premiere this weekend. my good friend w. kamau bell take on the farming to the beaches of miami. that's this sunday at 10:00 p.m. eastern and pacific. only on cnn. thank you all for being with me, i'm kate bolduan. "the lead with jake tapper" starts now. ♪ welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper, and we begin with the health lead. this afternoon, the u.s. passed 3.5 million cases of coronavirus, as the death toll tops 137,000. right now there are only two states in the united states, delaware and maine, that are seeing a decrease in infections. dozens of hospitals throughout the country are overwhelmed with coronavirus patients. a hotel is now being converted into a health care facility in laredo, texas. the situation so tire thdire th

counties in arizona are being compelled to bring it in refrigerated trucks because it's morgues there are sadly filling up. but it was only one day from today, june 16th when vice president pence wrote about this, this op-ed, that the there isn't a coronavirus second wave. and quote, we've slowed the spread and winning against the invisible enemy. take a look at this map, does it look like winning to you? the only way one could regard this as winning is if one were the coronavirus. there are more than 1 million new infections since the vice president wrote that op-ed. averaging nearly double the daily cases from the previous peak in april. and still, the cry from health care experts for aggressive testing and tracing program to

say nothing of an education program to wear masks in public. those go ignored. larry hogan, the latest republican, to sound the alarm about the lack of presidential leadership writing in a new op-ed in "the washington post," quote, it was clear that waiting around for the president to run the nation's response was hopeless. if we in maryland delayed any longer, we'd be committing our citizens to suffering and death, end quote. one of the parts of the op-ed is that we are where we are because of the, quote, leadership of president trump. that's true. the vice president ended that op-ed saying that the work is, quote, a cause for celebration not the media's fearmongering, unquote. celebration, he said. that's not just embarrassing, that's an outrage. as we now sadly know, after a surge in cases that we saw weeks ago, comes a surge in hospitalizations.

and after that, comes a surge in american deaths which as cnn's erica hill reports is now happening in more than a dozen states. >> reporter: concerned states in florida, 350 now, now outpace france and china company. 95% capacity, icu beds pushed to the limit. >> we cannot allow your hospital system to get overwhelmed, what will happen, unfortunately what happened in new york as people were literally dying in the hallways. >> reporter: as cases surge in florida, governor kemp and banning local officials from mandating masks. >> deeply fro lly frustrated to. we believe the local orders can stand this so we're going to fight this. >> reporter: 30 states requiring face coverings in public. target, cvs and publix, the latest businesses to require

them for customers nationwide. >> science at this point is very clear, wearing a mask can reduce your chance of transmitting covid-19 and acquiring it by five times. >> reporter: 39 states are now moving in the wrong direction. 16 are reporting record hospitalizations, all but two of those seeing a rise in deaths. >> even places that think they're doing quite well right now, they're not. >> reporter: in texas, austin's convention center and this loredo hotel now being prepped for icu/covid-19 patients. two are shares a refrigerated trailer as morgues there reach capacity. >> these are individuals, family members and friends. >> reporter: new analysis from the cdc finds the travel bans from china and europe came too late, especially for new york city. the virus was already here. the northeast hit hard at the start has been holding steady over the past month. new cases in the midwest declining in mid-june have now more than doubled. the west is seeing a similar

spike, while the south has exploded. more than tripling its daily case count. >> unlike other countries, we never got covid-19 under control here. basically, we gave up. >> reporter: but there's a lot of concern, too, about what could be happening in areas like new york state, like new york city where i am, where it's doing well. mayor bill de blasio saying a move to phase four they're really moving cautiously, anywhere that would involve indoor spacing like dining unlikely to get the green light. in new york city, three strikes and you're closed rule for restaurants and bars that are not abiding by social distancing and the covid-19 measures that have been put in place. agreed the violation will result in an immediate loss of their liquor license, jake. >> erica hill in new york. thank you so much. with me now is cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta to talk about this.

