>> sam brock on the ground in florida tonight, sam, thanks so much. and president trump tonight is hosting his own 4th of july festivities, despite the pandemic thousands are expected here in washington for a military fly over and fireworks another large gathering as donald trump jr.'s girlfriend, a top trump fundraiser just tested positive for the virus. here's kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: the white house south lawn hosting the largest event here since the pandemic frontline health care workers invited. a tent -- social distancing while the white house says masks are not required on the national mall crowds expected for fireworks, despite public health objections from d.c.'s mayor. president trump insisted on spectacles starting with the show in the sky over mount rushmore friday night. the nation's birthday is usually a unifying event. but president trump was on the attack. >> angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities >> reporter: today joe biden re

we get the latest on all that from nbc's sam brock. >> reporter: less than a week after baseball began its restart, the sport could be on the brink of closure the miami marlins have cancelled their home opener against the baltimore orioles, with nbc news confirming 11 players in their 33 man traveling roster have contracted covid since opening day. team ceo derek jeter issued a statement, saying postponing the home ep opener was the right decision to properly grasp the totality of the situation. they will remain in philadelphia pending another round of testing or players and staff. >> it's very scary right now, the season's at a cross roads. >> bob nightinggayle has covered baseball for 30 years. >> no talk about cancelling the season, could change 24 to 48 hours from now we'll see. >> the philadelphia phillies so far not confirming any new positive tests but the domino effect already under way with the team pulling the plug on their game tonight against the new york yankees, mlb confirms. the season's first few games are filled with images of fist bumps, hugs and high-fives, what appe

nicole and brian >> our thanks to sam brock from miami. joining me now is phil rutger. he is co-author of "very stable genius." both are msnbc medical contributors let me start with you i had the mayor of miami on yesterday and there is a focus on politics that is undeniable an inability to describe the governor of florida as not constructi constructive i'm wondering what it sounds like to you. why are we worried about rates instead of trying to extinguish the virus? >> if is quite inex-politicbplie we have been as consistent as possible it is flagg flabbergasting to m that they're not -- it boggles my mind their not being held accountable. as a licensed physician in i conducted mize the way our president or the governor or florida is behaving, talking about medications that are not fda approved for some medications, promoting injection of household disinfectants, i would lose my medical license. i'm held to a certain standard that apparently our elected officials are not. it is harming and endangering lives from a disease that is preventable. cover your face and mainta

. >> reporter: this is sam brock in florida which tonight set a record for coronavirus fatalities 132 marks the highest number in a single day, fueling questions about what is happening in this state. >> we are exploding because we didn't have a unified approach and we didn't manage to convince our population of the serious risk >> reporter: experts also point to a toxic combination of crowded beaches, packed protests, bustling bars, and people not wearing masks. >> the amount of people who don't think they need to do something is enormous. around 25% officials say multi generationalonroof a household infections spread out of control. >> younger people have been contaminating older people >> reporter: florida has been ripping through its records for daily cases and also testing more than any place in this pandemic i am in miami beach right now where cars for testing line around the block there is not enough time in a day to test all these people as he pumped up testing and called for faster results the governor a at the state's agricultural workers saying this anthey arel just packed

nbc's sam brock is following it all. >> reporter: tonight hurricane hanna unleashing its wrath. >> it's like a ghost town basically. >> from brownsville to galveston, flash flood watches as the first atlantic storm of the season dumps 6 to 12 inches of rain along the texas gulf coast. >> don't ever underestimate the power of water and what it can do it's not forgiving. >> flood water already filling up streams, the twin threats of storm surge and heavy rain, concerns about rescues. chelsea torrez from our affiliate kirs is on north padre island. >> since hann as become a hurricane, she's strengthened tremendously, the winds are intensifying, the rain increasing the storm surge has been something we've been watching heavily and it's become more aggressive. >> texas already under siege with covid-19, with more than 380,000 cases statewide. >> just because a hurricane comes to the state does not m local governments fear hanna could wipe out electricity. >> we've done everything we could leading up to this to make sure that we have plenty of ppe for anybody that's going to be moved is going

sam brock, nbc news, miami. >>> now to new york. once the epicenter of the crisis with over 30,000 deaths, but tonight to keep infection rates low the governor is getting tougher about quarantines from travelers from hot spots but can this crackdown be enforced? here is gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: new york's governor is billing it a drastic move to stop the spread >> if you leave the airport without providing the information, you will receive a summons immediately. >> reporter: starting today officers will meet passengers at new york airport those coming from 22 states designated as covid hot spots now need to fill out these forms from the health department providing contact information or face a $2,000 fine the state had already imposed a two-week quarantine for those travelers like el hathaway of california who is returning to syracuse university next month >> trying to figure out a way to work with the governor and figure out a safe, effective way. realistically they know kids are not going to be able to come back two weeks earl

