Say about the virus or its toll, but he did go hard after joe biden and Kamala Harris. After all, bidens widely praised acceptance speech was a takedown of trumps leadership. And so 24 hours later, trump was in front of a conservative group with a rebuttal and a dystopian vision of a democratic victory. Over the last week, the democrats held the darkest and angriest and gloomiest convention in american history. They spent four Straight Days attacking america as racist and a horrible country that must be redeemed. Joe biden grimly declared a season of american darkness, and yet look at what weve accomplished until the plague came in. Im the only thing standing between the American Dream and total anarchy, madness, and chaos. If we dont win, its all gone, okay . Its all gone. We have to win the election. Im the one. You know theres a theory that if you dont have it by the end of the year, crazy nancy pelosi would become president. You know that, right . No, no, think of that. Think of that. Just a fact check here on trumps allegation about nancy pelosi because, remember, it was our last president who taught constitutional law and not this one. The speaker would only become president if congress, when it counts the electoral votes on january the 6th, cant figure out whos president. In that event, the election would go to the house with each state voting. Only if that step yields no result would a pelosi presidency come into play. It is a scare tactic, though, for the trump base as are his false charges about fraud and mailin voting. I dont like this mailin ballot deal. Theyre going to send out 51 million mailin ballots to people that havent requested them, and nobody knows whos getting them. Were not prepared for this, 51 million ballots. It will be a tremendous embarrassment to our country. They also think im trying to steal an election. Just an opposite. I want the fair results of an election. That brings us to the president s appointed postmaster general, louis dejoy, big trump donor who records show has given over 1. 2 million to the Trump Victory fund and millions more to the party, organizations, and candidates. Hes only been on the job since midjune. No prior postal experience. He has put into place a series of controversial changes including the removal of key sorting machines in what sure looks like an effort to hinder mailin voting. The changes have already slowed our mail delivery. There was no other expected outcome. And last week there were reports several states were warned about mailin ballots for the november election, how they could be delayed or disqualified. Dejoy was questioned about all of that today at a Virtual Senate hearing. Did you discuss those changes or their potential impact on the november election with the president or anyone at the white house . And remind you youre under oath. Ive never spoken to the president about the Postal Service other than to congratulate me when i accepted the position. Prior to implementing the changes, did you discuss these changes or their impact on the election with any Trump Campaign officials . No, sir. Can i have your word that youre not going to mandate that states send out any ballots using either the more expensive first class mail and will you continue the processes and procedures to allow election mail to move as expeditiously as possible and treat it like first class . Yes, sir. We we will deploy processes and procedures that advance any election mail in some cases ahead of first class mail. Will you be bringing back any mail sorting machines that have been removed since youve become postmaster general . Any of those come back . Theres no intention to do that. Theyre not needed, sir. Were being told that youre limiting overtime, and this could possibly add to backlogs. Are you limiting overtime . We never eliminated overtime. Its been curtailed significantly is what i understand. It has not been curtailed by me or the leadership team. No matter what you heard right there, as for that last response about overtime, nbc news has obtained an internal post Service Document showing dejoys policy changes prohibit extra or late trips and mandate that mail carriers return on time. One other thing we learned dejoy told the senate he supports voting by mail and like his boss, the president , it happens to be how he votes. On monday, hell get to answer more questions before a virtual House Committee hearing. Next week, of course, republicans will hold their own nominating convention. It all begins in charlotte, North Carolina, on monday. Trump will be in the state. Politico is reporting hes expected to stop by the actual Convention Site where the roll call vote will be held. While much is still unknown about this event, including the official title, we have learned that trump will likely speak on more than one of the four nights of the convention. