Today new York Governor Andrew Cuomo was appalled. As soon as the Senate Passed it, this current bill, senator Mitch Mcconnell goes out and he says maybe the states should declare bankruptcy. Okay . This is one of the really dumb ideas of all time. Yes, airlines are important. Small business is important. So are police and fire and health care workers. Who are the front line workers. New york puts in more money to the federal pot than it takes out. His state takes out more than it puts in. Senator mcconnell, whos getting bailed out here . Its your state that is living on the money that we generate. Peter king called his statement shameful and described hip as the Marie Antoinette of the senate. Congressman king joins me in a moment. Well have much more on the jobless claims and a look inside a silent Caesars Palace with our reporters across the country in just a moment. But first, lets get to capitol hill where they are voting right now. And joining me is peter cunning of new york. Youre upset because the states pay the salaries of the First Responders, firefighters, ems workers, policemen, those on the front lines of trying to keep all of us safe. Tell me about these comments. Filing for bankruptcy as a means for states instead of getting money from the federal government. What he said was disgraceful. Youre right. These are the cops, firefighters, health care workers, the ones in the front lines and the ones dying. We have more than the entire state of california and kentucky combined. We have 50,000 cases on long island. This is pushed our governments to the brink of bankruptcy, frankly. Nassau county, 40 of the countys revenues come from sales tax. Business is down. There is virtually no sales tax coming in. So for Mitch Mcconnell to look at this as a giveaway, its not a giveaway when there is a tornado or flood or hurricane in kentucky or the states adjacent, we give the money because we know this is a National Problem that has to be addressed. And somehow for him to say this is a go into bankruptcy rather than pay the fire fight aernz cops when there is a National Pandemic which sees people, our leaders and our state and our counties had nothing to do with where they try to get all of the federal regulations or everything that has to be done and we had the death rate is overwhelming in new york state and for him to say that we should give away, were looking for free money. Mitch mcconnell should be ashamed of himself. What he said is beyond disgraceful. They did this before. They did this with sandy. They made us fight for every penny for sandy. We gave 65 billion overnight to the Southern States with katrina. Similarly, when it came to the 9 11 medical money, 9 11 compensation, when he to fight for ten years to get the money to those who were dying from what happened. This is par for the course for mcconnell. I guess he got over it but i guess not. How much money do you think new york is actually going to need . Indica katy, i couldnt begin to tell you. That will take detailed estimates from the governors and county executives like weve done in the past. I would assume they can come up quickly with a general number. That should be allocated. In the final analysis, im not looking for one more penny that is needed. All of the money should be reimbursed by the federal government. This is a National Work were doing. For every person we stop from spreading the pandemic in new york, thats one person thats not going to spread it beyond this state. I mean we know how contagious this is. We can somehow stop it in new york and in new jersey to the extent that they are, we prefer performing a national service. Plus, were protecting americans the way we always protected the people in kentucky which Governor Cuomo pointed out. Far more money per capita than we do at the federal level. They took away the property taxes from us noushgs theyre doing this to us. I dont know, maybe they need to realize the civil war is over. How quickly do you think new york needs this money . I would say very soon. Thats why i know that senator schumer did not insist that the state and local governments be compensated in the bill were voting on today. But in the next one, whenever the next one comes due which should be the next few weeks, thats when state and local governments have to receive some level of compensation, some level of aid because we need it desperately. We can survive another week or so i guess, two weeks. The fact is theyre running out of money. This is desperate. We have bodies piled up. Theyre being buried in potters field. This is the real deal were facing here. Were con fronting it and doing what we have to do. Every doctor, nurse, health care worker, cops, firefighter. Theyre out there. Mitch mcconnell is off in kentucky somewhere. Governor cuomo said repeatedly he spoke to the new york caucus. I presume youre one of them. And said that you need to demand that money for states is in the stimulus that youre about to go vote on in a moment. The latest stimulus. Why is that money not in there . I havent heard one word from him on the coronavirus and im and im a senior senator. The money is needed very soon. So Chuck Schumer agreed to let the package go today. The Small Businesses needed so much. He didnt want to hold that up and deprive them of the money they need to stay alive business wise. But certainly whatever package comes up next, the federal the state and local government aid has to be included in that. Just one more question before i let you go. Do you think politics is at play with Mitch Mcconnells desire not to give money to the states . There is reporting that someone on the team called it a blue state bailout s this more about a political win than it is about making sure that First