sanjay, i want you to listen to what white house press secretary kayleigh mcenany had to say about schools going to online learning and that some risk of covid-19 for children is low and that being back in school can damage their development. >> the president has said unmistakably, he wants school to open, meaning open and full, each and every day in their schools. science did not stand in the way of it. science is on our side here. we encourage localities and states to simply follow the science, open our schools. >> where is the science on this? because i know some of the studies, one of the jamma studies that she referred to, what's your reaction as a physician and parent of three children? >> well, first of all, i don't think you ever want to say the science should not stand in the way of this. i don't know exactly what will she was referring to that or if

she was misspeaking. that sounds like an alternate fact thing there. >> sanjay, i think she was trying to say the science shouldn't stand in the way because the science is on our side. i don't know that all of the science is on their side. certainly, this white house, their respect for science knows bounds, let's put that way. but i think that's what she was getting at. >> yeah, if you look at the criteria, the criteria released by the task force in terms of making these decisions it becomes increasingly clear. i want my kids in school as well. everyone always says that as a preface. it's without a doubt, people want their kids back in school, if possible. the issue, jake, we know that kids aren't as likely to get sick from this coronavirus. that data seems to have held up. what is still unclear. i read the pediatrics commentary, we did a piece on it yesterday, i know the study she's talking about, still

unclear the role of transmission for kids. with the stories they don't seem to transmit very much. we saw what happened in israel. i don't know if we have that graphic, but we saw what happened in a place if schools open up if out of control. take a look. this is the evidence. this is the data. here's the major point, jake, so this doesn't feel vague and nebulous to people. if you live in a community where the community spread has been increasing five days in a row, that's probably an indication you that need to phase things back. probably can't be inside of buildings with ten or more people. obviously, schools would fit that bill. and you have to wait for a 14-day downward trend again. i know people's eyes glaze over when you talk about the numbers that are necessary, the criteria that need to be met. but that's their own criteria. so, i've looked at this data and following it closely. i happen to live in a city where the numbers would not qualify to

open up the schools. i know these are tough decisions but that's what the science is showing. each community say little bit, but the united states, as a whole, most places, is heading in the wrong direction. >> just to be clear, i think when kayleigh mcenany cites that jamma study, she's saying that the risk to children is minimal. and also the risk that children would spread it is minimal. i get that the white house for science is very much about cherry-picking what they like and not about consensus and obviously they've benched a lot of experts and not listened to warnings. but is it that true, is the risk to children very low? and is the risk that children will spread it also very low? it doesn't sound like you're saying that according to that israel graph. >> right, i think the risk of children getting really sick, the data has been pretty consistent on it. it can happen. we've heard obviously, sad

stories of kids getting sick and dying. but that is rare, to be fair. the question of how many transmission occurred as a result of children i think is an open question. it could be that they transmit less but as a result of being in school they have more contacts so it becomes a bit of a wash. you obviously have lots of other people in school, in an indoor setting than our children. the teachers, the faculty. according to the kaiser foundation, about a quarter would be considered vulnerable because of their age or pre-existing conditions. whether or not the children are potentially infecting adults or infecting their household contacts it's still a bit of an open question. jake, keep in mind, your kids, my kids, my guess is, since march have largely been at home. so we don't have a lot of data on this. even if we look at studies of four or five people, typically it includes 40 or 50 people.

so we don't have a lot of data. in addition to what's happening in the community, these schools have to have a plan. what if they start to see a sudden outbreak, an increase in numbers, how are they going to handle that. that's got to be -- they got to rely on the science to make those plans. >> and there's a new study out today, sanjay, showing that hydroxychloroquine did not help nonhospitalized coronavirus patients, this is obviously the drug that the president claims he took. he's often touted it. tell us more about the study. and its significance. >> well, this is another level-1 evident study. meaning it was prospective, randomized and controlled. people might know what all of those terms mean but you look for a certain amount of evidence to evaluate the studies. there's been three studies that have lookinged using hydroxychloroquine as a prophylactic, giving it to healthy. using hydroxychloroquine early

