Checking some of President Trumps claims. A couple of things, i dont know if id describe the test as beautiful. Unless you like having a cotton swab tickle your brain. To the real dr. Fauci, thank you your calm and your clarity and to medical workers and First Responders for being on the front line. Thanks for being with us. Thanks to brad pitt and snl for that. Stay safe, everyone. Remember, follow the show online on facebook and on twitter mitchell reports. Thanks for joining us from my living room to your living room. Ari melber picks up the coverage after this break. Does it worry me . Absolutely. They are both very much hand in hand. So you should really be focusing on both and definitely at the same time. The new sensodyne sensitivity gum gives us the dual action effect that really takes care of both our teeth sensitivity as well as our gum issues. By brushing with sensodyne sensitivity gum at home its giving you the relief that you need and the control that you need to take care of your oral health. And it creates a healthier environment. Theres no question its something that i would recommend. When taking a break from everyday life is critical to everyones health, there is one thing we can all do together complete the 2020 census. Your responses are critical to plan for the next 10 years of health care, infrastructure, and education. Lets make a difference, together, by taking a few minutes to go online to 2020census. Gov. Its for the wellbeing of your community and will help shape americas future. And will help shape amerdad, im scared. Its only human to care for those we love. And also help light their way. Its why last year chevron invested over 10 billion to bring affordable, reliable, ever cleaner energy to america. Good day to you, im ari melber. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy outlining a new plan to safely reopen his state. He says theres a chance schools could reopen this academic year. Governor cuomo announced today that while restrictions may continue in many parts of the states, some will begin easing. And the ceo of boeing now saying