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reporting democrats are planning to counterprogram throughout the week with a series of events by calling attention to the contrasts between trump and biden. Even as his quest for a second term becomes official, there are trumps legal troubles after all. Today his lawyers filed an emergency motion with an Appeals Court to stop the release of his tax returns, which of course had been cleared for release to the manhattan d. A. Trumps former Senior Adviser and close chum steve bannon also vowing to fight federal prosecutors in the Southern District of new york. Bannons been charged with fraud and Money Laundering in connection with a Crowdfunding Effort to build trumps border wall. Bannon has pleaded not guilty. Today he called the prosecution politically driven. I am not going to back down. This is a political hit job. Everybody knows i love a fight, and i was called honey badger for many years. You know, honey badger doesnt give, so, you know, im in this for the lorng haul. Im in this for the fight. Im going to continue to fight. This was to stop and intimidate people that want to talk about the wall. And a Late Development in a story we have been following steadily. Nbc news reporting the late word that former cia director john brennan was indeed interviewed today at langley cia headquarters for eight hours by u. S. Attorney john durham, who is reviewing the investigation into those ties between russia and trumps 2016 president ial campaign. Brennans former deputy chief of staff says brennan was told he is not a subject or a target of any criminal investigation but only a witness to events. Now, earlier this month, sources told nbc news that a brennan interview could signal that durham is nearing the end of his inquiry. Its a lot, and with us to talk about it, three returning veterans on a friday night. Phil rucker, pulitzer prizewinning bureau chief for the Washington Post, who is the coauthor along with his very stable colleague Carol Leonnig of the bestseller a very stable genius. Jon karl, chief White House Correspondent over at abc news. We get to talk to him because he too is an author. The must read front row at the trump show. And melissa murray, an nyu law professor, clerked for judge Sonia Sotomayor while on the u. S. Court of appeals. Good evening and welcome to you all. Phil, id like to begin with you and your beat. What was the real west wing reaction to the fournight democratic show, to the final speech by joe biden, and give us as much of a preview as you can of the rnc convention. Yeah. So, brian, publicly the president s advisers and aides are saying that the democrats put on a convention of doom and gloom to use the phrase that we hear out of the Trump White House. They believed it was too negative of a tone and a message from the democrats. But privately there is an acknowledgement among the president s advisers that he is behind in this race, that joe biden clearly has momentum and has the advantage at the moment and that the Democratic Convention was pretty well executed from a technological standpoint, from an innovation standpoint, from a message discipline standpoint, all things that matter in politics. So looking ahead, the republicans want to try to project a sense of optimism and give voters a feeling that four more years of President Trump will help us get out of this pandemic and rebuild the economy after the recession this year. But there are a lot of big ifs in this convention including some of the cultural warriors who are going to be speaking and may have very controversial and divisive messages. There are also some ethics questions being raised about the way the president is going to be conducting this convention. He will be giving his acceptance speech thursday night from the white house itself. That is federal property of course, and there are also concerns about so much of the activity happening in close proximity to his own hotel, the trump hotel on pennsylvania avenue in washington. Jon karl, can we just assume that after four nights of the Republican Convention, theyre simply going to insist that the democratic ticket is hunter biden and aoc . Essentially. Look, brian, this is going to be dark, particularly, i believe, the president s acceptance speech. This is going to make american carnage look like morning in america, and weve seen hes telegraphed this. In scranton, yesterday, he actually compared himself to a wall. He said, we are a wall between the American Dream and the complete and total destruction of the greatest country on earth. He said today, they are coming for you. They are coming after you. This is going to be a very dark vision, and i think phil raises a great point. I mean weve, you know, all been under the assumption that you cant do overt politics on federal property, and certainly not at the white house. And he will the president will deliver his acceptance speech right there on the white house right there at the south lawn, presumably white house officials, white house aides, people on the government payroll doing the work of preparing and executing that very critical day of the Republican Convention on federal property, on the federal dime. Because a piece of legislation called the hatch act at least used to matter. Yeah. Hey, professor, its not like all other news stopped happening while our attention was focused on the Democratic Convention. And specifically id like you to weigh in and let our viewers know the state of play on the president s tax returns. Well, so far it seems that the president has suffered another blow on that case. Yesterday judge Victor Marrero in the Southern District of new york said that the subpoenas could go forward, that the president hadnt been able to prove that they were overbroad. He tried to get