atlanta erupted. the wendy's was torched. atlanta's police chief resigned. tomika miller is the victim's widow. she pleaded for rolfe to stay behind bars. >> and i say no. if he is released, i don't know where my mental state will be. >> reporter: rolfe faces 11 charges, including felony murder. he could face life in prison without parole. his lawyers today argued successfully he was no flight risk. >> if he's not entitled to bond, i don't know who is. >> reporter: outside the jail, blue lives matter supporters waited for rolfe's release, but outside the courthouse, protesters were furious he'll go free. rolfe will have to wear an ankle monitor and can't have any contact with atlanta police officers. contact with atlanta po the next milestone in his legal case will be for a grand jury to consider whether to indict him, and that won't happen until early next year. lajor. early ne >> garrett: mark strassmann, gank you. the white house says president trump has now been briefed on intelligence suggesting a russian plot to pay terrorists in afghanistan to kill u.

meaning a stay-at-home order for atlanta residents. saying that georgia reopened with, quote, reckless -- in a reckless manner. this, certainly drawing some fire from the states. republican governor who calls that unenforceable. but really, when you look back and just take a wider look here. georgia seeing a surge. there's california, texas, and definitely florida. >> the nation's top infectious disease expert, dr. anthony fauci, telling the world that the u.s. is at an historic point in the covid pandemic. >> as you can see, from this slide, here, my own country, the united states, as i'm sure we'll be able to discuss a little bit more, is in the middle right now, even as we speak, in a very serious problem. >> fauci issued the blunt, new warning during the international aids conference as the coronavirus rages on. florida continues to grapple with skyrocketing daily covid numbers and hospitalizations. in miami-dade county, the test positivity rate surpassed 33% this week. >> we have 1,800 people and covid patients now. that's the hig

clark atlanta university is a great school. as a matter of fact, my wife worked there for several years. we would welcome you. i have an honorary degree from clark also. if i can be of any help, you let me know. there's a lot of history there about the old south and the new south, so it would be a great place to study. several other schools there. in the clark atlanta university center, there are several schools like spelman and morehouse and nearby is georgia tech and emory and georgia state. and there's several other colleges and universities. so it is a great place to study. >> good morning, congressman. my name is timothy wilson. i'm a senior at eastern. recently some of the city leaders have come out in support of vouchers. with you being a supporter of public education what are your , views on that? rep. lewis: i was very disappointed to see see some of the city leaders in washington, council members and others -- i don't want to get involved in local politics. but i'm not a supporter of vouchers. i happen to believe in p

atlanta. oregon. los angeles. d.c. start here at 2020census.gov. >>> european union leaders have agreed on a massive aid package to stimulate their economies hit hard by the pandemic. after five days of talks, leaders agree on a budget of more than $2 trillion which includes nearly $860 billion in grants and loans. in the u.s., senate republicans are apparently at odds with the trump administration over key elements they want in the next stimulus deal. that includes funding for covid-19 tests and a payroll tax cut. cnn's john defterios is here to discuss both these issues. good to see you, john. let's start with the european union. it's calling this an historic deal but wasn't it credibility on the line to get something done here? >> reporter: i think so, rosemary. failure was not an option in this case. that's why they work to the wee hours of this morning. they signed this at just past 5 a.m. central european time, so they needed to walk away with a deal. it did take compromise on the total $2 trillion deal. it was 2

a group of armed men randomly blocked their car in atlanta. two gunmen opened fire. the eight year old girl was killed. >> this is about some people carrying some weapons who shot up a car with an eight-year-old baby in the car. for what? >> reporter: new york city on sunday alone had 30 shootings. 48 people were shot. hem killeem killed. philadelphia had 17 separate shootings on july 4. chicago called out 1,200 extra cops for the holiday weekend. 87 people were shot, 17 fatally including seven year old natalia wallace. >> i saw my baby laying here. i will never be the same again. >> reporter: crossfire hit the little girl standing outside her nally in washington. finally in washington, d.c., 11 year old davon mcneel's mother oranized an antiviolen killed the youth football star. >> it's going to be another young kid that is going to be shot and killed if we don't get out here and try to put a dent in this or stop it completely. >> reporter: here in atlanta there were 31 gunshot victims over the holiday weekend. georgia's governor declared a state of emergency becaus