we get the latest on all that from nbc's sam brock. >> reporter: less than a week after baseball began its restart, the sport could be on the brink of closure the miami marlins have cancelled their home opener against the baltimore orioles, with nbc news confirming 11 players in their 33 man traveling roster have contracted covid since opening day. team ceo derek jeter issued a statement, saying in part, postponing the hope opener was the correct decision t properly grasp the totality of the situation. jeter adding the team will remain in philadelphia pending another round of testing or players and staff. >> it's very scary right now, the season's at a cross roads. >> bob nightengale has covered baseball for more than 30 years what kind of chatter are you hearing from mlb owners about continuing to see? >> right now, no talk abou cancelling the season, could change 24 to 48 hours from now we'll see. >> reporter: the philadelphia phillies so far not confirming any new positive tests but the domino effect already under way with the team pulling the plug on their game tonight against the

lester >> all right sam brock, thanks. >>> in a rare news conference today from former vice president joe biden, a major escalation of his attacks of president trump's leadership on the covid pandemic andrea mitchell has the story. >> reporter: joe biden today slamming president trump's handling of the pandemic accusing him of failing to protect the american people and front line workers from the virus >> they don't make these sacrifices you can ignore the science and turn responsible steps like wearing masks into a political statement. fix the shortage of ppe for our health care workers before you tee off another round of golf. >> reporter: after the president said this -- >> i am a war time president. this is a war. >> it seems like our war time president surrendered. >> reporter: biden also saying if he is elected his first call would be to dr. fauci. >> i will immediately reach out to dr. anthony fauci to ask him to continue his incredible service to the country. >> reporter: in his first news conference in three months biden also said he has not been tested for covid because he h

here's sam brock >> you got to wear mask, bro. >> reporter: across the country heated scenes playing out a man is physically shoving his way into a store without a mask >> i have a breathing problem! >> reporter: and public shaming after this customer refused to wear one. >> we have a right in america not to wear a -- mask. >> reporter: despite pushback, public officials are increasingly turning to masks to stem the spread of the virus. in savannah, georgia the mayor mandating masks in all establishments except for churches >> frankly and honestly i do not believe we have any other choice >> reporter: overnight jacksonville's mayor requiring face covering is in and outside of buildings florida has reported nearly 30,000 cases in four days. governor ron desantis says he won't issue a statewide order but will leave it up to cities instead >> we left it to the locals to make decision about whether to use coercive measures or impose any criminal penalty >> reporter: california's governor tonight hinting he'll impose penalties for not following a mask order. >> we have a mandate statewide

here's sam brock >> reporter: tonight major league baseball announcing the miami marlins games are postponed through sunday after four more players tested positive for covid-19 taking the total to 15 since opening day or roughly half the team's traveling roster the marlins remain quarantined following more testing some managers are nervous. >> my level of concern went from about an 8 to a 12. >> reporter: last night on mlb network commissioner manfred laying out what circumstances might cause a stoppage >> i think a team losing a number of players that rendered it completely noncompetitive would be an issue that we would have to address. >> reporter: jon morosi with mlb network says the marlins have a few days to try to field the competitive roster >> have any players other than the marlins tested positive in the last few days? >> as of friday to now, no other teams in baseball besides the marlins have had an on field player register a positive test. >> reporter: the league says its positivity rate through last thursday is below 1% as it tries to keep an infectious disease from stopping spor

in miami-dade they are reporting 127% above base capacity for icu beds in miami, sam brock, nbc news. >>> u.s. coronavirus cases continue to surge president trump is still claiming that the virus sill simply disappear as new polls suggest the country is losing faith in his response to the pandemic tracie potts joins us now with the latest those polls show half of the country disapproves of the president's response >> reporter: they do let's take a look at those polls. the latest from abc show that the president is not in the most popular spot when it comes to how he's handling this virus 54% just over half of americans in this latest poll believe that joe biden would do a better job dealing with coronavirus than president trump. 34% support him. and the president's approval rating, his job approval rating is again upside down, 39% approve, 47% disapprove. the president was on fox this weekend talk being about virus and down playing the health impact >> you know, i said it's going to disappear i'll say it again, it will disappear. i've been right probably more than anybody else. >> sir

nbc news correspondent sam brock with us now from miami beach. hey, sam. >> brian, good afternoon. the fact of matter is please is not enough right now to get people to comply with mask orders now to understand the gravity of the situation here in miami-dade county it has to be the threat of financial penalty to generate a change in behavior. that's what we've seen the last couple of days. starting on thursday they've been issuing citations to people refusing to wear masks. $100 the first time, $100 the second time. $500 the third time and the threat of arrest if that person continues to not wear a mask. there are people here who say go ahead, fine me whatever you want, i'm not wearing a mask. others say it's back breaking to pay 100 bucks. there's no segment of society that is not affected by this. it comes at a time when you're looking at 400,000 plus cases in florida, the positivity rate is still above 16% for the entire state, and if you exclude the number of people who already tested positive, it's still 13.5%, elevated well beyond what the world health organization will be co