those stayed. Victor marrero denied that state, and now hes proceeded to file for a stay with the Second Circuit. The Second Circuit did not accept that emergency request for a stay but did set oral arguments on the stay for september 1st, so that will happen. And the real question is what happens after that, whether those subpoenas will be made available to may czars, whether may czars will produce those documents. Either way, the public didnt get to see them. These are documents released to a grand jury and all of those remain squesz tered from public view. Jon karl, has the president found out the hard way and in public that somewhere north of 90 of us happen to love the post office and a good number of especially men and women who have served our country depend on it to stay alive . He absolutely did. You saw it in the way he talked about this. You know, at first there was the threats that he was going to withhold funding from the post office. By the way, he reaffirmed that threat today saying he would veto the democratic bill to provide 25 billion in additional funding. But the talk seemed to be antipost office, you know, decrying this idea of voting by mail, which he is still doing. But what you saw happen as the story blossomed and people saw their mail slowing down is that people rely on the post office. All americans rely on the post office, but especially americans in rural areas. I can tell you as somebody who spent time growing up in south dakota, in those places, you need your mail. Your mail is your lifeline. And those are in many cases those are trump voters. These are rural areas. This extends. This is not simply targeting democratic cities. He appeared to be targeting an institution held dear by americans all across the country, including many of his supporters. And, you know, by the end of the week, he was saying, save the post office. Professor, back over to you, speaking of news that happened this week that didnt get its proper attention. This republicanapproved joint report from the Senate Intel Committee in which, a thousand or so pages, we learn the Intel Committee made criminal referrals on the president s son, djtj, on jared, on bannon, and on two others. And, professor, it remains, i think, the largest undercovered story of the week. Well, its definitely one thats managed to stay under the radar for over a year. Like this letter was sent over to the u. S. Attorney and the d. C. Circuit back in august of 2019. It doesnt necessarily say that jared or donald trump jr. Were engaged in any conduct that would be illegal but it does note that there were discrepancies between their testimony before the Senate Chamber and the testimony of richard gates. So thats something that is worth noting. The most, i think, damning conclusions from that letter were about steve bannon and some other Trump Associates where they were sort of accused of providing misleading statements to the Senate Chamber. And that of course could be referred on to criminal investigations, but we dont really know what happened. There hasnt been any discussion. The u. S. Attorney for the d. C. District hasnt said anything, nor has the department of justice. And that by itself might be worth thinking about as well. Phil rucker, back over to you, the headline is so numbing tonight, at or about 300,000 projected deaths by december 1st, just in time for our country to head into the holiday season. Joe biden told jons Network Today that he would be willing to indeed shut down the country again if that was the advice of science. According to your reporting, has there been any attempt at refiguring the official position of this administration on this virus and its slow march from sea to sea other than their current policy statements, something like, it is what it is . You know, not exactly, brian. There is there has been a slow recognition this summer that the virus is not going away, which is of course what President Trump has repeatedly projected. Its also, by the way, what Vice President pence declared in that wall street journal editorial a couple of months ago. They now acknowledge that these numbers are bad, that they are growing, that were going to have this virus with us for some time. But there is not any sort of a new National Strategy for how to confront it and how to get rid of it. In fact, testing remains a problem. In some places, people are taking days, sometimes as long as a week or longer to get the results of their tests, which render those results relatively moot if theyre trying to control community spread. And theres very inconsistent rules around the country when it comes to precautions like wearing a mask or social distancing or what to do about restaurants and any of the other number of public gathering places where this virus has been spreading. And so we have a patchwork solution out in the states, and we have from the president somebody who is trying to demonstrate command of the virus and focus on the Public Relations aspects of it without really forcefully confronting the virus in the way that scientists and Public Health officials believe is necessary in order for the United States to control these numbers. Jon karl, you get the last word before we lose you, before you return to the friendly confines of abc news. So is what were looking at during this campaign, as