in a course of willingness and using hydroxychloroquine when someone is hospitalized. in all three of those cases with a level-1 evidence it's not shown to be beneficial. in some of those cases it's known as being harmful. jake, out of the henry ford health care center in michigan, saying there seemed to be benefit from hydroxychloroquine. well, there's the data. an observation means you're going back and looking at patients as opposed to going forward in time. in that particular study, for example, when you went back and looked at it, you realized that the patients getting hydroxychloroquine, 80% of them were also receiving a steroid medication which has been shown to be beneficial. so those studies aren't that useful. now, you're left asking was it the hydroxychloroquine or the steroid? observations of studies are done to give you a signal.

basically, hey, we need a better signal now. the studies have been done, jake. the nih has said this should not be used except in trials anymore. same in the uk. we're talking about this one medication a lot. i think it's become a waste of time, frankly. >> yeah. that's because president trump keeps hyping it as well as his praetorian guard in the right wing media. sanjay gupta appreciate it. tune in for a cnn town hall, coronavirus facts and fears with sanjay gupta and dr. tom frieden tonight at 8:00 p.m. on cnn. coming up, breaking the ice, president trump and dr. fauci have now spoken, we're today, after more than a month of silence. but that doesn't mean, of course, president trump is taking a stronger approach to the pandemic. we will discuss. plus, some of us are going to die, that's what one teacher

says she fears if schools resume in-person classes as the president is demanding. stay with us. got it! go time! with freedom unlimited, you're always earning. i should've purchased lighter weights! c'mon pizza's here. whoa! is that shaq? this is my new pizza the shaq-a-roni and it's bigger than pizza because for every shaq-a-roni sold, $1 is donated to the papa john's foundation for building community.

$1 is donated to the papa john's foundation 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. it was 1961 when nellie young lost her devoted husband. without him, things were tough. her last option was to sell her home, but... her home meant everything to her. her husband had been a high school football coach and it turned out, one of his former players came up with an answer. a loan, created just for older homeowners. and pretty soon, nellie young had one of the first reverse mortgages. discover if a reverse mortgage loan is right for you. use it to eliminate monthly mortgage payments and increase cashflow, create an emergency fund, preserve retirement savings and more. call now for your free information kit. that first reverse mortgage loan meant nellie could stay in the home she loved so much, with memories that meant even more. a reverse mortgage loan isn't some kind of trick to take your home.

it's a loan... and it's tax-free cash just when you need it. it's about making your retirement better. call today and find out more in aag's free, no-obligation reverse mortgage loan guide. access tax-free cash and stay in the home you love. of course, you can use it to pay some bills, cover medical costs, update or repair your home. but best of all, it eliminates those monthly mortgage payments so you get more cash in your pocket, every month. learn how you can use a reverse mortgage loan to cover your expenses, pay for healthcare, preserve retirement savings, and so much more. a lots changed since 1961... since then over a million older americans have used a reverse mortgage loan to finance their retirements. it meant so much to nellie, maybe it could mean as much to you... call now and get your free infokit

in our politics lead, president trump and dr. anthony fauci spoke for the first time in over a month which is ridiculous to say even in the news, they should be talking every day. it's hit a boiling point this week. president trump has not attended a coronavirus task force meeting in months, we're told. instead, he's fighting bizarre culture wars including this on his twitter, hawking beans. now as cnn's kaitlan collins reports the president is hoping that firing his campaign manager and hiring a new one will be the solution to his sinking poll numbers. >> reporter: with the u.s. reporting its second highest day of new cases, the white house is insisting president trump is focused on the pandemic, despite having no public event focused