about off boaters are back on the water and nobody's wearing a mask in downtown atlanta and across the entire state a growing number of shops and restaurants are reopening back in business and at work by order of the governor but not so fast. deacon a county atlanta if you drive a fairly common sign these days we're told that predominantly affluent african-americans live here however today long lines of cars from the parking lot again for a box of vegetables and a bag of frozen chicken breasts her car and household. what's going on but. i got you know to find out ok i'll give you this is john beals he's a chef and used to have a thriving catering business then called with 1000 hits all right on a corner selling barbecue feel says the state's decision to loosen restrictions early and widely means he can work and feed just family but of course he knows about the potential health risks and that makes him feel uneasy. now how can you open a country where no peer it's lights in a people out to discount to see what happens if so many words like guinea pig african-americans living in atlanta

i met johnna came to atlanta miles and i came to atlanta on the same day. she came to work at the university atlanta university. i came to work with martin luther king jr. we were at the christian leadership conference and that is where i met john. i saw him all the time we were involved in the same quest, for equity and justice in america. i saw him all the time. and, i admired his fervor. i admired his tenacity. lillian was single. and so, i decided that lillian needed a good man. not just the bums who were approaching her. she was highly intellectual. she was well educated and well traveled. i want her to have someone who really would appreciate skills and her talent. so i looked around, and i decided that i liked john. but lillian did not like john, particularly. she thought he was kind of slow. i said, lillian he is busy. he is fighting the evils of the world. and she said, yes, but i decided, girl, listened as boys going places. let's see what he can do, to get this thing moving. so we decided, but i did as her friend, that is what you do for friends.

had to be here listen to what she told me >> john was a very good friend we are very active in the atlanta -- and he was more like a brother to me. than a friend. so, i was in complete shock when i found out that he had passed so i just keep him in my prayers and thank god for having known him because it was truly a blessing >> and that's really the message here, alex i want you to look at the sign it says thank you, mr. john lewis. we got this. it was left by a 4-year-old boy. i spoke to his mother. she said she had him out here when george floyd tie died and he's here again for john lewis because she wants him to remember this moment in history and all that's going on and really calling on him to pick up the mantle that john lewis leaves behind and carry that on. >> i love that sign. we've got this and we're going to get this done in honor of him and so many others before him. thank you so much from atlanta appreciate that. >>> the last public appearance by john lewis was at the black lives matter plaza in washington, d.c., last month and his long standing friend and confidant, james cly

in atlanta georgia. we been doing a whole series of educational programs that fall under Ãbworking for social justice and encouraging the expression of diverse and marginalized voices. all through these virtual formats. we feel very fortunate that we have the privilege of talking to authors all over the country during this time. we feel that it's really significant we continue to do the programming we already have scheduled because folks need history as we move through this historic time. there's really no i can become no better book to help us focus on the movement for black lives were needs right now. if were white and want to contribute to the movement of black lives can do that now. we have the editor here michael long and pamela horowitz who is julian bond's lifelong curator. she is having technical difficulties but Ãbmake yourself at home. we will get to some question and answer in the chat but please keep your cell phone on you. you can turn your camera on commuter enough to turn your camera on,

notme start by saying i did grow up in a big city like washington, new york or atlanta. or los angeles or chicago. i grew up on a farm 50 miles from montgomery, near a little place called troy in southeast alabama. my father was a sharecropper, attentive farmer. -- a tenant farmer. father savedur, my $300 and bought 110 acres of land. my 88-year-old mother is still living on this land. ofthis farm, there is a lot corn, peanuts, cows, and chickens. mya young kid, it was responsibility to care for the chickens. i fell in love with raising chickens like no one else. do you know anything about raising chickens? let me tell you what i had to do as a young boy growing up in alabama in the 40's. taking fresh eggs, mark them with a pencil, place them under the setting hen, and wait for them to hatch. i know some of you students are going to say, why did you mark those eggs with a pencil? from time to time, another hen could get on the same nest, and there would be more eggs. it would be to tell fresh eggs from eggs already under the setting hen. and giveake the chicks them to an

welcome to the atlanta gateway. 96 gateways that we operate across america and as you know, atlanta is the u.p.s., so s for we're honored to be hosting today's meeting with mr. president. welcome to u.p.s. i would also like to give a warm welcome to secretary chow and secretary purdue, and, of and all overnor kemp, of the state and federal legislators and delegates who us today.ith please give them a warm welcome. [applause] [applause] >> u.p.s. is a company of almost 500,000 dedicated employees. we deliver packages in more than territories.s and ur u.p.s. automobiles, our package cars put on nearly four billion miles every year. that's billion with a "b." operate the ninth largest airline in the world. u.p.s.ers deliver andntial goods to americans people across the world. we're honored to do that. couldn't do that if we didn't have infrastructure. ability to serve our customers, our ability to our ability to run an environmental responsible company, it wouldn't be possible a strong infrastructure and that's why we're so elighted to have president trump here today to talk to us about i