Responders are paid and taken care of . Yeah. Sort of a political cheap shot. I think anyone that lives in new york is somehow a blue state person or a democrat. We heard that with 9 11. The cops and the firemen, there is a bailout for new york and the blue states. Were americans. Nothing to do this is not an ideological issue. Were not talking about any type of philosophical or political dispute. Were talking about people dying. We need state and local governments need the money to prevent more people from dying and to pay those who are doing their jobs. So i think hes trying to make i will a political issue. He is probably appealing to hard core base he has in kentucky. He has an election coming up. He wants to appeal to that base, that antinew york mentality that floods his state. The reality is we cant allow this to become political. I voted the first day to send money down south for katrina. I was down there as chairman of the home land security committee. This was never a regional issue until with sandy and 9 11 and now with this. Peter king, thank you very much. Good luck voting. We appreciate your time, sir. Thank you. Thank you very much. And underscoring the importance of todays relief vote, our todays jobless claims. A lot more people filed for unemployment just this last week. I think it was 4. 4 million americans now say they have lost their jobs bringing that total up to 26 million, completely erasing the gains made since the great recession. Joining me now from california, nbc News Business correspondent jo ling kent. The numbers are bleak. But still, theyre not looking good. Not to mention the number of people that are not included in that because theyre not able still to file for unemployment because they cant get through. Thats right. The so were looking at initial claims here, that 4. 4 million still very high adding to that 26 million. The picture is really in the boarded up store fronts across the country. This is a major clothing chain. It is locked up and boarded up because they anticipate to be closed for a good long while. And here in california, its the hardest hit. No surprise on that front, five Million People have filed for jobless claims in just the last week alone. You see signs just like this saying to our loyal customers, the huge Economic Impact of coronavirus is real. And its very much ravaging the economy. The hardest states hit beyond california, new york, georgia, pennsylvania, michigan, new jersey hit very hard as well. But were starting to see is that bottle neck open up just a little bit in some of the states. Theyre dealing with very old out of date systems to process all of the unemployment claims. Ive been talking to google. The they have been working with states like new york and georgia to update their systems. But the issue really is about maintaining and keeping what they have in place so they can keep on processing and innovating forward. Using that Artificial Intelligence to get people their claims, make it easier to log on and get your benefits. Now if you look a little deeper into that Labor Department report, you now see that 16 million workers are actually able to get their money paid out in the unemployment benefits. That is a good thing to see that happening. Because that means the bottle neck is getting better. But you still have complaints out of florida and all across the country that even though i have filed for unemployment, i cannot get my check and its been weeks, katy. The hard thing about retail is nobody is buying anything because theyre not going out. What is the point of buying a new dress or blouse if you have nowhere to wear it to. The sweat pant industry must be doing okay though. Jo, thank you very much. Lets turn to the states and the decision of whether to reopen and when to do it. Lets start with garret hague. Oklahoma is starting to reopen. What do you see there . The governor announced tomorrow personal care businesses can open. That includes things like barber shops and hair and nail salons. They have to follow social distancing to the agree they distancing to the degree they k they have to wear masks and theyre doing it in a patchwork way across the state. Youve got bigger cities like oklahoma city, tulsa and norman saying theyre going to hold off and wait to do their opening until may. But smaller communities like the one im in here just miles from the texas border, theyre going to be opening up some of the establishments. And this morning i spoke to a manager of the salon behind me asking her are you sure this can be done safely . Heres what she told me. Do you thil youll be safe being in there with a bunch of people under one roof . Does that bother you . No. I know that were going to take precautions like we did before. Sanitizing even more. And i know gods got us. Katy, i spoke to a couple of owners of barber shops and salons and told me after governor made the announcement yesterday, the appointment books for friday will be full. Folks will be coming out for the sense of normalcy of doing Something Like getting their hair cut. There are a lot of people nervous that these kinds of businesses and exactly these kinds of openings could fire the virus up here in communities where it has not even been a significant presence. Katy . Lets hope that doesnt happen. Lets hope. Garret, thank you very much. Nevada is closed as does the las vegas strip. Steve patterson got an exclusive look inside an empty Caesars Palace. Steve, that must have been pretty eerie. Haunting, but maybe even perhaps scarier for what it represents which is millions of dollars infer lost revenue, hundreds of thousands of people all along the strip and filing for unemployment, looking for work, worrying about a paycheck which led to this political