masks have been red and blue politicized, are we going to see rallies politicized, meaning its the Trump Campaign that will allow and promote gatherings of humans . I think thats what youre going to see next week. I mean the president we dont know much frankly because theyre still cobbling it together. They werent planning anything remotely like a Virtual Convention until it dawned on them that they wouldnt be able to do the Big Convention in jacksonville, florida. But i think in every one of these every one of these nights, there will be an audience of some kind. We saw the president before an audience today in virginia. By the way, almost none of the people Wearing Masks there. We saw him in skranlten yesterday. Same deal. He knows he cant get those big arenas because the states simply wont allow them. But he will be doing events with people and try to make that a contrast to draw with joe biden, who will not be doing that. Great thanks to our big three after the week weve had only this friday night. To phil rucker, to jon karl, to professor melissa murray, thank you. Coming up for us, donald trump says a biden presidency would mean mayhem in our streets, but our next guest calls trumps leadership a disaster. Boston mayor marty walsh, who is managing a big city in a pandemic, is here to tell us why he believes joe biden could manage our big country in a pandemic. And later, as the democrats exit stage left, some unconventional wisdom from president ial historian and author Michael Beschloss. All of it part of the 11th hour just getting under way on at exhaustionfueled friday night. Night. You must go and i must bide but come ye back when su mom, dad. Whys jamie here . Its sunday. Sunday sing along. And he helped us get a home and auto bundle. Hes been our insurance guy for five years now. He makes us feel like were worth protecting. [ gasps ] why didnt you tell us about these savings, flo . Ive literally told you a thousand times. Oh, danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling im just gonna. From glen to glen i would be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives because we cannot get the country moving until we control the virus. That is the fundamental flaw of this administrations thinking to begin with. So if the Scientists Say shut it down i would shut it down. I would listen to the scientists. Biden approach to the coronavirus is in stark contrast to the president s. Trump has been pushing for reop reopening, all science seemingly aside, and pressuring schools to reopen as well. Just today, the city of boston announced all Public Schools will start the school year remotely. And here with us tonight, mayor of that city, marty walsh. Mayor, talk about your decision. As weve been saying night in and night out, going back to school is the most intensely personal decision for parents, for the educators, because of everyone in your network, everyone you go home to, your level of risk and theirs. So tell us what factored into your decision and honestly whats the reactions been. Well, first and foremost, were going to do it in phases here in boston, and its an all opt in. So if parents choose not to send their kids to school, they dont have tompt were going to start on september 21st, all remote. Were going to be gearing october 1st. It will be special needs, kids with real special needs. Varsz then after that, i think its october 5th will be 0 k 1, k2. Were basing this on science and its going to tell us where the science is at that particular moment. Right now our testing right in boston is 2. 8 test positive for coronavirus. If we get to 4 , well not be Opening School. If were Opening School in a hybrid model and we get to 4 , well be closing it back down. So were hopeful. I mean i think the best education kids get in schools, the Elementary Schools and high schools, is in person. But we are putting our kids first and were putting the safety of them and their teachers and the staff first. So our hope is to get to a hybrid model, but again were going to base it on how the coronavirus is, what the emergency rates are in the city of boston as weve done everything in the it i. First off, not enough has been said during this pandemic and lockdown about the special burden on special needs parents during this time. So im happy to hear about that and publicize it. Number two, though, you heard joe biden said he would shut down again if that was the advice, if that was the science. That sounds an awful lot like the makings of a potential National Plan. What price do you pay as mayor of a big new england city for the absence of a National Plan on this, for everything kind of being adlibbed . S. Were paying a big price right now. In the city, we went through our surge back in may and june, and in july and august weve seen our numbers level off. Were averaging, like i said, over a sevenday period, anywhere from 1. 9 to 2. 