on it. >> the president's routinely focused on the coronavirus. >> reporter: though public health experts and data are in high demand, the trump administration has taken several steps to undermine both. after the administration told hospitals to bypass the cdc and send their covid-19 data directly to washington, some of that data disappeared from the cdc's website. facing criticism for shielding data from public view, the department of health and human services reversed course and told the cdc to put the numbers back online. after days of sustained attacks of dr. anthony fauci by the president's own staff, cnn has learned trump finally spoke to fauci for the first time in weeks. fauci told "instyle magazine" i don't like conflict. it's pretty tough walking a tight rope while trying to get your message out. fauci added sometimes you say

things that are not widely accepted in the white house and that's just a fact of life. today, a republican governor is calling out trump's response to coronavirus. as he detailed his struggle to get supplies in an op-ed in "the washington post," maryland's mayor larry hogan for trump leaving states. after a call in march -- >> i haven't heard about testing in weeks. >> reporter: the white house said, really, it pushed back against governor hogan. >> it stands in stark contrast to what he said on march 19th. >> reporter: instead of changing his behavior because several polls show americans don't approve of his coronavirus response, the president is changing campaign managers. he announced overnight that he's demoting brad parscale and putting bill stepien in his place. the move was widely seen as acknowledgement of trump's diminished standing, though the

white house insisted otherwise. >> we believe this president has great approval in the country. >> reporter: parscale's only response has been this ominous tweet citing the book of roman. bless hose who persecute you, bless and do not krucurse them. now, jake, commenting on brad's departure, a senior white house official told cnn, brad's not the one going off message, brad's not the one refusing to wear a mask. he's not focused, referring to the president, everyone has told him that, nothing has changed. and when asked why brad he's is not doing coronavirus events, kayleigh mcenany said he's working on other things as well and will be doing other things next week and stand by to see if that actually comes to fruition, jake. >> any more plans with the goya beans? any more focus on that -- in the middle of a pandemic, it's very

important that the president pose with cans of goya beans. >> yeah, it's something when you talk to white house officials or even campaign officials as they're talking about what's going to happen going forward, jake, it's something that kind of perplexes them but that is something that the president himself wanted to do. that's why they spent the time putting those cans of beans in the oval office so the president could take that picture and tweet it. >> really an important thing for us to focus on with 137,000 dead americans. kaitlan collins, appreciate it. the mayor of savannah, georgia, is joining us, why he says the governor of his state does not give a damn about us, unquote. to be honest... a little dust?

it never bothered me. until i found out what it actually was. dust mite droppings? ewww. dead skin cells? gross! so now, i grab my swiffer sweeper and heavy duty dusters. dusters has three layers that grab, trap and lock away gross dust. gotcha! and, for dust on my floors, i switch to my sweeper. the textured cloths grab, trap and lock dirt and hair... no matter where dust bunnies hide. no more heebie jeebies. glad i stopped cleaning and started swiffering. curry. cacciatori. chimichurri. fried turkey. blueberry. mcflurry. cheese cake. grilled steak. clam bake. milkshake. we are america's kitchen. doordash. every flavor welcome.

all time low mortgage rates have now dropped even lower. veterans everywhere are refinancing and saving $3,000 a year. by making one call to newday usa. our va streamline refi lets you refi fast, with no income verification, no appraisal, and no money out of pocket. and you can do it all right over the phone. the newday team is standing by right now to take your call. ♪ ♪ [ engines revving ] ♪ ♪

it's amazing to see them in the wild like th-- shhh. for those who were born to ride, there's progressive.

49i found you! good job. now i'm gonna stay here and you go hide. watch your favorites from anywhere in the house with the xfinity stream app. free with your xfinity service. now any room can be a tv room. stream live tv, on demand shows and movies even your dvr recordings. download the xfinity stream app today to stream the entertainment you love. xfinity. the future of awesome.

in our national lead today, immediate backlash after gaga's republican governor brian kemp banned cities in his state from mandating the wearing of masks in public. the mayor of savannah tweeted, quote, it is officially official, governor kemp does not give a damn about us. every man or woman for himself/herself. ignore the science and survive the best you can, unquote.