back and forth between the mayor and governor. The grofrn sets the tone. He is going on the recommendations from the county health department. He says until he sees a decline in the number of cases of covid19, the state will not lift the order. Meanwhile, youre looking inside that casino right there. That is Caesars Palace. This is a place that has been open for nearly 53 years, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Since it was opened up all those years ago. And now it is completely empty. Incredibly eerie to be in there. To really realize what this represents. Maybe more revealing to look at the seats, look at the tables, look at, you know, just the hallways. You know how many people traverse that every day and wonder how in the world do you open up Something Like that for gaming . We spoke to the ceo of Caesars Entertainment about that. He spoke exclusivebly what he plans to do over the next few weeks. But first, he drilled down on the fact that they agree with what the governor is doing. Listen to this. The governor is under enormous pressure. But i agree with him 100 . We have to put peoples lives ahead of everything else. Having said that, look, i think of our industry, i think were a little different than other industries and other companies that provide a specific product or a specific service. I think what we deliver, we deliver experiences and we deliver life long memories. But were not going to do it. Were not going to be comfortable doing it until were confident that this thing is moving in the right direction and we can open. And i asked him, you know, drill down on specifics . What does this mean when people start going in . He said limited crowds. Reduction in sort of the spacing when people are sitting at the slot machines, sanitizing any time anybody plays a hand. It is all really on the table. No one has a solid plan for whats going to happen next. But theyre all trying to get it out and sort it out as this, you know, as they work in concert with the state and the Health Departments and the Gaming Commission as this goes on. Katy, its an incredible undertaking. Steve, one more question to you. Mayor goodman gave another interview where she doubled down on what she told met other day. She wanted to offer up las vegas as basically a test case to see how contagious the virus was. Shes facing a lot of blowback on line s they facing any blowback there in las vegas . Yeah, absolutely. There are workers that work for the ka seen ycasinos on the str. The workers saying were not test subjects. There is one bartender that our team spoke to and he says, you know, hes outraged she would suggest that. So people are upset with what she is saying. Remember, she is not the person in control of the vegas strip. That is clark county. She is not making any of the decisions about reopening. But her messaging i think has been influential. Its been upsetting for a lot of people here especially with the back and forth with the governor. Well have to see what happens, katy. She is the mayor to a lot of the people who work on the las vegas strip. Steve patterson, steve, thank you so much for joining us. What a fascinating look at an eerie, hounting as you said look inside of Caesars Palace. Tune in for that. The race to find a vaccine, human trials are underway. How long could it take for scientists to proffer that they have found the one . Plus, communities turn to tech to keep residents safe. Well go to one town testing drones that can detect fever from 190 feet away. Looks like singapore. First, a top expert on vaccines forced from his job at hhs and he claims it was because he questioned a drug touted by the president. E questioned a drug touted by the president. Yes. The first word to any adventure. But when allergies and congestion strike, take allegrad. A nondrowsy antihistamine plus a powerful decongestant. So you can always say yes to putting your true colors on display. Say yes to allegrad. A top vaccine doctor says he was fired after voicing concerns about the president s promotion of hydroxychloroquine for a treatment for covid19. He was in charge of the agency tasked with developing a vaccine for the coronavirus. The doctor and lawyers called for an investigation of his abrupt dismissal. He is also expected to file a whistleblower complaint. He issued a statement saying im speaking out because to combat this deadly virus, science, not politics or cronyism, has to lead the way. Lets bring in our White House Correspondent jeff bennett. What are the nuts and bolts of this story . We asked President Trump yesterday in the White House Coronavirus briefing if he was fully aware of what transpired. He said no. He said he didnt know dr. Bright. And its entirely conceivable that President Trump wouldnt know the director of a what had been a really obscure government agency. But you can make the argument that the president might should have known who he was given that dr. Bright from 2016 until tuesday led this agency that invests in treatments and vaccines for infectious outbreaks. And Coronavirus VaccinePublic Health experts say is the thing that will allow the country to return to normal in the absence of widespread testing. You read part of the statement that New York Times first reported yesterday where he said he feels like he was retaliated against and reassigned because he pushed for a thorough vetting of the unproven treatments like hydroxychloroquine that President Trump embraced. There is another line in that statement, i also resisted efforts to fund potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections. Well a source close to dr. Bright tells me that he felt pressure to implement a National Access program for hydroxychloroquine without proper controls