jose >> sam brock in orlando, thank you >>> as tensions flare across the country in response to police brutality, another officer-involved shooting of a black man has sparked new outrage in detroit the incident was caught on camera and a warning, it's >> reporter: this weekend, parts of detroit on edge as protesters demand justice for hakeem littleton. the 20-year-old shot and killed by police friday afternoon the outrage set off after claims on social media accusing detroit police of killing an unarmed man. authorities responded by releasing dash and body cam footage showing members of the police gang squad approaching and arresting darnell sylvester, wanted on a federal drug warrant while he complies, authorities say littleton, standing nearby, appears to pull out a weapon. >> a witness at the scene told investigators mr. littleton stated -- i'm not going to say the exact words, but basically that you're not going to take my man. >> reporter: this body cam footage appears to show littleton shooting at an officer and missing before police returned fire >> he is what i describe as an a

sam brock is in the hard-hit state of florida with late details. >> reporter: tonight for a nation reeling from the covid crisis, small signs of hope. >> i'm really rooting for this vaccine, and it has helped me cope because i really -- i see an end. >> reporter: heather wiley recently completed phase one of a vaccine trial that's now moved to the next step. it's assistance that can't come soon enough. as states across the country continue racking up record numbers, in florida, more than 10,300 new cases saturday, further swelling a surge of 93,000 infections in just over a week. hospitals have been hammered. >> busier than we've ever been, sicker than we've ever been. >> reporter: at least one south florida health care system tells our miami station wtvj they're about to run out of a critical treatment, remdesivir. >> we are all running very short on supplies. >> reporter: tonight senator marco rubio tweeting 30,000 vials of remdesivir are en route to florida. this is enough to treat 5,000 covid-19 patients. >> if we can come up with an early treatment to stop people who are exposed from

we begin with sam brock in orlando. >> reporter: for a state already smashing covid records, florida soaring to a new stratosphere, 15,300 cases. >> that's a lot of new cases. wow. that's a lot. >> that number, it's a little bit ridiculous. >> reporter: physicians sounding the alarm. >> people are dying. they aren't just getting sick, they are dying. our loved ones are dying. you should care about people you're interacting with. >> reporter: florida fatalities this week, over 500. in miami-dade hospitals at 94% icu capacity with the mayor confirming six are now full >> it's our icu capacity causing us concern. again, like i said, we can crank up another 500. >> reporter: if the sunshine state were its own country, it would rank fourth highest in the world for new covid cases behind the united states, brazil and india. despite the explosion of infections, many rules remain unchanged. masks are not required statewide and florida's beaches and businesses remain open. >> as you see, they are doing temperature screenings as soon as you load off the boat dock. >> reporter: even disney worl

here's sam brock >> reporter: tonight major league baseball announcing the miami marlins games are postponed through sunday after four more players tested positive for covid-19 taking the total to 15 since opening day or roughly half the team's traveling roster the marlins remain quarantined following more testing some managers are nervous. >> my level of concern went from about an 8 to a 12. >> reporter: last night on mlb network commissioner manfred laying out what circumstances might cause a stoppage >> i think a team losing a number of players that rendered it completely noncompetitive would be an issue that we would have to address. >> reporter: john brossy with mlb network says the marlins have a few days to try to field the competitive roster >> as of friday to now, no other teams in baseball besides the marlins have had an on field player register a positive test. >> reporter: the league says its positivity rate through last thursday is below 1% as it tries to keep an infectious disease from stopping sports sam brock, nbc news, miami. >>> up next a 6-year-old's mighty effort to help

sam brock, stick around for us. we'll get to you later on in this hour. jo ling kent, thank you as well. >>> joining me is the mayor of el paso, texas, dean margo. good to have you with us this hour. your city, i understand, is out with data showing the number of active cases there clearly on the rise this morning. what is your message to locals in your city about the situation right now? >> we have been saying from day one that you got to wear face coverings, social distance and wash your hands frequently. that's the only thing medical experts agree that will stop the spread of this pandemic. we had some increases, but we're still doing fine. we had increased testing, significant increased testing each day. >> do you think there was anything in your capacity or certainly within the city's capacity to prevent you from seeing the spike that you're seeing right now? was there any missed opportunities by your residents or others to take serious the warnings that were coming out to hand wash, wear masks, as you said, and some of the other issues you said? >>

nbc sam brock reports. >> reporter: they didn't know if they were going to be able to pull it off, and here we are, the ball's up. >> reporter: well before the opening tip. ♪ the nba returned in stunning fashion, every player on the pelicans and jazz wearing "black lives matter" t-shirts and kneeling during thejames, kawhi. those moments of unity just the opening chapter of a new look nba. players wearing masks to the arena and no fans in the stands, although they were projected on sideline screens. in a touch of irony. >> nice spin and the bucket and a foul. >> reporter: rudy gobert scored the game's winning points after his covid diagnosis forced the nba to halt the season in mid-march. zion williamson dazzled, king james returned in fierce form. at least for now basketball is back. >> this is a good start tonight. it's great to have the nba back. and i hope our fans are proud of us tonight. >> reporter: the question moving forward. how long will version 2.0 last playing in a disney world bubble? so far 344 players have repeatedly been tested and there hasn't been a single positive

