A double disaster is brewing in florida. Tropical storm isaias is set to pick up strength as it races towards southeastern florida with maximum sustained winds of 70 miles an hour as it makes its way northwest. Forecasters predict it will dump heavy rain on the state before heading north and northeast along the coast. Floridas Coronavirus Infection rate is also not slowing down, reporting another day of more than 9,000 new infections. In california, cases are also on the rise, as are deaths. The state just reported its highest number of deaths in a single day, 214. California also topped more than half million cases. In all, more than 155,000 americans are known to have died from covid19 and the virus continues to spread. Meanwhile, another law maker was diagnosed with the virus and in a statement blames some of his colleagues for in his words strutting around the capitol without a mask to selfishly make a political statement at the expense of their colleagues, staff and families. He chairs a committee at a hearing this week from texas congressman who was diagnosed on wednesday. Hes been very vocal about his opposition to wearing masks. Plenty to discuss this hour, but lets begin with john lewis. His remarkable life cake to a remarkable end this week with services in atlanta, washington and selma, alabama. On thursday culminated in a funeral in a Baptist Church in atlanta. It was a rare occasion, music from jennifer holiday and wynans family, full military honors shall and tributes from four living president s, three in person, one sent by the church. Together they paid respect to the man all remarks got applause but president obama delivered john lewis eulogy, who he considered a hero, he spoke with passion and respect and some criticized him for being overertly political and other praised him for making a direct call to action. Heres part one of our highlights of president obamas tribute to john lewis. Ive come here today because i like so Many Americans owe a great debt to john lewis. And his forceful vision of freedom. Now this country is a constant work in progress. Were born with instructions. To form a more perfect union. Explicit in those words is the idea that were imperfect that what gives each new generation purpose is to take up the unfinished work of the last and carry it further than any might have thought possible. John lewis, first of the freedom riders, head of the student nonviolent coordinating committee, youngest speaker at the march on washington, leader on the march from selma to montgomery, member of congress, representing the people of this state and this district for 33 years, mentor to young people, including me at the time, until his final day on this earth, he not only embraced that responsibility but he made it his lifes work. Which isnt bad for a boy from troy. John was born into modest means, that means he was poor. In the heart of the jim crow south to parents who picked somebody elses kind. Apparently, he didnt take to farm work. On days when he was supposed to help his brothers and sisters with their labor hed hide under the porch and make a break for the school bus when it showed up. His mother willie may lewis nurtured that curiosity in this shy, serious child. Once you learn something, she told her son, once you get something inside your head no one can take it away from you. As a boy john listened through the door after bed time as his fathers friends complained about the klan. One sunday as a teenager he heard dr. King preach on the radio. As a College Student in tennessee he signed up for jim lawsons workshops on the tactic of nonviolent civil disobedience. John lewis was getting something inside his head. An idea he couldnt shake, took hold of him, that nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience were the means to change laws but also to change hartl hearts and change minds and change nations and change the world. So he helped organize the National Campaign in 1960. He and other young men and women sat at a segregated lunch welldressed, straight back, refusing to let a milk shake poured on their heads or a cigarette extinguished on their backs, or a foot aimed at their ribs. Refused to let that dent their dignity. And their sense of purpose. And after a few months the Nashville Campaign achieved the First Successful desegregation of public facilities in any major city in the south. John got a taste of jail. For the first, second, third well, several times. But he also got a taste of victory. And it consumed him with righteous purpose and he took the battle deeper into the south. And that same year, just weeks after the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of interstate bus facilities was unconstitutional, john and Bernard Lafayette bought two tickets, climbed aboard a greyhound, sat up front, and refused to move. This was months before the First Official freedom rides. He was doing a test. Doing a te. Trip was unsanctioned. Few knew what they were up to. And every stop through the night, apparently the angry driver stormed out of the bus and into the bus station and john and bernard had no idea what he might come back with. Or who he might come back with. Nobody was there to protect them. There were no camera crews to record events. You know, sometimes, rev, we read about this and we kind of take it for granted, or at least we we act as if it was inevitable. Imagine the courage of two people malias age, younger than my oldest daughter, on their own. To challenge an entire infrastructure of oppression. John was only 20 years old. But he pushed all 20 of those years to the center of the table, betting everything, all of it, that his example could challenge centuries of convention and generations of brutal violence and countless daily in