Was sparked by the Health Crisis, and those numbers are jaw dropping when we think about the human toll. According to johns hopkins, the number of cases worldwide has now passed 5 million. Nearly 1 in 3 of those cases are here in the United States. More than 94,000 americans have lost their lives. And now theres a new study by columbia showing if we acted a little earlier, many more lives could have been saved. Researchers estimate that imposing social distancing rules just one week earlier in march could have saved up to 36,000 lives. Putting the country in lockdown on march 1st could have cut the number of deaths by 80 . That said, we know the country wants to open safely with clear guidelines. Weve got them for business, but so far, none for churches or other religious institutions. It is apparently on hold due to internal arguments between the cdc and the white house. We have got a fantastic team of reporters spread out across the country to dig into all of this. And i want to start with my colleague Kristen Welker at the white house. Cri kristen, why cant the white house and cdc get on the same page. Overnight a Senior Administration official confirming there is a hold on the cdc guidelines for places of worship because the white house and the cdc are not on the same page. It essentially boils down to this, steph. The idea that the white house feels as though the cdcs guidelines would be too restrictive. Ultimately, they want the power to be in the hands of the states. This official told me overnight, sometimes the cdcs recommendations can be overly bureaucratic. So were doing our best to rein in the cdc and empower states to make their own decisions. This has been an ongoing back and forth, steph. We know the cdc did release their guidelines over the weekend very quietly by the way. Not too much fanfare. Guidelines for things like schools as well as other public places, including restaurants. But this has been an ongoing debate. Now counselor Kellyanne Conway was asked about this delay yesterday. She said she believes were going to get guidelines for places of worship soon. But as you know, steph, evangelicals, a core constituent for this president as he heads into reelection, steph. Lets talk about the jobs number. Another 2. 4 Million People filing for unemployment. Any comment out of the white house . No comment yet from the white house, steph. But the numbers continue to be staggering. And if we take a step back, i can tell you the broader context here behind the scenes is this is a president who is increasingly focused on the economic crisis. You are seeing the task force wind down. And more emphasis on what is happening with the economy. Thats why theres been so much focus on how to start to reopen states. We know all 50 states are now starting the process of slowly reopening. But for this president , the economy is going to be key to his reelection chances, steph. Now he has said he believes theres going to be some type of rebound starting in the third quarter. Hes painting a pretty optimistic view of it saying once it starts to rebound, it will do so quickly. As you know, and i dont have to tell you theres a lot of debate among economists about how quickly well see a rebound nrksd and, of course, the Health Crisis continues, steph. Absolutely. Of course were going to see a rebound. For the last two months weve been pretty much shut down. As we start to reopen, well see positive numbers economically. The question is going to be how long will they last and how quickly will they come . Kristen, thank you. Lets turn across the country where National Parks are reopening just in time for memorial day. My colleague Morgan Chesky is in the everglades in south florida. Morgan, specifically, what precautions are the parks taking as they open up . Yeah, steph, good morning. Parks are trying to figure that out as they go. This is such a moving target when it comes to responding to the pandemic. Here at the Everglades National park, they are recommending people do wear these face coverings if theyre going to be out on those trails. I never thought id see a day where wed have socially distant hikes but because of the popularity of these parks, especially here at the ev everglades, thats what weve come to. When you go on a trail, make sure and give a wide berth to people you pass by. In that case, not all the facilities here in this park are reopened. Those common areas like restaurants, places where you can have Group Gatherings in parks, a lot of those are still remaining closed. Rangerled walks in popular hiking areas have also been put on hold. Those will be the biggest differences. Including campgrounds being shut down when they venture out to National Parks whose entry fees have been waived for the upcoming holiday. That is certainly a positive. Thank you, morgan. Now lets head out to vegas where casinos will not be open for memorial day, but theyre getting ready. The people who work there are hoping that date gets close as theyre starting to do more testing. Steve patterson is at a testing site in vegas. Where do things stand . If you are a major casino, the road to reopening has to come through here. This is the Las Vegas Convention center where eventually tens muof thousands of casino workers will come after theyre called back to their jobs will come here to be tested for free. Mgm, caesars and boyd gaming. Look at this place. First thing youll notice, there is social distancing everywhere, even on the floor as workers come in to get registered. The second thing youll notice is the scope of this