lester. >> sam brock tonight. thank you. >>> up next, a big question that lots of kids are asking. liberty. liberty. ♪ only pay for what you need.b. people are surprising themselves the moment realize they can du more with less asthma. thanks to dupixent, the add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. dupixent isn't for sudden breathing problems. it can improve lung function for better breathing in as little as 2 weeks and help prevent severe asthma attacks. it's not a steroid but can help reduce or eliminate oral steroids. dupixent can cause serious allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. get help right away if you have rash, shortness of breath, chest pain, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection and don't change or stop your asthma treatments, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. du more with less asthma. talk to your doctor today about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. to give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you don't. [grunting noise

our correspondents are in place and we start now with sam brock >> reporter: tonight the continuing surge of coronavirus cases creating long lines of americans anxious to get tested >> i'm trying to get covid tested you can see this line that goes down pretty far. and it's still wrapped around the other side of the building. >> reporter: with cars in miami beach backed up for blocks. nurses say families are showing up in the e.r. instead >> chances are if you don't have the virus when you come in, you're being exposed to it, because we have so many positive cases. >> reporter: another hotspot, arizona, which leads the nation in new cases this week phoenix officials activating new plans to expand morgue space. new cases are skyrocketing now faster than last spring 36,000 in a single day, a record that stood for nearly two months until july 24 when there were more than 45,000 new cases. since then, infections have shot up every day. tonight, near 60,000 in texas, a system straining to keep up with record hospitalizations, today surpassing 10,000 covid patients. >> the numbers are definitely

lester >> sam brock tonight thank you. >>> up next a big question that lots of kids are asking. granted. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ people are surprising themselves the moment realize they can du more with less asthma. thanks to dupixent, the add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. dupixent isn't for sudden breathing problems. it can improve lung function for better breathing in as little as 2 weeks and help prevent severe asthma attacks. it's not a steroid but can help reduce or eliminate oral steroids. dupixent can cause serious allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. get help right away if you have rash, shortness of breath, chest pain, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection and don't change or stop your asthma treatments, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. du more with less asthma. talk to your doctor today about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. to give you the protein you need with less of the sug

sam brock here on the east coast in florida sam, what is the story for hospitals in that state? >> reporter: ayman good morning. the hospitalizations in the state of florida now about 9,400 covid-19 patients. what does that mean? it is hard to show, because we don't have a base point. the governor here ron desantis just started publishing that information hospitalizations and hospitalization rates four months into a pandemic you heard from jo a second ago, we have 350,000 cases of covid-19 in florida now. just past that milestone, they have 390,000 in california, we're nipping at the heels of the gold state even though california has twice the population of florida. that gives you some perspective for how bad this is. in terms of the hospital numbers, the state is reporting 18% available icu beds here, 15% available beds in miami-dade county but if you look at what numbers the county is publishing, they're saying 127% above capacity, clearly a huge disconnect there, local congresswoman donna shalala, the hhs secretary under bill clinton, said it is time to lock things down. >> i

>> sam brock, joe fryer, thank you for kicking us off this hour. now we want to turn our attention to texas where hospitals there are running out of drugs, beds, ventilators, even staff according to the texas tribune. reporting ambulances are waiting up to ten hours to deliver patients to packed emergency rooms in one county. in another, one coronavirus patient had to be flown by a helicopter to a hospital, 120 miles away because closer facilities could not take him. and msnbc's garrett haake is jing us on the ground for the entire hour from san antonio, texas, as we put the spotlight on that state. good to have you this hour. give us the latest from texas. >> reporter: well, by newark ow headlines are familiar, testing so slow in this state, making contact tracing effectively useless and for the longest time the good news in texas was that we have enormous hospital capacity in the state. well, now that capacity is being stretched to the limit, both in cities like houston and dallas, to here in bexar county in san antonio. i want to bring in a gues

our correspondents are in place and we start now with sam brock >> reporter: tonight the continuing surge of coronavirus cases creating long lines of americans anxious to get tested >> i'm trying to get covid tested you can see this line that goes down pretty far. and it's still wrapped around the other side of the building. >> reporter: with cars in miami beach backed up for blocks. nurses say families are showing up in the e.r. instead >> chances are if you don't have the virus when you come in, you're being exposed to it, because we have so many positive cases. >> reporter: another hotspot, arizona, which leads the nation in new cases per capita this week phoenix officials activating an emergency plan to expand morgue space. new cases are skyrocketing now faster than last spring the country's first peak in late april 36,000 in a single day, a record that stood for nearly two months until june 24 when there were more than 45,000 new cases. since then, infections have shot up every day. tonight, near 60,000 in texas, a system straining to keep up with record hospitalizations, today surpa

sam brock outside of disney world. thank you for that. >>> we have our doctor here that is the medical director of the special pathogens unit at the boston university school of medicine. thank you for being with us on this saturday morning. as we noted yesterday, we saw a record number of cases, more than 70,000 in this country. a few months ago the concentration was in new york. right now we have, in effect, several new yorks spread across the country. and on this trajectory you would reach several thousand more in the next few weeks. how do we get thuis under control? >> i think what we're seeing is this new move toward the sunbelt states, we had caught up with testing. our testing positivity rate, which is the rate at which we know that we're testing enough so that is the number of people that you tested turn out to be positive were under five, which is what the w.h.o. recommended. as a nation we're higher up on that and the states that are affected are texas and florida are looking at 20% test positivity. arizona's