governor kemp, characteristically declined our invitation to complain why he is keeping mayor in the state from saving lives of their citizens. but the mayor of savannah joins us live. savannah is in chatham county which just reported the highest ub of coronavirus hospitalizations since this pandemic began. mayor johnson. thanks for joining us. beyond that tweet, what was your reaction when you heard the decision from governor kemp? >> i was furious, i was absolutely at a loss for words, because here we are fighting to get in front of the coronavirus. we're doing the best we can, day in and day out. not only are we fighting coronavirus on one hand, it appears as if we're fighting our state on the other hand. it made absolutely no sense to me. that at a time where our corporate giants are mandating masks, where the state of alabama is mandating masks. the state of florida, about 120

miles south of us is the hot spot of the nation, that our governor would not only do an emergency order, but specifically stop cities across the state of georgia from doing what we can to protect our folks. it didn't make sense to me. >> mayor of athens county said he's going to try to fight the government in court, presumably, will you join him? >> oh, we're going to do what we can to protect sa van ivannahia jake. this is a fight for our lives. and it's tool important. all reports say wearing masks slow the spread of covid-19. we're going to do all we can to protect our businesses. this is what this is all about. it has nothing to do with politics. it's about protecting our folks. >> the governor is encouraging people to wear masks. he's just not allowing to you

mandate it. has he explained it at all? i mean, why shouldn't you be allowed to do what 36 states have done, including alabama, mandating masks in public, so as to protect people? >> from guidance that was given by the cdc which is located in atlanta, georgia. the reality of it for us, jake, it makes perfect good sense on july 1st, savannah was the first city in georgia to mandate masks. on july 2nd, the governor said he would not challenge it because i think we all agree that wearing a mask was a significant way to be able to slow the spread. and then late last night, about two hours before his current order was scheduled to expire. we get this, no explanation. nothing else. >> so, i've heard anecdotally that there are a lot of business owners throughout the country who want there could be either city or state mandates for masks because they don't like having to take the heat for it, for

telling customers to take the step. especially nonchains. as you point out there are chain stores that are requiring this across the country. but local stores, they don't want to get the heat. is that what you're hearing from your business owners in savannah? >> absolutely. it makes perfectly good sense if it's mandated by law it makes it easy, it provides them cover to be able to refuse service based on someone else unwillingness to wear a mask. we're just doing what we can to protect our wonderful city of our residents that lives here. really just hand cuffs us. and this is not the time to be fighting each other. we should be focused on fighting the virus. >> savannah mayor van johnson, thank you for being with us. we appreciate it. >> thank you so much. i appreciate you. russian hacker, at it again. apparently, they're targeting coronavirus research companies. what's the info they're looking for? that's next. how about poor fred wilson?

what a shame. so soon after retiring. i hear his wife needed help with the funeral expenses. that's ridiculous! -he had social security. -when my brother died, his wife received a check from social security, all right-- for $255! the funeral costs were well over $8,000. how on earth did she pay for it? fortunately, my brother bought additional life insurance -before he retired. -whew! i bet that cost a pretty penny, huh? not with colonial penn. coverage options start at just $9.95 a month. less than 35 cents a day. i have it myself. -we both do. -both of you? neither of us had to answer any health questions or take a physical exam. in fact, no one our age can be turned down.

for any health reason. your rates go up every year, right? no, not at all. friends keep telling friends about guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance from colonial penn life insurance company. with this coverage, your premium never increases for any reason, and your benefit won't decrease simply because you grow older. options start at just $9.95 a month. to find out more, call now. (male announcer) call now and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner and this free prescription savings card.