place. This is in conjunction with University Medical center. They think they can do up to 4,000 samples every single day. As you mention sorry, as were now telling you, memorial day was a target. That is kind of off base now. Most places are aiming towards the beginning of june. Still has to come from the state whether or not that happens. Of course, the governor has not announced when gaming will open back up. But everybody is aiming for that june 1st target. No word yet from the governor on whether or not that will happen and make everybody happy. But that is the goal to bring workers back. So thats why theyre testing now. All part of everybodys phased reopening plan to bring workers here, get them registered, tested, get them out the door. 48 hours for a test result. If theyre positive it will go to the District Health department for contact tracing. But everybody is doing this and the road to reopening starts today. Back to you. Fantastic. Obviously, they want to make everybody happy, but its key to make them happy and healthy. Now lets move to california where more and more counties are reopening businesses after the governor relaxed the state guidelines earlier this week. But officials insist the different regions will move at different speeds. Remember, its a huge state. Meaning cities like los angeles might not reopen for another month. Joining us now, democratic governor gacvin newsom of the state of california. When we think about the shutdown, los angeles, San Francisco, they were among the first to shut down. But now it looks like theyll be among the last to reopen. Why is that . Because the pandemic has impacted those parts of the state more acutely than other parts of the state, particularly l. A. County. Just over the last 24 hours, as an example, about 75 of the deaths that we reported came just out of one county, l. A. County. So we continue to be vigilant and continue to monitor region by region the activity across the state. People across the state want to reopen. And when you look at california, you have got huge beaches and outdoor spaces. You dont have a lot of public transportation. So crowded areas like new york isnt something that you have to face. Why wait so long . The pressure is on. Well, the pressure is on, but were guided by data, not political pressure. Were guided by the facts on the ground. When you talk about density, the San Francisco bay area is one of the most dense regions in the United States. So one has to be cautious. Again, california has many parts. 21 states, populations combined, could reside in the state of california. Fifth largest economy in the world. So we really look region by region. We look at the conditions on the ground, and i do recognize, trust me, deeply, the desire for people to reopen and were making progress in that space. Does that put you in a difficult position because while opening regionally, using research and data is the right answer, people feel the way they feel. Is the president boxing democratic governors like yourself in with getting people so revved up to just let it rip and reopen when youre trying to do the responsible thing. Politically, is that a bad move for you . Yeah, i dont know about the politics. At the end of the day, this is not a time for politics. This is a time to focus on Public Health, Public Safety and to be guided by the data in Public Health. In this respect, stephanie, i come from a private sector background. Ive had the privilege of starting over two dozen businesses. So i have the sense of what businesses need. At the end of the day, they need consumer confidence. They need people to know theyll be safe and healthy when theyre doing business with you. Thats why i dont see this as an either or. Our economic fate and future is completely tied to the Public Health efforts under way. Thats the foundational principle that drives our decisionmaking. For lower income people, for families, the best way they can advance economically their children is through education. And the longer kids arent in school, my kid goes to the have the best school opportunities, and even they are getting probably 30 less than they would in a Normal School year. What that is doing to kids in worse School Systems is significantly worse. Do we need to start looking closer at reopening schools . I think youre spot on. Ive got four young kids, the oldest is 10. So i have an intimate operation of the struggles families are having as it relates to Distance Learning and the disparities that are highlighted and exposed more acutely in this crisis as it relates to the differentiation of the learning capacity. Were working closely with the k through 12 Education System and system of high eer education abt the modifications well look forward to jump start our schools. Looking at potentially bringing in earlier a cohort of students earlier than the traditional fall School Session to begin to educate people and address the issue of learning loss in a much more dynamic way. You need the federal government to give you massive support right now and you have said, if they dont give Financial Aid to california, they will be punishing first responders. What do you mean by that . Not just in california. All across this country. At the end of the day, as a former mayor, i know this intimately. Cities, broadly speaking, roughly 70 of their budgets are payroll. And the impact of this crisis and deficits that cities and counties are facing, not just states, is overwhelming. And as a consequence of that, you saw this in the great recession. More proof do you need than