katy >> sam brock, sam, thank you very much. and let's bring in dan gelber, the mayor of miami beach, florida. thank you for joining us i'm wondering how you feel about this hodgepodge of restrictions, this 8:00 p.m. curfew only applies to south beach, but not everybody is only going to dinner in south beach. it might be a hot spot is it effective if you're seeing one area have stricter rules than another >> well, in our county, i think we're even if we're a little different, we're on the same page all the mayors meet pretty regularly and talk about all these different things the reason we had to do that is we have famous promenades which tend to attract a lot of folks we felt that given the difficulty in getting compliance, that was the only way we were going to do it we're sort of on the same page in our county. i don't know that the state and federal government is on the same page with us, but that's a whole other issue. >> would you consider a full lockdown again if things do not start to bend down, the curve doesn't start t

let's go to nbc's sam brock in orlando by the magic kingdom. sam, what can you expect when the park gates reopen? good morning. >> reporter: alex, good morning. plenty of precautions. when disney world shutdown, there were 155 cases across the state. as it reopens here four months later, 250,000 cases. this as the state of florida is trying to balance, alex, livelihood and record-breaking numbers. in the midst of the staggering numbers in florida, 75,000 in over a week, san francismayor h masks. >> the number of cases decreased. >> reporter: if there is progress, it is not reflected in the hospital system which shows icu bed capacity at 97%. >> i had at least 12 families come in saying i went to the testing site and line was too long. >> reporter: in texas, it is not clear the governor knows where to go after the lone star state topped 10,000 cases again. the threat of the lockdown back on the table if residents can't follow a mask mandate. >> i made the tough decision for one reason. our last best effort to slow the spread of covid-19. if we d

sam brock, nbc news, miami. >>> when we continue, one of several notable moments, a tense one at that from today's hearing with the attorney general. they line up by the thousands. each one suffering with a story that breaks your heart. like ravette, who needed help, because every step brought her pain. their only hope is a ship unlike any other. mercy ships. the largest floating civilian hospital in the world to bring free surgeries and care to people who have no other hope. only 62 cents a day. $19 a month will help provide urgently needed surgery for the world's forgotten poor. if you have ever wondered "how can i, just one person, make a difference?" this is your answer. so many are still suffering. so don't wait. call the number on your screen call or donate now at mercyships.org >>> in this very room just recently, congresswoman jayapal -- do you agree with ms. jayapal that there was no takeover? >> jayapal. if you're going to say my name, please say it right. it's jayapal. >> last thing before we go here tonight, congresswoman jayapal had a busy day at today's hearing. first th

brock, nbc news. >> sam, thank you. >>> with the clock ticking, republicans are set to unveil their proposal for the next coronavirus relief bill. while the administration started rolling out details over the weekend, president trump's mind was seemingly elsewhere, retweeting 45 posts after 7:00 p.m. eastern, mostly focused on protests so what is in the gop's plan let's bring in tracy potts congress will need to move quickly on this. >> reporter: good morning. a number of things are in this gop plan what we're not clear is there is unemployment, and that is the big issue, because it's urgent, those $600 a week benefits expire at the end of this week democrats want to extend them. the white house says a short-term extension may be necessary, but republicans don't i see us being able to cemeal provide unemployment insurance, maybe a retention credit to keep people from being displaced or brought back into the workplace, helping with our schools if we can do that, along with liability protection, perhaps we put that forward, get that passed as we can negotiate on the rest of the bill i

nbc's sam brock is in the hard hit state of florida with the late details. >> reporter: for a nation reeling from a covid crisis, small signs of hope. >> i'm really rooting for this vaccine, and i -- it has helped me cope because i really see an end. >> reporter: heather wiley completed phase one of a trial that's moved to the next step. it's assistance that can't come soon enough. as states across the country continue racking up record numbers, in florida more than 10,300 new cases saturday, a surge of 93,000 infections in just over a week. hospitals have been hammered. >> busier than we've ever been, sicker than we've ever been. >> reporter: at least one south florida health care system tells our miami station wtvj they're about to run out of a critical treatment, remdesivir. >> we are all running very short on supplies. >> reporter: senator marco rubio tweeting 30,000 vials of remdesivir are en route to florida, enough to treat 5,000 covid-19 patients. >> we can come up with an early treatment to stop people who are exposed from developing symptoms, that would really ease things u

sam brock in miami for us. sam, thanks so much. we'll have much more on a race for a vaccine coming up in our sunday spotlight. >>> meanwhile president trump now admits he may not be able to hold the rallies that have been the life blood of his political campaign. on saturday the president tried to fire up his supporters over the telephone instead. kelly o'donnell is at the white house with more on that. and a new report that the trump administration is obstructing new congressional funding for coronavirus testing. kelly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, willie. expect that negotiations will ramp up in the coming week over the next package of aid for coronavirus, and there are deep divides over what should be in it. important to note, it's likely the last relief package before the november election. just as the president is finding new ways to talk to voters in battleground states. grounded by the pandemic, a campaign alternative debuted. >> president donald j. trump. >> hello, arizona. i'm thrilled to be with you and talk