dignidignities suffere africanamericans. Like john the baptist, preparing the way, like those Old Testament prophets speaking truth to kings. John lewis did not hesitate and he kept on getting on board busses and sitting at lunch counters. Got his mug shot taken again and again. Marched again and again on a mission to change america. Spoke to a quarter Million People at the march on washington when he was just 23. Helped organize the freedom summer in mississippi when he was just 24. At the ripe, old age of 25 john was asked to lead the march from selma to montgomery. He was warned that governor wallace had ordered troopers to use violence. But he and Jose Williams and others led them across that bridge anyway. And weve all seen the film and the footage and the photographs. President clinton mentioned the trench coat, the nap sack, the book to read, the apple to eat, the tooth brush, apparently jails werent big on such creature comforts. And you look at those pictures and john looks so young, and hes small in stature, looking every bit that shy, serious child that his mother had raised and yet hes full of purpose. Gods put perseverance in him. And we know what happened to the marchers that day. Their bones were cracked by billie clubs, their eyes and lungs choked with tear gas, they knelt to pray which made their heads easier targets, and john was struck in the skull, and he thought he was going to die, surrounded by the sight of Young Americans gagging and bleeding and trampled, victims in their own country. Statesponsored violence. And the thing is i imagine initially, that day, the troopers thought theyd won the battle. You can imagine the conversations they had afterwards. [ applause ] you can imagine them saying, yeah, we showed them. They figured theyd turn the protesters back over the bridge. That they kept, that they preserved a system that denied the basic humanity of their fellow citizens. Except this time there were some camera theres. This time the world saw what happened, bore witness to black americans who were asking for nothing more than to be treated like other americans. Who were not asking for special treatment, just equal treatment, promised to them a century before. And almost another century before that. And when john woke up and checked himself out of the hospital he would make sure the world saw a movement that was, in the words of scripture, hard pressed on every side but not crushed. Perplexed, but not in despair [ applause ] persecuted but not abandoned. Struck down but not destroyed. They returned a battered prophet bandages around his head. And he said, more marchers will come now. And the people came. And the troopers parted. And the marchers reached montgomery. And the words reached the white house. And lyndon johnson, son of the south, said we shall overcome. And the Voting Rights act was signed into law. The life of john lewis was, in so many ways, exceptional. It vindicated the faith in our founding redeemed that faith. That most american of ideas. The idea that any of us, ordinary people without rank or wealth or title, or fame can somehow point out the imperfections of this nation and come together and challenge the status quo. And decide that it is in our power to remake this country that we love. Until it more closely aligns with our highest ideals. What a radical idea. What a revolutionary notion. This idea that any of us, ordinary people, a young kid from troy can stand up to the powers and principalities to say no, this isnt right, this isnt true, this isnt just. We can do better. On the battlefield of justice americans like john, americans like reverend lowery and c. T. Vivian, two other patriots we lost this year, liberated all of us, the Many Americans came to take for granted. America was built by people like that. America was built [ applause ] by john lewises. John lewises. He as much as anyone in our history brought this country a little bit closer to our highest ideals. And some day when we do finish that long Journey Towards freedom, when we do form a more perfect union, whether its years from now or decade or even if it takes another two centuries, john lewis will be a founding father of that fuller, fairer, better america. [ applause ] and yet as exceptional as john was, heres the thing, john never believed that what he did was more than any citizen of this country can do. I mentioned in a statement the day john passed, thing about john was just how gentle and humble he was. And despite this storied, remarkable career, he treated everyone with kindness and respect because it was innate to him, this idea that any of us can do what he did. If were willing to persevere. He believed that in all of us there exists the capacity for great courage. That in all of us theres a longing to do whats right. That in all of us theres a willingness to love all people and extend to them their godgiven rights to dignity and respect. So many of us lose that sense its taught out of us. We start feeling as if, in fact, we cant afford to extend kindness or decency to other people, that were better off if were above other people, and looking down on them. And so often thats encouraged in our culture. But john always said, he always saw the best in us. And he never gave up. And never stopped speaking out because he saw the best in us. He believed in us even when we didnt believe in ourselves. And as a congressman he didnt rest, he kept getting himself arrested. As an old man. He didnt sit out any fight. Sat in all night long on the floor of the United States capitol. I know his staff was stressed. But the testing of his faith produced perseverance. He knew that the march is not over, that the race is not yet won, that we have not yet reached that blessed destination where we are