8 . Were a college town in boston. We have, you know, dozens of colleges. And right now quite honestly were concerned about all of these students coming from these states that the numbers are just going through the roof, states that shut down for a very short period of time, states that arent mandating masks, states that really didnt take the virus seriously. I think as a country, if we shut down universally as a country at the beginning of this virus, we would be in a lot better shape in term of the coronavirus. Now we have hot spots all over the country. Its not in control. From the very beginning of this, the Trump White House has been a failure, not providing ppe, not providing ventilators. We all watched the story of new york city and new york state in the beginning of this. There has been no National Plan from the very beginning. Theres still no National Plan. And its great to hear that joe bidens talking about that. You know, if he shut the country down, even if bostons numbers were lower, i would support him because its about containing and eliminating the virus. I have to ask you what are you hearing about your from your constituents about mail service in boston . You know, were concerned. In the city of boston, i dont know the number as of today but as of last week, we sent out 75,000 ballot applications to folks. Weve given back 60 ballots excuse me, 60,000 ballots. Weve received about 6,000 ballots back in the mail. There was major concern last week when the Postal Service reversed what they did wrong. It was little more comfort here. But people now are very skeptical of the mail, and we have a primary election on september 1st in massachusetts, and then we have the general election in november. To send that type of a fear across america is really a bad thing. I mean i think that a lot of people want to vote by mail. They dont want to go in person. Coronavirus is going to be very much front and center, and having, you know, hundreds of millions of people going out to vote is a problem. Maybe not hundreds of millions, but over 100 million americans will go out and vote in the president ial election. Its concerning. Time for all good bostonians to get to the cape. A few hours left on this friday night. Mayor marty walsh of boston, mass, thank you very much for making time for us tonight. We greatly appreciate it. Coming up for us, the claim mike pence makes when confronted with something he said about the coronavirus. A quote that hasnt aged well. More on that when we come back. Find new listings so quickly . operator got another vacancy at fifth and pine. brad oh, thats good. Apartmentsdotcom. The most popular place to find a place. I got it all from you im always pushing through i know well make it to the finish line i know youre waiting on the other side im like you ondemand glucose monitoring. Because theyre always on. Another lifechanging technology from abbott. So you dont wait for life. You live it. You said the panic is overblown. You said that on june 16th. How was the concern overblown . Well, john, what was at that time, as you well remember, we were seeing cases declining, and most of our scientists believed that we were we were well on our way toward toward lowering cases. But sometime around memorial day, things changed. You may remember when mike pence told Geraldo Rivera the pandemic would largely be behind us by memorial day. For that matter, you may faintly remember memorial day. You may also remember back on june 16th, mike pence insisted, all Available Evidence to the contrary, that the u. S. Was winning the fight against the invisible enemy. Nearly 60,000 souls have died just in the time since he said that. And this weeks outbreaks have forced some big colleges Like University of North Carolina and notre dame to change classroom learning plans again. In fact, right there in mike pences home state, at the studentrun newspaper at notre dame, an editorial with the headline dont make us write obituaries. Joining us tonight for a status report, dr. Irwin redlener, pediatrics physician, Senior Research scholar and the columbia universitys earth institute, also the founding director of columbias National Center for Disaster Preparedness with an expertise in pandemics. Doctor, simple question to start you off. Where do we stand as a nation, and where does this virus stand as of tonight . Yeah. So we remain in serious trouble, brian. We still have the highest number of cases and proportionally the highest number of deaths of any country in the world. This is nowhere near over for us, and now were about to open schools, and im really kind of very concerned about where this is all going to go. And i think the experience that you just cited about whats happening in the universities is a good warning for us that this is not going to go necessarily well or easily in terms of controlling the spread of this virus once we put 55 million to 56 million children back in school in one form or another. So we have a lot to watch out for, brian. And is there something were doing wrong on College Campuses . Can it be done better, or are we just bumping up against human nature, trying to separate humans and keep their distance kind of bumps up against what college is all about. Yeah. You know, thats a really good point too because, you know, were talking about 18 to 22yearolds who already go to school thinking theyre pretty immortal and really craving and who doesnt remember being that age craving the social contacts and the interactions. It is an extremely difficult ask of College Students to remain separated and to follow the basic Public Health rules. As the grandfather of a 20yearold at ohio state, i know firsthand. He went back last week, and im really worried about him. But i think the