sam brock is joining us from miami. sam, what an unusual return to baseball. nice to have it back. 4 million people watching game on one. not bad. >> reporter: good morning, kendis. you will see the letters for the marlins and all of the cars being directed right now for covid-19 testing. that is the reality that major league baseball is returning to right now. incredible excitement. simulated crowd noise in all 30 parks and tributes to the health care workers fighting this battle. the first pitch is virtual from chicago to minnesota. national past time returns as the crisis continues. >> a line drive. double play. >> reporter: braves all star freddie freeman weeks after surviving covid-19. >> i spiked to 104.5. >> reporter: teams embracing masks and social distancing. >> this moment signifies our change. our brotherhood. >> reporter: narrated by morgan fr freeman. a night inspired and written by andrew mccutchen. the tampa bay rays come ra memorandum rated their first day. cleveland players wore road unis at home because they say cleveland, not indians. a sig

that's sam brock for us in miami. very unusual to see lincoln road that packed for that reason at least as opposed to a busy day on the beach. >>> we're following a developing story in south carolina. police are investigating a shooting at a crowded night club that appears to have been violating coronavirus restrictions. the attack left two people dead and eight injured. it happened at lavish lounge in greenville, hosting hundreds of people for a convert. south carolina's governor henry mcmaster issued a coronavirus executive order restricting large gatherings at places like night clubs. no word so far of any arrests. >>> new jersey's governor phil murphy sees the signs of a rise in covid cases. here's what he told andrea mitchell on "meet the press". >> we're starting to see a small spike in reinfection from folks coming back from places like myrtle beach as well as in florida, other hot spots. to me it says we need a national strategy. we're only as strong as our weakest link right now. i said we went through hell.

nbc's sam brock joins us now from miami. what concerns are doctors there sharing with you? >> reporter: good to be with you here on this afternoon. 21,000 cases this weekend. you mentioned myrtle beach, south carolina, they hit a record in south carolina of 1,800 cases yesterday. there's more than five times that just today in florida. in terms of the concerns locally, they're going to be talking about hospitals. i'm in miami-dade county, that's one of the places where they've shut down the beaches. if you're going to look anywhere at where the hospital would be the most acute, it would be here because a quarter of the cases throughout the state are in miami-dade county. so what's going on here? on june 26th, there was fewer than 900 covid-19 patients. as of today, the latest new normal dashboard that the county reports, more than 1,500 cases. even if you account for roughly 100, the county says was underreported previously, you're looking at a 50% spike over that time frame. jackson health which is the primary health provider in miami has seen a 47% jump. i talked to the d

nbc's sam brock is there for us. sam, good morning. >> reporter: willie, good morning. and a surreal split right now of the state just jumped 250,000 cases, as visitors are returning to the most popular amusement park in the country, and basketball players are practicing in a bubble america right now at a crossroads as signs of crisis are everywhere this morning joi attraction this morning enjoying the attractions of disney world. no longer a figment of anyone's imagination. park goers getting their first taste of rides and lines in a socially distant environment >> there's no need putting your life on hold you have to have fun you have to enjoy life >> reporter: some parents pulling the plug on planned outings. >> is it worth it for the riskis the children >> reporter: the risks in florida and texas escalating by the day. both have now recorded a quarter million covid cases each, and both topping 10,000 new cases saturday the difference texas now mandates mask wearing >> we're seeing in the state of texas, the next step would have to be a lockdown >> reporter: a federa

we are going to begin with nbc's sam brock in miami where hospitals are straining under an influx of new patients. hey, sam. good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. that's right. florida has emerged as one of the global leaders in coronavirus cases for the first time on thursday morning more than one in five people tested statewide were positive for covid-19. over my shoulder, this is even scarier. not all the people who need tests right now are actually getting them. this line of cars wrapped around the block hours before testing started at the convention center. all too common in florida. this morning florida in free fall. >> every day it seems like another record. >> reporter: 120 deaths reported thursday, a new daily high pushing florida's fatalities beyond 4,000 from covid-19. icu bed capacity in miami-dade county, the epicenter of the nation's new epicenter now at nearly 92% of rising. >> we're full. if you come through the e.r. right now, somebody has to figure where the bed is going to be. >> reporter: florida's governor down playing a potential hospital crisis. >> if

nbc's sam brock is in miami for us, nbc's steve patterson is in mission hills, california. sam, let me begin with you. give us a quick read on the situation there and how officials are responding to these staggering numbers. >> eamon, good morning. you talk about mask mandates, in south florida, that has been the case for weeks now, that cities themselves required mask mandates as the governor refused to do so, so far. in miami-dade county, where i am, about a quarter of all of the cases in florida have been recorded, they have put in restrictions on where you can eat. the question becomes at what point will there be roll-backs on gyms, salons, public spaces, even beaches. to this point, our leadership here has been reluctant to put something like that in place. in the city of miami, frances suarez met with businesses the end of last week, kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop to find out if he'll roll anything back. the cases on the screen 380,000, 5,345 fatalities, the numbers in florida seem to be surging. here is the good news, eamon. in the last couple of days, un