in place and without evidence either that would point directly to the drugs edge kacy and he said he felt pressured after President Trump had a conversation with oracle billionaire larry ellisson. He is the cto and chairman of that company. He is President Trumps real top defender in the tech community. He also has a seat on the new white house economic coronavirus recovery board. Katy . Does he have any financial connection to that drug . That we do not know. That is oon open question. You have House Democrats pushing the hhs Inspector General to open an investigation. Dr. Bright himself says he intends to file a whistleblower complaint so, yes, there are a lot of questions here and ill alsocy that dr. Bright says he wants to fight for his position. He is not accepting this reassignment to a more narrow role. Geoff bennett, thank you. Scott gottlieb worked closely with dr. Bright, he said i think its a loss to see him step out of that job right now. Thats a position that is really critical to trying and getting some of these therapeutics over the finish line. He also said its unfortunate to see a loss of continuity in that position at a really critical time from a Public Health standpoint. Joining me now is andy slavit. He was actsing administrator for the centers for medicare and Medicaid Services during the obama administration. Thank you for being with us. Were in the middle of a pandemic. Dr. Bright was just moved off. How does that affect us . We like to talk about people like tom brady, i think he needs to understand what he just did is the equivalent of pulling tom brady off the football field in the Fourth Quarter of an Elimination Game when youre down by two touchdowns. Dr. Bright has worked his entire career for these moments. He has been studying how to combat and respond to infectious diseases. Hes taken offer the flu vaccine and led the agency that were counting on most now. But to pull him off the field, so to speak, that critical juncture is an enormous loss and something we should be concerned about. These are the kind of people that are going to have to help us solve very hard problems and i just cant understand why hes not on the field right now. What are the questions you have to ask the president if you were able ask them . Well, you know, i think what i would like to suggest to the president is if he for a second stops thinking about himself and having to reflect on him and understands that americans are actually toll ran actually tolerant of the fact we dont know everything, were going to make mistakes, some drugs we may think wont work and that if he can just for a second not worry about how the scientists work reflects on him, but is willing to say people doing this science are the ones that are going to need this for. There is no silver bullet. Were not guaranteed of having antiviral any time soon. Social distancing is hard to maintain. I ask him, mr. President , why dont you want the smartest people in the world working to solve the problem as quickly as possible . Because the consequences are american lives. The president wants to might be minimize it. He wants to project confidence that everything will be good. Part of that is could be the reason he kept promoting hydr y hydroxychloroquine saying this could maybe make this all go away. In doing that, does he risk putting people in more danger by giving them a sense of kefdz they should not have . And then also, what do you make of the job that the president s doctors are doing. Look, i dont think americans need good news just because theyre having a bad day. He ought to be very skeptical of hearing good news. He ought to leave the science to the scientists. A lot of people listen to him. A lot of people are led by what he says. Because he doesnt have the qualifications, im not saying whether he is good or bad as a politician, even if i voted for him, he doesnt have the qualifications to assess what happens with a drug, a lot of bad things happen and a lot of unsafe things happen. Leave it to the scientists. I for one am a fan of both dr. Birx and fauci. I think they are straight shooters. I think they give the president good advice. I dont think theyre always listened to. He says something that they dont agree with, that puts him in a difficult situation. I think they do a good job doing that. He ought to let them do that. He ought to focus on the troops and resources and assets to the states that need them and the front line medical workers that need them and let the scientists solve this thing. Thats what American Public the American Public would appreciate that and they were rewarded for it whether they likeded him or not. You know, thats why Governor Cuomo is getting so many plots. Hes not painting a rosier picture than what exists. And the the president is a fan of winston churchill. He never paint pd a rosier picture than actually existed during the war. He was a cheerleader for the British Public you have the beblunt b public but very blunt. Still ahead, could passports that verify a person has recovered from coronavirus help get the world back to work . But first, the rush to find a vaccine. There are four companies that are currently conducting human trials. Well check in on one of them with Richard Engel right after the break. M with Richard Engel right after the break. At papa johns, we want you to know that from our 450degree oven, to box, to you, its our policy that your pizza is never touched once it comes out of the oven. And were taking extra steps, like no contact delivery, to ensure it. Your dedication and humanity. But today, as youre being challenged more than ever, i see heroes, not just to me but to so many. Thank you for keeping us safe. And for being our light. For always doing your