in our world lead today, russian hackers are apparently at it again, this time, trying to steal coronavirus vaccine research. that comes today from u.s., british and canadian intelligence. the hacking groups go by cozybear and the dukes, two cyber security firms. more formally, they're called

apt29 or advanced persistent threat. i want to bring some security correspondent alex marquardt, what are they trying to get? >> we should note that apt29 was part of a group. going after intelligence around the vaccine for covid-19. that they were targeting research and development around the vaccine, around vaccine work for the coronavirus. i want to read you part of the advisory that these three countries put out today. they wrote throughout 2020, apt 29 has targeted various organizations involved in covid-19 vaccine developments in u.s., canada and the united kingdom, highly likely with the intention of stealing information and intellectual property related to testing of covid-19 vaccines. they did it using malware and

what's called spear-phishing. and they did not name the victims though a national agency here in the u.s. did note that apt29 or cozy bear does have a long history of targeting diplomatic, think tank organizations, jake. >> the russian organization behind various attacks in the last five or six years. there's the ukraine invasion to annex crimea in 2014, bashar al assad in 2015. russia interfered in the french election in 2016, the election in 2017, and poisoning of a former spy in the uk. and russia interfered in the uk election last year and on and on. is there any doubt that the russian government is directly tied to this latest hack on coronavirus research center? >> they're highly concern that this group is tied to the russian intelligence services.

they say as much in the advisory. this is called attribution, jake. they're attributing this attack to russia. these intelligence institutions don't do that unless there's a high level of certainty. in fact, the british put numbers on it, they said 90% chance that cozy bear is part of russian intelligence. that there's an 80% to 90% chance that cozy bear is going after vaccine research. they're quite sure it's tied to russian interaction. and back in may, the russians also accusing china of similar attacks. jake. >> alex marquardt, thank you very much. money lead, new unemployment figures show another 1.3 million americans filed for benefits last week. nearly 1 in 3 workers in the u.s. have now filed for claims at least once since the pandemic began. americans at american airlines

learned that their paychecks are in peril. the airline sent warning notices to 25,000 that they could be furloughed july 31st. and both accepted government bailouts to help prevent layoffs through september. despite the president pushing for in-class personing none of the nation's 26 districts have announced plans to do so. i'm going to talk to the largest school district in the u.s., next. stay with us. stock slices. for as little as $5, now anyone can own companies in the s&p 500, even if their shares cost more. at $5 a slice, you could own ten companies for $50 instead of paying thousands. all commission free online. schwab stock slices: an easy way to start investing or to give the gift of stock ownership.

schwab. own your tomorrow. who've got their eczema under control. with less eczema, you can show more skin. so roll up those sleeves. and help heal your skin from within with dupixent. dupixent is the first treatment of its kind that continuously treats moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis, even between flare ups. dupixent is a biologic, and not a cream or steroid. many people taking dupixent saw clear or almost clear skin, and, had significantly less itch. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. so help heal your skin from within, and talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent.

if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. if your financial situation has changed, you know when your dog is itching for an outing... or itching for some cuddle time. but you may not know when he's itching for help... licking for help... or rubbing for help. if your dog does these frequently. they may be signs of an allergic skin condition that needs treatment. don't wait. talk to your veterinarian and learn more at itchingforhelp.com.

the course structure the it just suits my life perfectly because i am a mom, i'm a wife. and i was able to complete those short courses- five to six weeks- and then move onto the next until i reached my goal.

in our national lead, while the white house insists that schools are perfectly safe to reopen, none of the nation's 20 largest school districts have committed to 100% in-person learning for the start of the school year. among them, new york city, the country's largest school district with 1.1 million students where mayor bill de blasio is proposing partial reopening in september, with students in classrooms, only a maximum of three days a week. but the final decision will ultimately lie by democratic governor andrew cuomo who will says he will announce reopening of schools first week of august. any decisions on the school year this far out, he said that was reckless. joining me now is the chancellor for new york city's department

of education. is governor cuomo right, is it reckless to make a decision now in july when the school year opens -- when do you guys open? september? >> september 10th is the first day of school. there's a lot of time between now and september 10th. i think we have to be very cautious and conservative and follow the science in terms what the medical experts are telling us day to day, week to week, what the conditions are to make that call. >> well, it's interesting that you bring that up, the white house press secretary today said that schools should reopen and that the science is on their side. she pointed to one study from the journal of the american medical association. what do you think, is the science on the side of saying schools should 100% reopen? >> because i was taught to read in school, i've read the reports, the science is not on our side. i think it's very important to