point youre making is extremely well taken. Are we asking too much of Americas College and University Students . Have there been moments i was looking at the biden event last night. The democratic ticket came out the back door of the event center in wilmington to this parking lot of it looked like a drivein movie on an august night. Cars, people on their hoods, but they had come as a unit. They were all watching fireworks, watching the proceedings on a big screen. It was an instance of the public figuring out Public Health because we have not been able to look to our government at all times. Do you congratulate those workarounds that have worked, or do you look at everything and think, go slow. We cant guarantee any of these events before a vaccine . You know, we have a lot to think about, brian, and i think going slow is the Key Direction here. Going slow but going in some sort of coordinated, consistent manner with Good National leadership. And by the way, you know, biden made that remark that, you know, on day one hes going to change everything about the way we fight covid. Usually thats just kind of like political rhetoric and, you know, whatever. But in this case i actually think on day one, the Biden Harris Team is going to change everything about how weve approached this covid threat, and well see national leadership. Well see honesty. Its going to be a shock to america, but were going to see truthtelling. Were going to see scientists depended upon, not derided by the federal leadership, and were going to see a team thats going to take this very seriously. And im looking forward to that, but in the meantime, we do have to look for these signs of hope. You know, i dont want to be dr. Doom here. I just do think that we have to go slowly. We have to watch very carefully when we start putting our children back in schools. But i think we got a taste of serious grownup politics and policy making over this last week with the Democratic Convention. Dr. Irwin redlener, our thanks as always, especially for staying up late with us on a friday night after i keep saying after the week eve all had. Greatly appreciate it. Coming up, after the week weve all had and right when we need a president ial historian, Michael Beschloss happens to be standing by to talk with us after this break. Ak from chicken of the sea, comes new wild catch. Premium, readytoeat fillet pieces of albacore tuna, or alaskan salmon, or ahi yellowfin with just water and sea salt. New wild catch from chicken of the sea. Enjoy the catch of the day any day. Theyre going to be paying for this for a long time. They will, but with accident forgiveness allstate wont raise your rates just because of an accident, even if its your fault. Cut sonny. Was that good . Line the desert never lies. Isnt that what i said . No you were talking about allstate and insurance. I just. When i. Lets try again. Everybody back to one. Accident forgiveness from allstate. Click or call for a quote today. Toim releasing a plan to save lives in the months ahead. Irus. We need to increase federal support for testing, doubling the number of drivethru testing sites. We absolutely need a clear message from the very top of our federal government that Everyone Needs to wear a mask in public. Every single Frontline Worker should have the personal protective equipment that they need to be safe. We need to support schools and childcare programs so parents, if and when they can return to work, are confident that their children will be safe and cared for. And finally, we need to protect the populations most at risk our seniors, vulnerable populations with preexisting conditions. We need real plans, real guidelines, with uniform nationwide standards. Its a simple proposition folks, were all in this together. We gotta fight this together. Well emerge from this stronger because we did it together. Im joe biden and i approve this message. This is our moment. This is our mission. May history be able to say that the end of this chapter of american darkness began here, tonight as love and hope and light join in the battle for the soul othe nation. And this is a battle we will win, and well promise you. Were going to talk to a man now who takes the long view of history and also assesses it right then and there on the fly. And indeed our next guest called last nights remarks by joe biden, quote, easily the best and most affecting speech biden has ever delivered. Back with us again tonight, our friend Michael Beschloss, author, president ial historian. His many must read works include his latest president s of war. Michael, trump today called this the darkest convention in history. Im dutybound to remind everyone watching the theme of his inaugural address was american carnage, and his goto thematic line on the stump these days is theyre coming for you. So how do we process that . Yeah. Well, like being called ugly by a frog, i guess. This was only dark because the democrats were saying that this country is in a very difficult situation. When, brian, can you think of a convention ive been trying to where there was so much talk about the possible destruction of democracy if the president wins a second term . That was the theme of what both obamas said. It was a little bit of a theme of what joe biden said last night. Youd have to go back probably to 1860 when