part, to make the world shine a little more bright. To our over onemillion heroes, in towns across america, i say thank you. Four companies are in human trials for a Coronavirus Vaccine including inovio which is testing volunteers in missouri and pennsylvania. Joining me now is nbc news chief Foreign CorrespondentRichard Engel. He spoke with the president and volunteers. Doing some kmes work for us. What did you learn . Well, i dont know if there is a real domestic correspondent or Foreign Correspondent on this. It is a pandemic, therefore, it is everywhere. I mean, look at how were all trying to cope with this right now. And one way that we get out of this is through a vaccine. We heard that time and time again. A medical solution, if there is one that has some Science Behind it would obviously benefit a lot of people do they dont end up in hospital or critical care. But the ultimate way that were going get out of this is through a vaccine. Inovio is one of the companies in human trials right now. What theyre trying to do is like all vaccines, fool the body into producing antibodies, the y shaped virus fighting materials that we can produce in our bodies. What theyre doing is injecting the dna from the spike of the coronavirus protein, that spiky little ball that has everyone hiding in their homes these days, if they take the protein from one of the spikes which the protein uses to attach and they put that formula, that code into people and our bodies recognize this foreign element dont like it produce antibodies to fight against it and that is the vaccine. This is Experimental Research and there are certainly risks. But i met i spoke to, i met via skype which is the way people are meeting these days, a young, well, middle age man who decided hes going to participate in this trial because he wanted to do something to help out. He was watching the way society is heading. And a friend of his died, he thinks perhaps from covid19. He was never tested. But he wanted to help out. Hes a maintenance engineer at the facility that is carrying out these clinical trials. He decided to put up his hand and get the shot in his arm. And so far, says hes feeling pretty good. Did it sfwhuburn . Did it hurt . It felt like any other shot. I dont know. I havent had any side infects. I havent i think my arm might be swollen or bruised or something. But, no. Nothing whatsoever. You felt no discomfort, no pain at all . None at all. I went through the whole list of side effects and i kind of stopped reading because i dont want i didnt want to scare myself. So i thought let me just see how i feel. See what comes naturally. And like i say, so far, absolutely nothing. So hes going to be monitored for the next 28 weeks. Will were all hoping that not only does he continue to feel better and feel, good he says he has a lot of energy. He was gardening, living at home. But the crucial step will be once you do blood tests after this vaccine has been in the system to see if hes producing the critical antibodies and at which level and not having an adverse effect on him. Richard engel, thank you. You make such a good point about Domestic Versus International right now. When the entire world is talking about and all the journalists in the world covering the same exact story. Richard engel, thank you very much. Lets bring in dr. Irwin redlener. Dr. Redlener, thank you so much. Human trials for the vaccine, tell me what people should expect. Its a very complicated process. Theres a lot of work that gets done in the laboratory and animals and so forth. There is a series of steps that take place. And with that amount of human trials is a larger and larger group that is given the vaccine to make sure that, number one, its effective and particularly importantly that its not causing any really harmful side effects. There are 80 or 90 trials in development. I am concerned that there are some companies that are rushing to get into distribution before doing enough trials. This is something thats going to be administered really almost to everybody on the planet. We really need to make sure that whatever is being administered is especially safe without dm d without any serious side effects. Lets talk about when we get to that point and everybody can get a vaccine and hopefully it will have enough trials to make sure its safe for the general population. The process of getting it to everyone, the logistical hurdle to do that, whats that going to be like . Well, its going to be very difficult. First of all, theres a lot of issues about people just not getting even their regular vaccines. There is a lot of socalled antivaccine people not letting their children get measles vaccine. Only a small percentage get the annual flu vaccines. Hopefully this whole threat of the pandemic and what were dealing with coronavirus will make people willing to get the vaccine. However, there are many places around the world and in the u. S. Where its just the actual delivery of it, the administering of it is going to be very difficult in countries or communities where there is not much many the way of regular medical care. Thats a challenge in and of us self. First of all, the manufacturers have to make massive amounts of it, obviously. Thats going to be something, you know, a big challenge for us. But lets say they have it and they have enough quantity, billions of vaccines, then the challenge comes how do we get the vaccines to everybody from inner city urban america to countries across the world . Just getting it into everybodys arm is going to be a logistical hurdle is an understatement. Next, look outside. Look at the sky. Is it clearer . Is the air cleaner . Well fewer cars on the roads and planes in our skies have helped the planet breathe. But the