understand that this virus acts and mutates and presents itself very differently, in different scenarios. i think the next thing we're going to hear that the avengers are coming and going to cleanse us of covid. listen, we're going to follow the medical advice when it's safe to be back learning. we're following science, not science fiction. >> you have 1.1 million students in your school district, how could you possibly maintain distancing in schools? >> well, given the medical advice and the social distancing, you know that we have to do, it's impossible to have 100% of our 1.1 million students in the same bidding on the sa building on the same day because we just don't have the space for that. so, because of that, we've developed by a lot of input from principals, teachers, communities and obviously the medical experts, several models which some schools may be able

to get 50% of their students adhering to the medical advice distancing requirements at one time. some schools, because they're much smaller, some of our schools are over 100 years old so they may be only able to get a third of their students in. that means, that the model, based on the schoolal don'ts, based on their circumstances some schools will be in school two or three days in person. and then remote earning the rest of the week. so we know this is not the best case scenario, we're really working with a portfolio of onerous choices and choosing the least of the onerous choices. >> it's tough, we all want the kids to be safe and happy out of the house. according to data, 7% of students economically

disadvantaged. 10% are homeless. how could students possibly learn from home, if they don't have access to online learning tools, don't have computers. don't have wi-fi. in some cases, don't even have homes. >> so, jake, that's what keeps all of us, the teachers, the principals, myself up at night. because we understand that. our teachers and principals work with our students in those circumstances every single day. and believe me, i've heard from them. and that's why they want to be able to be back in an inperson learning environment. however, we're not going to sacrifice the health and safety of our students, our families or our teachers to do that. we have to do it on a medical safe way based on the scientific evidence. that being said, we are prioritizing our students with the most, you mentioned students with disabilities, or students with problems with housing or

homeless students and students with needs for attention, so we're prioritizing those students and have models for those students but again, this is not an ideal situation. and the flexibility that we're all going to need to do, to be able to serve those students within the guidelines and the requirements of safe, in-person learning is what we're basing all of our plans on. and it shifts on a weekly basis, sometimes, a daily basis, based on the circumstances and what's happening. not only in new york city, but around the world in terms of the permutations that this virus has had. >> not to mention, of course, all of the competing health interests having to do with kids not getting an education, an increase in suicidal ideation, an increase in drug and alcohol abuse, on and on, an impossible, impossible series of decisions and choices for people like you. thank you so much. really appreciate it. stay in touch. we'd like to talk more to you as

we get closer to the opening of the school day. >> absolutely, jake. thank you. more on our national lead as racial tensions continue to playing the nation, w. ckamau bell and his mother look back on his racism. with a simple trip to the drugstore. it's in the recent "united shades of america." >> i was very conscious about that, i remember when you were a little guy, 6, 7 years old. there was a drugstore near us. we would shop there, as soon as we walked in the store, the store detective would follow us. i said, be really careful, and i pointed out the store detective because we were always being watched. >> i remember that lesson, it sticks to this day. so much so i'm aware now, even as a fully grown adult where my

hands are. and as a kid, i was worried because i didn't want to be arrested. now, i become worried because i don't want to be killed. >> yeah. >> the emmy-award winning "united shades of america" premieres here at 10:00 p.m. on sunday on cnn. coming up with states taking the lead with the absence from the white house we're taking a look at two governors who had two very different strategies. stay with us. ...with rinvoq. rinvoq a once-daily pill... ...can dramatically improve symptoms... rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. and for some... rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. that's rinvoq relief. with ra, your overactive immune system attacks your joints. rinvoq regulates it to help stop the attack. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious infections and blood clots, sometimes fatal, have occurred...