. >>> let's cross over to sam brock in miami. so, miami has some big news today, not only because it has emerged as a hot spot in this country with everything that it is dealing with, but a short time ago, i understand, sam, that the opening game if you will, of the marlins, miami marlins has not been canceled because of several infections in that organization. >> reporter: ayman good morning. those are the reports this morning so far from espn. we have not confirmed them yet, but reached out to the miami marlins and major league baseball. behind me you're looking at marlins park. you see the cones here. they're conducting covid-19 testing concurrently as the team was preparing for the home opener tonight. this is developing news now. this game has reportedly been canceled. the home opener between the miami marlins and baltimore orioles after somewhere around 8 players and 2 coaches according to espn contracted covid-19. we know there already are reports of positive tests among the mar ly marlins player previ. an outbreak on the

we're putting a spotlight on the worsening situation in florida, where we begin with sam brock. things are changing

sam brock there in miami. sam, thank you. >>> let's bring in the mayor of miami, frances suarez, a republican. mayor suarez was diagnosed with coronavirus in march, early on in the pandemic. he's recovered, of course. mayor, thanks, as always, for your time. i know miami-dade county implemented a curfew, closed beachingses ahead of the fourth july holiday. you have a mask mandate in your city. do we think that all of those steps have been enough to help curb the spread over the holiday weekend at least? >> it is very difficult to tell. usually, we won't know for another week to two weeks. the information i'm getting is that the county is close to promulgating some additional closures. we'll see how that plays out over the next day or two. so we're going to be collaborating with them, as well as with our health care officials statewide, as well as with other cities that we've collaborated with, to make sure we're doing everything that we can do to make sure that the major statistics that we need to look at, dea

chris. >> sam brock with those disturbing statistics. thank you so much. i want to bring in nickie fried, the florida commission of agriculture and consumer services, the highest elected democrat in the state. thank you so much for joining us let me start by simply asking after we heard what sam just had to say, what in the world is going on in florida? >> it's heartbreaking what's happening here in the state. as sam just reported, we are seeing record numbers every single day six out of seven of our dies have seen over 10,000 cases. over 50 hospitals are at capacity in our icus we're seeing no leadership from the governor the governor continues to downplay the severity of the virus which means he's not giving the right information to the public we're having to count on our businesses, our individuals to protect themselves we're not seeing leadership. we're getting into very dangerous territory. certainly opening up schools is going to be an issue that's going to continue to prevail in the coming weeks here in the state of florida >> it is against the back

sam brock, nbc news, miami. >>> when we continue, one of several notable moments, a tense one at that from today's hearing with the attorney general. robinhood believes now is the time to do money. without 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. thabsolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and can it help keep me asleep? automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. and now, save up to $500 on select sleep number 360 smart beds. plus no interest until january 2023 on all smart beds. only for a limited time. >>> in this very room just recently, congresswoman jayapal -- do you agree with ms. jayapal that there was no takeover? >> jayapal. if you're going to say my name, please say it right. it's jayapal. >> last thing before we go here tonight, congresswoman jayapal had a busy day at today's hearing. first there was the matter of explaining to her colleague and fellow committee member how to pronounce her name. then came her tu

. >> sam brock is in florida with the details. >> reporter: from a nation reeling from the covid crisis, small bits of hope. >> i am really rooting for this vaccine. it has helped me cope because i see an end. >> reporter: heather wiley recently completed phase 1 of a vaccine trial that has moved to the next step. it's an assistance that can't come soon enough. as states across the country continue racking up record numbers. in florida, more than 10,328 new cases saturday. hospitals have been hammered. >> busier than we've ever been, sicker than we've ever been. >> reporter: at least one south florida health care system tells our sister station they are about to run out of remdesivir. >> we are running very short on supply. >> reporter: senator marco rubio tweeting, 30,000 vials of remdesivir is on its way to florida. this is enough to treat 5,000 patients. >> dr. jeffrey rosen's company, amr, is testing patients who are either mildly symptomatic or recently exposed to the virus. they inhale a nebulizer which then coats the lungs. if this works, it could cut the community spread. in hou

sam brock, thanks so much. >>> dr. ramirez was acting director of length and human services pandemic and emerging threats office in the obama administration. he is an emergency room physician in nashville, who has been treating covid-19 patients and just finished an overnight shift. i know how busy it is in an e.r. on fourth of july. we appreciate you spending time with us. what are your concerns as you look at these celebrations? i can say, a lot of people were out treating the fourth of july like any other fourth of july, having big parties and everything else. as we see the spikes across the country, including in your state, what are your concerns about the holiday weekend? >> you are right, willie. having worked overnight, people are out celebrating as i just experienced. it was a busy night here. i think we're in an inflection point for the country. people are looking around and realizing that we're at a different place than we were whether we were co when we came off memorial day. we were coming off lockdowns and

nbc's sam brock is there at that testing site at the miami beach convention center. sam, you are really in the center of all of this. take us through what you're seeing there and how these hurdles to just get a test are playing into the challenges there in florida. >> reporter: kristen, good morning. there's the promise of what we've heard from elected officials, anybody who wants to get a test can get a covid-19 test. then there's the reality of what we're seeing on the ground. as you mentioned, i'm at the miami beach convention center testing site. all these cars which go down the block and around on the other side of the adjacent street, the individual ye you showed, 1200 tests a day at this site, kristen. it's not enough. they're running out of test, hitting that limit. there are people going to other places to try to get it done. let me bring in dana james, an er nurse at a hospital in the miami area. dana, what's the trends you've been seeing in the last couple weeks? >> especially in the last two weeks we've seen people coming into the emergency room and using