. >>> also the showdown over masks intensifying, georgia's governor suing atlanta's mayor for requiring them, how she's firing back. >>> california ordering most of its schools to stay closed, the nation's third largest district chicago revealing a hybrid learning plan, teachers on edge, one saying it's time to update her will. >>> there's news tonight from a supreme court, justice ruth bader ginsburg, her new health battle. >>> the major action by the pentagon involving the confederate flag after president trump defending it as freedom of speech. >>> sexual harassment against former employees of washington's nfl team, how the owner is responding. >>> and the world war ii veteran whose journey inspired the world receiving high honors today from the queen. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening, everyone, is it time to push the covid lockdown button again? late today at least parts of florida lowering the boom with curfews, closed bars and restaurants. florida is one of 18 states quietly identified by the white house as being in deep trouble, an unrel

. >> we actually have some breaking news on atlanta's reopening plans. let's get to josh lipton for more >> there's real tension breaking out here between the mayor of atlanta and the governor of georgia. so the mayor of that night is preparing to roll back the city's reopening plans as coronavirus cases surge, that the city will go back to phase one. that's where all residents are ordered to stay home except for essential trips. atlanta entered phase two at the end of may however the governor of georgia firing back saying that her action is non-binding and legally unenforceable. saying she should start enforcing state restrictions tough words being exchanged between the mayor of atlanta and the governor of georgia trying to deal with these surging coronavirus cases there. >> the atlanta mayor notable in recent days because she tested positive for coronavirus herself. psychologically for the markets, we've seen this sort of rollback of reopening plans at this point. does this put a damper on the market or do you think the market has come to accept that t

but my focus remains on atlanta. but my focus also is making sure that people recognize how important leadership from the top is. and that is why it's so important that we have joe biden elected president. this president has failed us at every single turn. he's failed us with the economy. he's failed us with covid. he's failed us in even speaking hope and reason to the american people. joe biden has led us through recovery before. and i know that he will do it again when he is elected in november. >> we have to leave it there, thank you very much, madam mayor, and all our wishes for a speedy recovery for your whole family, especially your husband right now. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. >>> right now in new york city, workers are painting a black lives matter mural on fifth avenue right in front of the trump tower. donald trump has called that a symbol of hate as thousands around the country call for criminal justice and police reform. next we'll speak to general colin powell about race in america and a

he's in atlanta. he's take a great deal of interest in music and also in politics, but he didn't want to run for any office. brian: how much of atlanta do you represent? rep. lewis: in the present district, i represent all of the city of atlanta, the entire city. well, most of the colleges, like georgia tech, georgia state university, morehouse, spelman, morris brown, clark, atlanta university, but also represent emory, cdc, major corporations are all in the district. it's a wonderful district, wonderful people. brian: let me read from your book in the introduction. "remember how we thought the election of president obama meant we had finally created a post-racial america, a place where the problems that have haunted us for a long were finally silenced? nobody says that anymore. we no longer dwell on that daydream. we were shaken to realism by the harshness of what we have witnessed in the last few years, the vilification of president obama, the invisibility of the sick and poor murder at the holocaus

you have to be proactive but there was never a plane in atlanta. governor brian kemp was there adamant about getting involved when he saw the local was not taking necessary steps. i wanted him to step in. can you imagine if he had stepped in a week ago, a young baby girl would have been alive when you have individuals taking over a particular area, doing a card check and now police involved to address that and putting up barricades. they saw that happen in other cities. this was to shut it down. that was her. she should have been asking for some assistance. it was a local issue. when you make a political decision based on public safety that is dangerous. >> do you think that is what this is with the mayor of atlanta making a political decision to push back against governor kemp's call to bring in the national guard? >> when you look at the circumstances this has been going on for several weeks. the police chief resigned although there is an acting police chief but mother's day speeches don't get it. these are criminals, their arms, their weapon ice

but john lewis freedom parkway stretches across this part of atlanta. there's a multistory mural of him. there aren't many members of congress that have that honor. but of course he was more. what is the city of atlanta losing by this loss of congressman lewis? >> we're losing a friend. and for so many of us in atlanta, congressman lewis is this larger-than-life icon, he is a person we would see in the grocery store and drugstore and who would stop and take pictures endlessly. and made everybody feel so much special. so, for all of us, we're losing a corner stone of our community but he loved so much with us and that was for us to keep up the good fight and not grow weary and not be bdis mayed by all we see in this country, but stand and fight and do it because it's the right thing to do. and i am so full and so grateful for him. it is certainly a loss for our city. i was in high school when he was elected to congress. it was the first congressional race that i watched intently. >> and i think it's important to high height it's not just a loss for the b