pandemic has not stopped the epa from making it easier to pollute our air. First up, testing from the skies. Whoun town in connecticut plans to use drones to detect symptoms of coronavirus. S to detect symps of coronavirus 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. Soon, people will be walking back through your door. Soon, life will move forward. Well welcome back old colleagues, get to know new ones some things may change, but well still be here, right here, so you can work on the business of getting your business back. At paycom, our focus will always be you and well see you soon. Wayfair has way more ways to renovate your home, from inspiration to installation. Like way more vanities perfect for you. Nice. Way more unique fixtures and tiles. Pairing. Nice. Way more top brands in sinks and faucets. Way more ways to rule your renovation. Nice on any budget, with free shipping. Wayfair. Way more than furniture. Communities around the world are turning to new technologies. They look for ways to reopen and keep residents safe w that new tech comes new concerns about privacy. Lets start in west port, connecticut, police plan to begin testing pandemic drones. The drones could detect a fever, track breathing patterns and heart rates all from 190 feet away. Joining me now, jake ward. This looks like more of what we were seeing out of south korea and china and other asian nations no the here. Tell me about it. You know, katy, it is a huge milestone. You know, because we do not have the testing we need to keep track of the spread of the virus, technology is trying to step in. In this particular case this is based on a university of South Australia project that was able to distinguish between survivors and casualties of mass disasters by looking for the tiny movements in their chest that signify theyre breathing. You add on top of that the ability to look at skin tone and see if if your skin tone indicates a peefr and tfever an are stand took close together. And the west port police have the ability to look for possible symptoms and people who are not socially distancing. Theyre then passing it on to the maker of the drone which is trying to refine the test in order to be able to do this reliably across the nation and the world. I asked the police chief whether they would then identify people, you know, brand them with a Scarlet Letter that says this person is sick. Heres what he had to say. Will you be hanging on to data that dragonfly is collecting or does that go around you . Any mission, sort so to speak, that we fly with the drones weshs ke drones, we keep those records. We have a whole bunch of questions in front of us as a society. The big one is this could be a path forward. Is it going to take us to a place that were not comfortable living in the future, katy . Thats a very big question. So interesting to see the video in that drone. Actually physically see when somebodys get took close to another person. Those green circles becoming red circles, how fascinating. Jake ward, see it right here. Thank you so much for joining us today. And some nations are also considering what is being called immunity passports. Theyre documents identifying people who have recovered from coronavirus and are presumably now immune. Chile is the first to issue them. The uk is looking at a similar proposal. There is question about the passports effectiveness. Since it is currently unclear how long immunity to covid19 may last and if there is immunity at all. With me from london is our nbc correspondent. You know this as well as i did. You have a passport saying essentially, sheet of paper saying what vaccines you have in order to get into a number of countries around the world. Would this function in the same way . Well, kind of. Lets take chile, for example as a case study. People there who have recovered from covid19 would then be issued with a qr code on their cell phone which they can print off. That means they can leave quarantine ago about their daily lives. Its a similar proposal here in the united kingdom. But here it would take the form of an immunity wrist band. There are multiple concerns when it comes to immunity. But the worry also about testing as well. Because many countries have really struggled to get their hands on accurate tests. He have tons of people unemployed or desperate to enter the job market. Im worried that move to reopening the country and saying well, we can employ those with antibodies will leave significant portions of the population out. Those people have families. Those people have needs. We have to be committed to supporting those people. Otherwise, we may put people in the awkward position and dangerous position of incentivizing them to exposure to covid19 as a condition of reentering the workforce. Cy worried there could be a black market for i immunity passports as a well. This is something they have to grapple with as they balance reopening with also keeping their population safe. Helena, thank you very much for joining us. And next up, fewer planes in the air and cars on the roads. Stay at home orders caused pollution to plummet. Why climate watchers still fear though what could come next. Tch though what could come nex t. Mornings were made for Better Things than Rheumatoid Arthritis or Psoriatic Arthritis. 