>> sam brock kicking things off in miami. let's cross over to steve patterson in arizona. a state expected to hit the 100,000 case mark here. it took three months for arizona to hit 50,000 cases and just two weeks to add another 50,000. officials, obviously, taking this very seriously. what about residents there this morning? >> well, that's the life or death question, ayman. are people taking this seriously? that will determine the trajectory of the state moving forward. you can almost draw a line to this recent surge of cases directly to when the stay-at-home order ended on may 16th. since then there's been this incredible surge. 50,000 cases over the last two weeks. a lot of the blame officials are putting on people here were on people my age. 44 and younger. in may, they totaled about 40% of the positive cases. now they total about 60%. these are the same people we saw in images packing bars, nightclubs, restaurants, malls and now you get the sense broadly that even with these dramatic numbers that life in a lot of ways has come back to normal. and that bears out in ta

nbc's sam brock is >> reporter: tonight the nba back in action after a 20-week shutdown from covid-19, and players are pumped. >> scale of one to ten, probably 15 that's where my passion is >> reporter: but even commissioner adam silver acknowledges the league's staying power amid this virus is no slam dunk. >> if we have any significant spread whatsoever we would certainly stop immediately. and then we would investigate and determine whether we could move forward. >> reporter: one hopeful sign, 344 players are tested on a daily basis, and so far zero positive results. former nba player eton thomas applauds the results but has concerns. >> then you have baseball then you have college football then you have all these outbreaks. you know, it's too big of a risk. >> reporter: today the league announcing new safety protocols with national tv money for playoffs about a billion dollars. and that absolutely is -- >> reporter: that star power and value on full display tonight with lebron and the los angeles lakers taking on the l.a. clippers lester >> all right, sam, thanks >>> up next, power

lipi roy will break down the latest developments but we gib wi with sam brock and the record breaking numbers out of florida. you could make sense of this? >> reporter: i can't make sense of it to say except there is more testing, alex. 15,300 cases today. the previous record in florida was about 11,500, so 4,000 more than that. the previous high across the country was in new york, back in april, 12,300 and that is 3,000 more than that. the state of florida would be fourth in the world after united states and india and brazil and then florida. 70,000 in the last week and that raises any doubt as to whether this is the new epicenter. let's get down to the details. there were 140,000 tests in the batch and the previous batch it 70,000, and 80,000, the test is going down, 24%, one out of every five people four days awag and now 13.6% so that is better but the thing people have time wrapping their heads around is that you have resorts and the most famous amusement park in the country, disney world opening up at the exact same time florida it seeing the cases. one family from richmond, vir

brock is there. >> reporter: tonight the nba back in action after a 20-week shutdown from covid-19, and players are pumped. >> scale of one to ten, probably 15 >> reporter: but even commissioner adam silver acknowledges the league's staying power amid this virus is no slam dunk. >> if we have any significant spread whatsoever we would certainly stop immediately. and then we would investigate and determine whether we could move forward. >> reporter: one hopeful sign, 344 players have tested on a daily basis, and so far zero positive results. former nba player eton thomas applauds the results but has concerns. >> then you have baseball then you have college football then you have all these outbreaks. you know, it's too big of a risk.o nish this year. we need to protect the national tv money for playoffs about a billion dollars. and that absolutely is -- >> reporter: that star power and value on full display tonight with lebron and the los angeles lakers taking on the l.a. clippers lester >> all right, sam, thanks >>> up next, power and wisdom in the words of john lewis himself >>s far

joining me from orlando is sam brock. you're in the nation's theme park capital right now. what are you hearing from residents? are they nervous about these reopenings? >> reporter: it's really split. good afternoon. we're hearing from families that are taking every possible precaution, they are bringing sanitizer and wipes. they have their temperatures checked. they feel like the reduced capacity at disney world is giving them comfort. plenty of others and beyond in florida reacting to this it of crazy high numbers, 15,000 yesterday, 12,000 today, 28,000 in a two-day period. but before we see this through a prisment, we need to look at what is going on with the testing. that's often times a narrative that you hear from poll tugss. more testing is going to bring more numbers. that is true. they did 112,000 tests. 143,000 the day before. so the question then becomes what percentage of people are actually testing positive. if it you go back to last thursday, it was 20.7%. 1 of every 5 people tested in the state of florida. fast forward now to today, we're looking at numbers a