atlanta erupted. the wendy's was torched.a'ce ch. tomika miller is the victim's widow. she pleaded for rolfe to stay behind bars. >> and i say no. if he is released, i don't know where my mental state will be. >> reporter: rolfe faces 11 charges, including felony murder. he could face life in prison without parole. his lawyers today argued successfully he was no flight risk. >> if he's not entitled to bond, i don't know who is. >> reporter: outside the jail, blue lives matter supporters waited for rolfe's release, but outside the courthouse, protesters were furious he'll go free. rolfe will have to wear an ankle monitor and can't have any contact with atlanta police officers. contact with atlanta po the next milestone in his legal case will be for a grand jury to consider whether to indict him, and that won't happen until early next year. lajor. early ne >> garrett: mark strassmann, gank you. the white house says president trump has now been briefed on intelligence suggesting a russian plot to pay terrorists in afghanistan to kill u.s. troops. today, democrats, includin

our natasha chen is in atlanta for us. natasha, what are you hearing about this, i guess, you could call us a turf war of sorts between georgia's governor and atlanta's mayor? >> reporter: it is, ana, a turf war, and what it does is create some confusion for people who live here. and that's something that we saw also at the beginning of this pandemic with different jurisdictions, different leaders calling for different levels of restrictions. let's talk about what phase one actually means here in atlanta. rolling back would mean staying at home unless you have essential trips to go out of the house, wearing a mask in public, going to curbside and takeout only again for restaurants and retail, and teleworking from home. now, remember, even when georgia started reopening restaurants, there were a lot of atlanta businesses that, by choice, decided not to. they hung on a little bit longer before doing so. so, i am still -- i'm reaching out to some restaurants and seeing what they're choosing to do now in atlanta. and remember,

a lot off boaters are back on the water and nobody's reading a mess in downtown atlanta and across the entire state a growing number of shops and restaurants are reopening back in business and at work by order of the governor but not so fast with deacon a county atlanta a food drive a fairly common sign these days we're told that predominantly affluent african-americans live here however today long lines of cars from the parking lot again for a box of vegetables and a bag of frozen chicken breasts or car and household. that's going to be. good i don't know if i don't get a look at you this is john beals he's a chef and used to have a thriving catering business then called 1000 hits on a corner selling barbecue feel says the state's decision to loosen restrictions early and widely means he can work and feed just family but of course he knows about the potential health risks and it makes him feel uneasy. now how can you open a country with no cure it's like seeing the people out to discount to see what happens is so many words like guinea pig african-americans living in atlanta historica

atlanta erupted. police chis was torched. atlanta's police chief resigned. tomika miller is the victim's widow. she pleaded for rolfe to stay behind bars. >> and i say no. if he is released, i don't know where my mental state will be. >> reporter: rolfe faces 11 charges, including felony murder. he could face life in prison without parole. his lawyers today argued successfully he was no flight risk. >> if he's not entitled to bond, i don't know who is. >> reporter: outside the jail, blue lives matter supporters waited for rolfe's release, but outside the courthouse, protesters were furious he'll go free. rolfe will have to wear an ankle monitor and can't have any contact with atlanta police officers. the next milestone in his legal case will be for a grand jury to consider whether to indict him, and that won't happen until early next year. anjor. the white house says president trump has now been briefed on intelligence suggesting a russian plot to pay terrorists in afghanistan to kill u.s. troops. today, democrats, including joe biden, pounced, saying the pr

i'm victor blackwell in atlanta. >> and i'm john king in washington. we bid farewell to a hero today, a civil rights icon and legendary congressman whose path to history began in troy, alabama preaching to chickens. the life of john lewis will be celebrated by three former presidents, bill clinton and george w. bush will deliver tribute and then barack obama will eulogize the man he says made his historic election possible. >> the family is now arriving at historic enkneeser baptist church here in atlanta. this is the home church of his mentor, the late reverend dr. martin luther king jr., also the home turf of the congressman himself. churches across the country will soon ring their bells to honor the late congressman. >> and in normal times where victor blackwell is today we would see an overflowing crowd, inside and outside but because of the code of 19 precautions only 240 people allow inside, half of them lewis family members. victor setting the scene for us. >> reporter: yeah, john, 240 people inside, but there are scores of people outside, a lit