...as have certain cancers, including lymphoma, and tears in the stomach or intestines, and changes in lab results. your doctor should monitor your bloodwork. tell your doctor about any infections... and if you are or may become pregnant while taking rinvoq. take on ra talk to your rheumatologist about rinvoq relief. rinvoq. make it your mission. if you can't afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. if you can't afford your medicine, you've been avoiding. like people... and pants.ings but don't avoid taking care of your eyes, because we're here to safely serve you with new procedures that exceed cdc guidelines and value your time. visionworks. see the difference.

how abowhat a shame.wilson? so soon after retiring. i hear his wife needed help with the funeral expenses. that's ridiculous! -he had social security. -when my brother died, his wife received a check from social security, all right-- for $255! the funeral costs were well over $8,000.

how on earth did she pay for it? fortunately, my brother bought additional life insurance -before he retired. -whew! i bet that cost a pretty penny, huh? not with colonial penn. coverage options start at just $9.95 a month. less than 35 cents a day. i have it myself. -we both do. -both of you? neither of us had to answer any health questions or take a physical exam. in fact, no one our age can be turned down. for any health reason. your rates go up every year, right? no, not at all. friends keep telling friends about guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance from colonial penn life insurance company. with this coverage, your premium never increases for any reason, and your benefit won't decrease simply because you grow older. options start at just $9.95 a month. to find out more, call now. (male announcer) call now and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner and this free prescription savings card.

in our national lead, two states, about the same population, moving into radically different directions in terms of coronavirus. cnn's alexandra field took a very interesting look at how the governors of connecticut and mississippi responded to the coronavirus surge. and how they set their states on wildly different courses. >> reporter: if every state is now a covid case study, connecticut counts as an early

model for success getting control of a surge back in april. >> positivity rate continues to be under 1%. and one more fatality, damn it. but we are making progress. >> reporter: mississippi is a different story, dealing with the surge that has been devastating the south since june. >> we continue to be in a dangerous position. i'm telling you, it's real. it's deadly. and it is getting worse. not better. >> reporter: the two states have similar size populations, but their daily covid case numbers have been near opposites. toward the end of may, connecticut and mississippi had nearly the same number of new daily cases. that's when they made critically different decisions. in connecticut -- >> i think we can proceed on a very thoughtful basis, with those businesses that are least likely to be dangerous. >> reporter: in mississippi -- >> all businesses will be open. freedom with risk is better than a prolonged shutdown. >> reporter: fast-forward to july. >> we're seeing a growth here because, i think, in large part, a refusal to listen to the

science. a refusal to follow advice of health care professionals. >> reporter: hospitals in mississippi are stressed according to state officials. this week, mississippi reported its highest number of covid hpghpgs hospitalizations since the first case was confirmed in march. masks are now mandatory in 13 of the state's 82 counties, the governor is encouraging use statewide. in connecticut where they battled the you recaearly surge >> the numbers were doubling every few days. and how we were able to pull out of it and didn't get the right message. they got the message that, oh, maybe this wasn't that bad. >> reporter: connecticut's slow opening is yielding progress. >> slow storms but this is one lingering. >> reporter: ralph's restaurant is open, plans to reopen

restaurants are on pause. >> i kind of felt that was going to happen, seeing the numbers going up in other states. >> reporter: at the orange theory fitness studio in norwalk classes are back but taking extra steps. >> we're able to open at 50% capacity, we decided to go with 33% capacity so we could have 12 feet of space in between everybody working out in the class. >> reporter: jake, here in connecticut, there's still no signs of complacency, they're enforcing quarantines from travelers from 42 states. they're expanding the absentee ballots to keep the election safe. and getting ready to take on the biggest challenge of all, for students back to school. jake. >> just moments ago, sadly the number of people who died until the u.s. from the pandemic crossed the threshold of

138,000. we want to remember one them, a veteran. started a food delivery project during the pandemic. he contracted coronavirus in june. he died 12 days later. may his memory be a blessing. our coverage on cnn continues right now. this is cnn breaking news. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. 500,000 additional cases in a week. the death toll has passed 138,000. cases are on the rise in