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Miralax works with the water in your body to unblock your system naturally. And it doesnt cause bloating, cramping, gas, or sudden urgency. Miralax. Look for the pink cap. With much of the world shut down, the environment around us has had a chance to change, albeit temporarily. Air pollution has dropped to unprecedented levels in los angeles and earlier this month l. A. , a city normally clouded can smog, registered some of the cleanest air of any major city in the world. With less traffic wildlife is roaming in city centers. Scientists say its all short term, with air pollution expected to return to its previous levels once the global lockdown is lifted. Presumably the wildlife will leave as well. In the past month, the Trump Administration has rolled back rules on car pollution and air quality. Joining me now, jake levine, he served as an energy and climate aid to president obama. Jake, always good to see you, sporting a beard at home now i guess. Tell me about some of the rollbacks that we are seeing and what that means for once were out of this mess. Sure. Just to put this in perspective, i think by the New York Times count were now at nearly 100 environmental rollbacks that this administration has overseen, but the last month may very well have been the most consequential in all three years of this administration. Against the backdrop of a respiratory disease that has gripped this nation and caused a Global Economy to shut down, we are now seeing regulatory rollbacks from epa that bear on that direct type of air pollution that could actually be exacerbating outcomes from coronavirus. So you put up on the screen some headlines around recently finalized car rule rollback which had been projected to save thousands of lives from reduced pollutants like soot and smog. Last week the administration rolled back its mercury and air toxic regulation which was projected to net more than 90 billion in benefits from reduced air pollution and from improvements to Neurological Disorders caused by mercury. And even last week the administration declined to review its National Standards for particulate matter pollution which of course has been the subject of a number of these studies linking coronavirus deaths to increased air pollution. So to be clear, a lot of the rollbacks are going to make the air dirtier which, when we get out of this lockdown and the virus is not gone because no one expects it to immediately just disappear, is it possible that the dirtier air that would result would only potentially exacerbate some of the issues that people are having with this respiratory illness . Absolutely, 100 . I mean, theres a growing body of research now under way directly linking longterm exposure to air pollutants like soot and smog, nitrogen dioxide and the most severe reactions that people are having to this Novel Coronavirus infection. Of course, a number of people have called this disease the socalled great equalizer because it may infect the rich along with the poor, the famous along with the anonymous, but we know that the communities that experience a disproportionate share of these air pollutants, pm 2. 5 nitrogen dioxide, ozone, those are black and brown communities, communities of color, low income communities, disadvantaged communities that predominantly bear the burden of that air pollution, and unfortunately, that disproportionate exposure resonates and echos in the alarming data that weve already seen coming out of places like detroit, louisiana, new york city where, again, it is communities of color that are bearing the brunt of the overall rates of deaths from this disease. Jake levine, thank you so much for coming on and bringing this to our attention. Stories like this matter so much and unfortunately they get buried with the daily onslaught of coronavirus news. Again, theyre interconnected. Jake, thank you very much. We end todays show with some good news. Medical professionals at new york presbyterian queens are raising their voices and singing to boost the spirits of their fellow workers. Aint no Mountain High enough aint no valley low enough aint no river wide enough dawn jones and her coworker kim serenaded their colleagues singing aint no Mountain High enough to each of the hospital units they visit, bringing a moment of joy as the staff get a chance to dance and sing along, as long as they have a good enough voice. Coworkers have told them both how these breaks help them get through the difficult days. I will not lend my voice to this because i think it would only make their day even harder. My Producer Team knows this because i do unfortunately sing sometimes into their ears on our morning calls. That will do it for me today. Brian williams and Nicolle Wallace pick things up right after a very quick break. Break and theyre counting on your takeout and delivery orders to make it through. Grubhub. Together we can help save the restaurants we love. What is that . Uh mine, why . Its just that its. Lavender. Yes it is, its for men but i like the smell of it laughs swithout even on yoleaving your house. Just keep your phone and switch to xfinity mobile. You can get it by ordering a free sim card online. Once you activate, youll only have to pay for the data you need starting at just 12 a month. There are no term contracts, no activation fees, and no credit check on the first two lines. Get a 50 prepaid card when you switch. Its the most reliable wireless network. And it could save you hundreds. Xfinity mobile. Good afternoon. Brian williams here with you. Here are the facts as we know them at this hour. 48,000 americans have now died from this coronavirus with the number of confirmed cases passing the 850,000 mark. A reminder, the actual numbers are far higher as only about 1. 5 of the population has been tested so far. The house is set to vote on a nearly half trillion dollar bill to replenish the Small Business loan program as well as more money for hospitals and for testing. The legislation expected to be approved, then sent over to the president for his signature. The vote comes hours after the Labor Department said more than 4 million americans filed firsttime unemployment claims