diane gallagher, appreciate the live reporting in atlanta. let's move on to colorado and a current change of heart when it comes to masks there. the state mandating mask if you're in a public public space and cannot keep yourself safe from others. the governor of colorado resisted a mandate until now because you had doubts that it could be easily enforced. i want to be clear to your viewers you've talked about selfish bastards who won't wear a mask, told people they should wear a mask and why did you decide after being reticent that you're going to go into mandate? >> we had had about 60% of our state including den per, layer per county and boulder county that had municipal or mandatory mask mandates for several weeks or months now and what we found that changed my opinion very clear. the areas with mask requirements had is a% to 20% more people who wore masks and even more importantly they had substantially recused spread in the areas where the mask requirements were, so i decided it's pretty obvious, you know, what the other 40% of our stat

a group of armed men randomly blocked their car in atlanta. two gunmen opened fire. the eight year old girl was killed. >> this is about some people carrying some weapons who shot up a car with an eight-year-old baby in the car. for what? >> reporter: new york city on sunday alone had 30 shootings. 48 people were shot. hem killeem killed. philadelphia had 17 separate shootings on july 4. chicago called out 1,200 extra cops for the holiday weekend. 87 people were shot, 17 fatally including seven year old natalia wallace. >> i saw my baby laying here. i will never be the same again. >> reporter: crossfire hit the little girl standing outside her nally in washington. finally in washington, d.c., 11 year old davon mcneel's mother oranized an antiviolence cookout. a stray bullet to his head killed the youth football star. >> it's going to be another young kid that is going to be shot and killed if we don't get out here and try to put a dent in this or stop it completely. >> reporter: here in atlanta there were 31 gunshot victims over the holiday weekend. georgia's governo

overwhelmingly, people in atlanta support a mask mandate. so it's a waste of taxpayer money. >> reporter: wolf, look, here in georgia, we are seeing still record numbers of new cases, new deaths, and new hospitalizations. a member of the governor's own task force this morning said that they have seen a 39% increase just this week in hospitalizations across georgia. so, it's bad here. >> and it looks like it's getting a whole lot worse. thank you very much. joining us now, the mayor of athens, georgia. thanks so much for joining us. your colleague, the mayor of savannah responded to all this news of the lawsuit by saying this. it is officially official, governor kemp does not give a damn about us. how do you feel? >> mayor johnson's a great friend and a great colleague. and the governor again over and over has said this is a matter of economic needs. well, i'm here to say that if you want the economy to be strong, you need healthy people. and we know that the way to get healthy people is to put the simple tools in place that are going to keep

that's a plug for atlanta, since i know we all have to be pro-atlanta here. i'm from chattanooga, so i was just over the state line. >> you're right up the road. >> i hope you'll smuggle me through customs. the motto was, we're going to redeem the soul of america. >> that's right. >> and that's what john lewis lived and died to do. >> let me just let our audience know that's ethyl may tiner, john lewis' other sister who is speaking now. before we go to her, i want to say, i appreciate your point, jon meacham about the continuum of what we're seeing. actually, let's listen in to her for a second to see what she's saying. >> when the clouds would come over the sun, he would start singing and breapreaching. and there's a song he would always start with. ♪ there's a dark cloud arising, let's go home, let's go home ♪ and he was also afraid of thunder and lightning, but he stood by. he always was a fighter. and you know, now, when i look at all of the accolades and pictures that i see all the time and i think about where he came from humble, always. and i don't

he's in atlanta. he's take a great deal of interest in music and also in politics, but he didn't want to run for any office. brian: how much of atlanta do you represent? rep. lewis: in the present district, i represent all of the city of atlanta, the entire city. well, most of the colleges, like georgia tech, georgia state university, morehouse, spelman, morris brown, clark, atlanta university, but also represent emory, cdc, major corporations are all in the district. it's a wonderful district, wonderful people. brian: let me read from your book in the introduction. "remember how we thought the election of president obama meant we had finally created a post-racial america, a place where the problems that have haunted us for a long were finally silenced? nobody says that anymore. we no longer dwell on that daydream. we were shaken to realism by the harshness of what we have witnessed in the last few years, the vilification of president obama, the invisibility of the sick and poor, murder at the holocau

we love atlanta. and so, killer mike and t.i. worked on my transition when i went into office. but -- and i could probably name ten other celebrities in atlanta who have reached out and said, "what is it that i could do to help?" so this is not the first time that killer mike has been at the table with us setting policy for our city and having these real conversations about where we need to go and how we need to approach it. because again, i look at everything as the lens of a mother and i know i can say something ten different ways and all my kids hear, "whomp, whomp, whomp. but if t.i. says it, if killer mike says it, it's going to translate and it's going to be heard and it's going to be felt differently. and so on friday, when everything started to unravel in atlanta, i didn't have a very clear picture of what we needed to do but i knew the voices that needed to be heard and that's why you saw killer mike, and bernice king, and t.i. and joe beasley and some other community leaders st with me >> se