speakers at all the conventions were talking about the fact that there might be a civil war that might end the United States, or 1940 when people on the Convention Floor of the democrats in chicago were talking about the fact that we were facing a world possibly dominated by adolf hitler and the imperial japanese. What could we do . Theres that kind of apocalyptic talk, and if it was dark this week, that was the reason. And the reason was the world that donald trump has in a way created. And with that vote coming up, the president has tried his best to diminish mailin voting. Remind the folks watching the deep roots in our history that the post office has, the deep affection that american generations have had for the post office. This is not a partisan issue. No, its not, and its a big part of american lore. Who was the first postmaster general of the United States . Benjamin franklin, 1775. Abraham lincoln was the postmaster of new salem, illinois. Im sure youve been from and seen his restored post office. You can walk in now if you go to visit. 1960, the First Fully Automated post office in the United States, providence, rhode island. The founders had an almost reverent and sentimental view of what the post office could do for this country, so much so that they put it in the constitution. They said that our government is responsible to provide post offices and post roads. They knew that was the only way to pull the states of a very diverse nation together. Lets talk about what was lost and what was gained, not having the usual convention crowd. And you and i have talked about this before. Instead, it was kind of a laptopfriendly convention. Joe biden, for one, was able to modulate his speaking style between something just shy of a shout and just north of a whisper and have a very intimate conversation. No one needs to remind you that the average acceptance speech, even at the worst live convention, theres that by rote need to applaud at the end of virtually every sentence. Right. This was not that. No, it wasnt, and i was sort of bracing myself not to like this convention because i thought compared to the conventions of the past, which we all love a lot of things about them, this would be sort of orwell meets the broadway play the best man, like this would be something we had never seen before. And actually the artistry of the people who put this convention together and appeared in it made this not only something that was a worthy substitute but in certain ways better. I loved the roll call of the states. To be able to not just hear some guy saying, you know, here is the vote of the sunshine set, but instead, go to wyoming and see the parents of matthew shepard, the gay young man who was beaten and killed, or the beauty of new mexico, showed america in all its beauty and its richness. The other thing is i think the obamas addresses were extremely powerful, extremely moving, give you an enormous sense of what is at stake this fall. Joe biden very much the same. Im not sure that those addresses would have been so powerful if they had been, just as you were saying, brian, in a big hall with balloons coming down and applause and people, you know, blasting trumpets. Michael, in our closing seconds, we saw a striking image today, a casket coming out of the north portico of the white house after services for the president s brother. When was the last time we saw such an image . Pretty rare. We saw, for instance, abraham lincolns son, willy, as you know, died when he was president. And president s do have a lot of leeway over how they use the mansion. So this was a sad occasion today and does have some precedence in others in american history. Michael beschloss, our thanks as always. We hope you enjoy a good weekend. Thank you for staying up with us tonight. Coming up for us, the news comes so fast now, its hard not to turn away when the next thing comes along. But tonight we must turn back and update you on something that shocked the world when it happened. With my hepatitis c. I felt i couldnt be at my. Best for my family. In only 8 weeks with mavyret. I was cured. I faced reminders of my hep c every day. I worried about my hep c. But in only 8 weeks with mavyret. I was cured. Mavyret is the only 8week cure for all types of hep c. Before starting mavyret your doctor will test. If youve had hepatitis b which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. Tell your doctor if youve had hepatitis b, a liver or kidney transplant,. Other liver problems, hiv1, or other medical conditions,. And all medicines you take. Dont take mavyret with atazanavir. Or rifampin, or if youve had certain liver problems. If youve had or have serious liver problems other than hep c, theres a rare chance they may worsen. Signs of serious liver problems may include yellowing of the skin, abdominal pain or swelling, confusion, and unexplained bleeding or bruising. Tell your doctor if you develop symptoms of liver disease. Common side effects include headache and tiredness. With hep c behind me, i feel free. Fearless. Because i am cured. If you cant afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. You say that customersord make thelets talk data. Only Xfinity Mobile lets you switch up your wireless data whenever. I accept 5g, everybodys talking about it. How do i get it . Everyone gets 5g with our new data options at no extra cost. Thats good. Next item corner offices for everyone. Just have to make more corners in this building. Chad. Your wireless. Your rules. Only with Xfinity Mobile. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Switch and save up to 400 a year on your wireless bill. Plus, get 400 off when you buy the new Samsung Galaxy note20 ultra 5g. While we have been focused on politics this past week, let us please not forget that lebanon is dealing with dueling emergencies. The government has imposed a twoweek lockdown to contain a surge of coronavirus, and of course the city of beirut now has hundreds of thousands of newly Homeless People following that gigantic explosion there earlier this month. And a troubling percentage of these struggling recent survivors are children. So we get an update on the situation there tonight from nbc news Foreign Correspondent matt bradley. Reporter shock waves nearly three weeks since the explosion that destroyed lebanons capital. For 6yearold celeste, its as if the blast were happening now. Over and over again in her mind. Boom translator i skremed. I was calling grandma, grandma. Shes terrified of loud noises. Reporter suffers from nightmares and speaks constantly of death. I get scared from the sound and sometimes i cant get to the bathroom in time, she says. The beirut blast killed 177 people and injured thousands more. Among the casualties, the delicate minds of bay routes children. How long will the children be living with these psychological scars . I can tell you if theyre not if theyre not addressed, then scars can last a lifetime. Reporter even before the blast, lebanese children were suffering along with their parents. First a devastating financial crisis, then covid19, and finally one of the largest nonnuclear explosions ever recorded. 80,000 homes destroyed, 300,000 people left homeless, including 100,000 children. Some injured, others orphaned, most scarred. This boy and his twin sister, both 6 years old, every afternoon for the first week they would wait for another explosion. The ploegs hasnt left my ears, the boy says. What it did to my house, its still in my eyes. This is not normal for a child to witness such things, you know, in terms of what they saw and what they heard. Reporter relief agencies are rushing to reach these children and offer guidance to parents, but finding space is another struggle. 120 schools were either damaged or destroyed. With so much desperation, aid agencies worry parents may sacrifice education. We hope that this blast alongside the economic crisis we had before will not lead to again a decrease in enrollment in education because then its basically their entire future thats jeopardized. Reporter leaving a mark on churn childrens minds long after this city is rebuilt. Matt bradley, nbc news. What a devastating situation there. Coming up for us, something to watch over the weekend, something the republicans will be forced to watch during their Convention Next week when we continue. If your gums bleed when you brush you may have gingivitis. And the clock could be ticking towards bad breath, receding gums and possibly tooth loss. Help turn back the clock on gingivitis with parodontax. Leave bleeding gums behind. Parodontax. Last thing before we go on this friday night, something to watch over the weekend, something to put on your calendar for the start of next week in addition, of course, to the beginning of the Republican National convention. We are looking at the possibility of a first in our history, the First Time Since they started keeping records that two named hurricanes will be churning side by side at the same time in the gulf of mexico. Their names are laura and marco. Theyre not there yet, but theyre getting there. Meteorologists assure us they wont merge, but theres a bigger chance they could spread out the misery and dance alongside each other or steer each other, and we have to pray that the gulf cannot support two big storms. Theres also a chance that competing for food, in effect, heat and tropical air would lessen one storm or the other or both. Its still a long way off, but its still possible. We dont need to say this to the folks there, but as we mark the 15th anniversary of katrina and as nerves remain raw in houston, where hurricanes are concerned, the gulf states gave at the office a long time ago. And in the worstcase scenario, one of these is headed to texas, the other to louisiana during a pandemic that has hit both of those states hard. Still, its early yet, but we ask that you spare a thought for the folks in the gulf between now and when we next see you on monday night. For now, that is our broadcast for this evening and for this week. Please try to have a good and safe weekend, and on behalf of all my colleagues here at the networks of nbc news, good night. I havent slept a wink. Anything could happen over the course of the next hour. Im completely beyond it. It has been such an its been a big week. Theres been a lot. This was the front page in wilmington, delaware, today. Wilmington is where joe biden lives. Its where he and senator Kamala Harris accepted the nominations of their party for the president ial and Vice President ial ticket of the democratic party. This is the front page that wilmington, delaware, woke up to today. Joes ti