judged by the content of our character. He knew from his own life that progress is fragile. That we have to be vigilant against the dark occurrence of this countrys history, with our own history, with the whirlpools of violence and hatred and despair, they can always rise again. Well, connor may be dwgone but today we witness with our own eyes Police Officers kneeling on the necks of black americans. George wallace may be gone. But we can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators. [ applause ] we may no longer have to guess the number of jelly beans in a jar in order to cast a ballot but even as we sit here there are those in power who are doing their darnedest to discourage voting by closing voting locations and attacking our Voting Rights with surgical precision, even under mining the Postal Service in the run up to an election thats going to be dependent on mailin ballots so people dont get sick. Now i know this is a celebration of johns life, there are some who might say we shouldnt dwell on such things. But thats why im talking about it. John was devoted his time on this earth fighting the very attacks on democracy and whats best in america were seeing circulate right now. More of president obamas eulogy for congressman john lewis is just ahead. Stay close. Ay closd be perfect let me grab a pen and some paper. Know what . Im gonna switch now. Just need my desk. My chair. And my phone. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. 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If you cant afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. groans hmph. food grunting menacingly when the food you love doesnt love you back, stay smooth and fight heartburn fast with tums smoothies. Tum tumtum tum tums with tums smoothies. Simon pagenaud takes the lead at the indy 500 coming to the green flag, racing at daytona. Theyre off. In the kentucky derby. Rory mcllroy is a two time champion at east lake. He scores stanley cup champions touchdown only mahomes. The big events are back and xfinity is your home for the return of live sports. In a moment reaction to the eulogy for lewis and more on the fight against covid19. First lets get back to those highlights. Heres president obama on the congressmans enduring fight for Voting Rights. Politicians want to honor john and im so grateful for the legacy and work of all the congressional leaders who are here. But theres a better way than a statement calling him hero. You want to honor john, lets honor him by revitalizing the law that he was willing to die for. [ applause ] and by the way, naming it the john lewis Voting Rights act, that is a fine tribute, but john wouldnt want us to stop there, just try to get back where we already were, once we pass the john lewis Voting Rights act, we should keep marching, to make it even better. [ applause ] by making sure every american is automatically registered to vote, including former inmates who have earned their second chance. [ applause ] by adding polling places and expanding early voting and making election day a National Holiday so if you are somebody who is working in a factory or if youre a single mom who has got to go to her job and doesnt get time off you can still cast your ballot. By guaranteeing that every american citizen has equal representation in our government, including the american citizens who live in washington, d. C. And in puerto rico. [ applause ] theyre americans. By ending some of the partisan gerrymandering so that all voters from the power to choose their politicians, not the other way around. And if all this takes eliminating the filibuster, another jim crow relic, in order to secure the godgiven rights of every american, then thats what we should do. [ applause ] even if we do all this, even if every bogus Voter Suppression law is struck off the books today, weve got to be honest with ourselves that too many of us choose not to exercise the franchise. Too many of our citizens believe their vote wont make a difference, or they buy into this cynicism that by the way is the central strategy of Voter Suppression, to make you discouraged, to stop believing in your own power. So were also going to have to remember what john said, if you dont do everything you can do to change things, then they will remain the same. You only pass this way once, you have to give it all you have. As long as young people are protesting in the streets, hoping real change takes hold, im homefpeful. But we cant casually abandon them at the ballot box. Not when few elections have been as urgent on so many levels as this one. We cant treat voting as an errand to run if we have some time. We have to treat it as the most important action we can take. On behalf of democracy. Like john, we have to give it all we have. I was proud that john lewis was a friend of mine. I met him when i was in law school. He came to speak. And i went up and i said mr. Lewis, you are one of my heroes. What inspired me more than anything was to see what you and lawson and bob moses and nash and others did, and he got that kind of ah, shucks, thank you very much. Next time i saw him i had been elected to the United States senate. And i told him, john, im here because of you. And on Inauguration Day 2009 hes one of the first people i greeted and hugged on that stand. And i told him, this is your day too. He was a good and kind and gentle man. And he believed in us, even when we dont believe in ourselves. And its fitting that the last time john and i shared a public forum was on zoom. And im pretty sure neither he nor i set up the zoom call because we didnt know how to work it. As a virtual town hall with a gathering of young activists who had been helping to lead this summers demonstrations in the wake of George Floyds dea