he is from alabama, he obviously represented the district there in atlanta, in atlanta, georgia. talk to us about the mood in this city of atlanta, in the district he represented there over the past couple of days and what this loss means for them. >> reporter: well, ayman, during my time here, so many people i've spoken with have just expressed this sense of gratitude and inspiration by the life that john lewis lived and all that he fought for, for all people. i think that is really the mood here. you know, so many people have said to me that he wasn't a congressman who just went to washington, d.c. and they never saw here, but so many people can recall stories of meeting him at marches and parades and things that were going on here in the city of atlanta, and that when they were in d.c., he made the time to meet with them and to talk to them and so truly a congressman of the people, you know, something that john lewis said often about being in the streets, being with the people, and that is reflected in everything i have heard as people have described him here. and the other th

by the way, i lived in atlanta for several years. i'm graduate of emory university, and i love the city. i didn't know bond while i was there. hey, i see pam has joined us. has she. >> >> pam is here. >> pam, it's good to' you. [laughter] >> yes. >> how do we we do this? is this a split screen or is the person talking the one who appears on the careen? >> the person who's speaking appears on the screen, so you will just -- if everybody turns their camera on speaker view as opposed to gallery view, you will speak automatically between speaks which is the most fluid way to do it. >> okay, great. everybody got that? okay, super. pam, welcome. it's good to have you with us. >> thank you. >> i thought we would begin by talking about the george floyd protest. it seems timely, to say the least. and i've been thinking a lot about julian bond and bayard rustin and dr. king during this period, and i thought i would begin perhaps with a reading from julian bond's essay from, oh, my goodness, this must be the early 1970s, though i don't have the

and then atlanta. where he will be laid to rest. later on this week. celebration of his life began with an intimate memorial service yesterday involving his five brothers and sisters and nephew. all telling poignant stories and memories of him, describing him collectively as a humble man, a family man, within one of tenac. in a couple of hours the doors will open there to the public. the public can come pay their respects and, of course, family members have been asking all attendees to be sure to wear a face mask and mouth coverings as they do so to pay respects to the late congressman. the family at the same time encouraging the masses, everyone wants to -- this is the governor here. you saw the alabama governor there kay ivy helping to present the state and national flags in the forms of flowers there as the u.s. military also accompanying the casket there of the late congressman john lewis. in this placement of the casket and a salute and right now in this intimate more private ceremony of saluting the late congressman. in a couple of hours of now t

and former mayor of atlanta, andrew young. i was just sitting here thinking there's a song that we used to sing in ♪ in the gray get up morning fairly well ♪ i think it's a great getting up morning for john lewis. john started his trek for freedom as a little boy and wrote to martin luther king when he was about 14. he was from alabama. martin sent him a bus ticket to come up and he got started and so he was probably about 15 when that happened. he has remained steadily on the case for justice and freedom and peace and nonviolence since the '50s. and i said that probably nobody has spent 80 years more deeply involved throughout those 80 years than john lewis. because he brought so much to the political arena that there must be 3/4 of the districts where a black minority, a minority of good will usually can make the difference between winning and losing. so every member of congress always wanted to have john come to their district. because he campaigned for everybody for over 34 years, everybody was indebited to him. he did

. >>> also the showdown over masks intensifying, georgia's governor suing atlanta's mayor for requiring them, how she's firing back. >>> california ordering most of its schools to stay closed, the nation's third largest district chicago revealing a hybrid learning plan, teachers on edge, one saying it's time to update her will. >>> there's news tonight from the supreme court, justice ruth bader ginsburg, her new health battle. >>> the major action by the pentagon involving the confederate flag after president trump defending it as freedom of speech. >>> explosive allegations of sexual harassment against former employees of washington's nfl team. how the owner is responding. >>> and the world war ii veteran whose journey inspired the world receiving high honors today from the queen. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening, everyone, is it time to push the covid lockdown button again? late today at least parts of florida lowe curfews, closed bars and restaurants. florida is one of 18 states quietly identified by the white house as being in deep trouble,

this is a difficult day in atlanta, all across the country. we lost a lot yesterday, as we witnessed the passing of john lewis. and earlier that morning, his friend and colleague, reverend c.t. vivian. i was deeply honored to save as the pastor of a true american hero. i first met john lewis as a college student. he was my pastor and i was his mentor. i received a phone call a couple days ago from the family asking i make my way to their home. i was there at his bedside. exchanged a few words with him. told him how much i love you. he said i love you too, brother. mustered the strength to say that. i have to say in the last week, there was a deep sense of resolve, strength, courage and dignity, the kind we've come to associate with the likes of john lewis. we lost a true hero yesterday. but the work is left up to us. >> part of president obama's statement, reverend, he loved this country so much that he risked his life and his blood so that it might live up to its promise. and through the decades, he not only gave all of himself to the caution