just a recent example . The vulnerability of our frontline employees. Police officers, firefighters, our nurses and, obviously, our teachers. And those that we value the most are vulnerable. Thats why the federal government at this unique moment with depressionera unemployment in an economic crisis no one could have imagined 100 days ago now is presenting itself in a sense that we now collectively need the federal government to do more and help support cities, counties and states and those heroes that have really shown brightly through this pandemic. Yes, sir, but can we look at this unemployment and really compare it to the depression or any other time in history . It was a forced shutdown. The demand hasnt disappeared. The reason so many people are on unemployment is because we told businesses they needed to close down for a while. Thats right. But the reality is, its not a usual economic crisis in this sense. So we have unemployment that is approaching, approximating a depressionera levels. But disproportionately that unemployment is in the Service Sector that represents twothirds of the gdp in this country. And that sector has been crushed. And as a Small Business person myself, i intimately appreciate this point. Many of those businesses arent coming back. So youre absolutely right from the demand perspective. But the ability for those workers to come back quickly is going to be substantially impacted by the nature change of our economy thats radically different from the 20s compared to where it is today. The amount of Unemployment Benefits youre having to pay out is crippling. Lets talk about your states situation. If california was a country, your economy would be the sixth largest in the world. Your own finance department estimates that you are now looking at a record 54 billion shortfall, and residents of california are already facing the highest personal income tax rates in the country. How do you get out of this . Well, last year we had a 21. 5 billion operating surplus. Paid down our debt. Were using 9 billion of that to pay down longterm pension obligations. The lowest unemployment in our States History and five years of average gdp growth north of 3. 8 . Weve been managing the affairs of this state effectively and efficiently and we come into this crisis, in specific answer to your question, with the highest reserves weve had in our history. Were going to manage our budget over the next few years but the magnitude of a 54. 3 billion shortfall when i was announcing surpluses 100 days ago is such at the impact will be felt on Public Health, Public Safety and our public Education System. And thats where the federal government can do so much to help americans in states large and small, including ours to meet this moment and help support us through this difficult time. These stayathome orders are rooted in safety. Yet the Justice Department is now saying your stayathome order is discriminating against churches. Whats your response . I have deep faith and devotion to our churches. I grew up in the church, and went to jesuit university. I have deep reverence for congregants and parishioners that want to reconnect to their community and to their faith and be able to practice accordingly. Were just a few weeks away from meaningful modifications that will allow just that to happen. Before we go whats your number one fear right now . Where do you think well be ten months from now . I fear that we have developed a little bit of amniece eamnesi. Weve forgotten about the lives lost. Weve sort of decided its in our rearview as opposed to looking out the windshield in our future. It will be our decisions, not the conditions that are presented, but our decisions as individuals whether or not we practice physical distancing, social distancing that will determine our fate and future. My biggest fear is that we pull back too quickly and were not driven by data and the facts but driven by protest politics and that is something we cannot afford to do economically or from a health perspective. Thank you so much, governor. I appreciate your time and all that you are doing. Governor gavin newsom from the state of california. Thanks for having me. Still ahead were watching the markets this morning after we learned 2. 4 million more americans are searching for work. And were digging into the disconnect of the economy versus the stock market. And what it means for people who are trying to pay their bills. Plus, President Trump heading to michigan today after threatening the state and making false claims about voter fraud. He will be in michigan where congresswoman Debbie Dingell will also be. She joins us next. I came across sofi and it was the best decision of my life. Were getting a super competitive Interest Rate on our money. Were able to invest through the same exact platform. I got approved for a loan and it was a gamechanger. Truly sofi, thank you for helping me prepare for whatever the future has in store. You wof your daily routine, so why treat your mouth any differently . 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Behind me just to put it in perspective there is a blue dumpster, and its almost completely under water right now. But the good news, though, compared to yesterday, i have to say, steph, the water is slowly starting to recede. The river crested yesterday afternoon at 35 feet, just shy of the projected peak. But officials are saying this area still not out of the clear just yet. A lot of the roads in the area are still impassable and it could be several days before they are back below that flood