cnn's natasha chen joining me now from atlanta. natasha, what more are you learning? >> reporter: well, fred, the good news is that atlanta mayor keisha lance bottoms and georgia governor brian kemp have been ordered to go through mediation and they are supposed to do that before tuesday. of course, mayor bottoms on thursday said during a virtual press conference that they are trying to work out, trying to iron out their differences. she also mentions that they had a good conversation on a phone call wednesday between her and the governor. she said the two of them are in agreement that masks save lives. however, within the last 24 hours, governor kemp tweeted a list of accomplishments he has done for the people of georgia and one was he filed this lawsuit to stop businesses from closing. and of course, when he filed this lawsuit, he mentioned he did this on behalf of atlanta businesses who were frustrated with the city's rollback to phase 1. but keep in mind this rollback is a set of recommendations for businesses, like restaurants, to go back to curb side pickup or d

he can apparently atlanta a food drive a fairly common sign these days we're told that predominantly affluent african-americans live here however today long lines of cars from the parking lot again for a box of vegetables and a bag of frozen chicken breasts her car and household. what's going on but. i got you know if i don't get a look at you this is john beals he's a chef and used to have a thriving catering business then called with 1000 hit their own corner selling barbecue feel says the state's decision to loosen restrictions early and widely needs he can work and feed his family but of course he knows about the potential health risks and that makes him feel uneasy. well how can you open a country where no peer it's not seen the people out to discount to see what happens is so many words like guinea pig african-americans living in atlanta sister wrinkly underprivileged communities have suffered the most from the cold 9000 looked down and also from what many say was a hasty reopening of the state they were globe paying jobs to live in so-called food deserts with no access to heal

most oas those are in the city of atlanta. the governor's decision to sue our mayor who has made the right call in pushing for a mask mandate and the council is misplaced. nancy: the governor maintains that everyone wearing a mask is effective. his point is that georgians don't need a mandate to do the right thing. it is not so much about the mask wearing as how do you enforce it? >> it e is a fair questionept that t data shows otherwise. cases continue to rise in a framework in which we are not pushing hard enough on georgians to wear masks. the lawsuit was predicated by wanting ptect the businesses in the city of atlanta. there are two important counterpoints. the mask mandate recognizes the states prohibition on entercing a man and it was recommendations. business after business has said to me they appreciate the safer for their employees and patronshe to visit businesses. the logic falls flat. it isnderstandable to ma the argument, but the data doesn't support it. nancy: have been hearing from dr. fauci and he says it's im

. >> he ran for the fifth congressional district in atlanta in 1977 and lost. he went on to serve on the atlanta city council but continued to eye the fifth district. >> right now it's the highest possibility for a black elected official that would like to move up. >> the seat opened up again in 1986, but there was another sncc veteran running, julian bond, who marched alongside lewis and at the time served in the georgia state legislature. >> they were inseparable. they had collaborated virtually on everything for more than 20 years. >> after a crowded primary, the vote came down to a runoff between the two friends. >> the race was on. each of these men badly wanted this seat, and they were willing to go all out. >> so tell julian bond here i come. >> the runoff divided not just lewis and bond but black atlanta and veterans of the civil rights movement who knew them both. >> practically every prominent african-american leader in the metropolitan atlanta area was supporting julian bond. john wasn't fazed by it. he was determined to outwork julian. >> he was all

atlanta businesses are hurting. violent crime is up and families are worried. just like sending in the national guard to protect those living in arch capital city from crime and violence, i refused to sit back -- i refuse to sit back and watch these disastrous policies threaten the lives of our citizens. we will fight reckless actions and put people over pandemic politics. i will leave you with this -- we all know it has been an incredibly tough year and that is an understatement. this crisis has threatened our health and well-being, undermined our economic justice we there is have seen with our own eyes must be fixed, violence that must be quelled. when i travel the state, i hear the stories of pain-and-suffering. i still sense optimism and i know that all hope is not lost. i am confident that we are going to weather the storm and we will emerge better for it. georgianith that every will do their part. i am confident that we are stronger now than we have ever been and we cannot let politics divide us. i know that our best days are not far away and i also know

legal battle over mandatory masks we are joined by the mayor of atlanta, mayor lance bottoms. as you know the national death toll now passing 150,000 people your state of georgia continues to see a surge in cases with more than 3,000 new cases just reported so far today. scholars from the john hopkins university now suggest the whole country needs to reset in order to have appropriate response to what's going on. so from your perspective, what sort of reset needs to happen in georgia? >> what i believe needs to happen in georgia is exactly what we have advised businesses in the city of atlanta to do. that is to go back to phase one of the reopening plan. phase one includes closing down businesses that are not deemed essential. it means stay at home unless you absolutely have to go out and simply following the science our largest trauma center in atlanta, grady hospital, has seen a record number of covid patients in its icu. this is not getting any better and there's talk of the need to reopen for the sake of the economy but what we know is that the economy will never get going

sanjay gupta, our chief medical correspondent in atlanta tonight. dr. jonathan reiner, cardiology who advised the white house team under president george w. bush. sanjay, let me start with the breaking news this hour that atlanta is going to go back to phase one, locking down again. look, i know this doesn't surprise you. but what do you make of the timing, how long it took to get there? what does this say about other places that think, oh, we reopened early, but we're still going to be okay? >> right. no, nothing makes you feel like you've gone back to square one again or even worse than that than the fact that these mobile hospitals are now going to be re-deployed. there's a real concern at these hospitals that they're simply not going to be able to take care of these patients. i mean, it's not just the beds. it's the staff. it's the respiratory therapists. it's all these things, all these same discussions that we had back in march and april that we're having again that we thought we were past. so, it's demoralizing, erin. you know what i mean? i was

atlanta, georgia. sherman, first to realize technology had changed the classics of warfare, was the first to strike at the source of the armed power instead of the armed power itself. 99 years ago today, he battered his way into atlanta and began the ruthless disruption of the city. rail lines were ripped up. bonfires were dealt with the ties and the rails were heated red-hot and twisted around trees to make him furious. foundries were wrecked, smokestacks wrecked. the flames spread to an arsenal and night explosions thundered against flame red skies. sherman replied, war is cruel and you cannot refine it. when he rode out of the city, one third of atlanta lay in ashes. today, although atlanta has not really forgotten, it has changed. and with nbc's sandra van and atlanta constitution editor ralph mcgill, surveyed the city. >> atlanta began as early as 1819, with a cook -- 1919, with the commission dealing with interracial problems. this continued end in 1938 it was established in two a southern region

i met john, i came to atlanta, lillian, miles, and i came to atlanta on the same day she came to work at the university, atlanta university, and i came to work for martin luther king jr. and the southern christian leadership conference. and that's when i met john. i saw him all the time. we were all involved in the same quest for equity and justice in this america. and i got a chance to see him all the time. and i admired his fervor and all of his tenacity. and lillian was single. and so i decided that lillian needed a good man. not just the bums who were approaching her. she was highly intellectual, well-traveled, well-educated. and i wanted her to have someone who really would appreciate her skills and her talent. so i looked around and decided that i liked john. but lillian didn't like john particularly. and so she thought he was kind of slow. and i said, but lillian, he's busy. he's fighting the evils of the world. and she said, yes, but. well, i decided, girl, listen, this boy is going places. so let's see what he can do to get this thing moving. so we decided, what i did as her

. >> he ran for the fifth congressional district in atlanta in 1977 and lost. he went on to serve on the atlanta city council but continued to eye the fifth district. >> right now it's the highest possibility for a black elected official that would like to move up. >> the seat opened up again in 1986, but there was another sncc veteran running, julian bond, who marched alongside lewis and at the time served in the georgia state legislature. >> they were inseparable. they had collaborated virtually on everything for more than 20 years. >> after a crowded primary, the vote came down to a runoff between the two friends. >> the race was on. each of these men badly wanted this seat, and they were willing to go all out. >> so tell julian bond here i come. >> the runoff divided not just lewis and bond but black atlanta and veterans of the civil rights movement who knew them both. >> practically every prominent african-american leader in the metropolitan atlanta area was supporting julian bond. john wasn't fazed by it. he was determined to outwork julian. >> he was all

. >> we actually have some breaking news on atlanta's reopening plans. let's get to josh lipton for more >> there's real tension breaking out here between the mayor of atlanta and the governor of georgia. so the mayor of that night is preparing to roll back the city's reopening plans as coronavirus cases surge, that the city will go back to phase one. that's where all residents are ordered to stay home except for essential trips. atlanta entered phase two at the end of may however the governor of georgia firing back saying that her action is non-binding and legally uninforciunenforceable. saying she should start enforcing state restrictions tough words being exchanged between the mayor of atlanta and the governor of georgia trying to deal with these surging coronavirus cases there. >> the atlanta mayor notable in recent days because she tested positive for coronavirus herself. psychologically for the markets, we've seen this sort of rollback of reopening plans at this point. does this put a damper on the market or do you think the market has come to acce