By Mike Hayes, Meg Wagner and Zamira Rahim, CNN
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said certain regions of New York are still on track to reopen Friday.
“We have certain regions that are poised to reopen tomorrow,” Cuomo said at a news conference in Syracuse this afternoon.
For those areas reopening, local government is now tasked with daily monitoring of numbers, business compliance, individual compliance and to “react immediately” if numbers change, the governor said.
“Phased reopening does not mean the problem has gone away," Cuomo said.
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he spoke to President Trump today about the state's funding issues and the administration agreed to expedite $3.9 billion in funding to the state for the Metropolitan Transit Association.
"We spoke about the state funding issues with Donald Trump. He heard me out. I've also asked him to expedite certain payments and he's expediting $3.9 billion payment to the MTA, which is a very large transportation agency in the state," the governor said.
Cuomo said that Trump sent the first installment today.
He added that the MTA "desperately needs funding because the ridership is way down" on account of people staying home.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today that state had 157 more deaths yesterday from Covid-19.
The number of deaths are down compared to 166 the day before.
Cuomo called the death toll "still terrible" but "heading in the right direction" in terms of daily decline.
From CNN's Stephanie Gallman
North America’s largest shopping and entertainment complex – the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota — will reopen on June 1, according to a statement.
The announcement comes a day after Gov. Tim Walz announced he would let his state’s stay home order expire and allow non-essential businesses to reopen beginning Monday.
"As the COVID-19 crisis remains fluid, we will continue following guidance from our state government as we monitor and evaluate the safety protocols put in place and will make necessary adjustments as needed to manage the safety of everyone within our building," The small said in a statement. "It is important to know that while Mall of America will reopen on June 1, not all retailers within our building will open immediately. We understand it may be longer before some are ready to reopen."
From CNN's Julian Cummings
There are at least 1,216 new cases of Covid-19 in New Jersey, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 142,704, Gov. Phil Murphy announced at a press conference.
There were at least 244 new deaths reported and 9,946 total deaths in the state, according to Murphy.
From CNN's Julian Cummings
Ocean and lakefront beaches in the state of New Jersey will be open by Memorial Day weekend with capacity limitations and social distancing remaining in place, Gov. Phil Murphy announced at a press conference.
Every beach must establish capacity limits, and six feet social distancing will be enforced except for family groups, household caretakers, or couples, Murphy announced.
As a part of the order that goes into effect May 22, organized contact sports and events will be prohibited, as well as beachfront summer camps and special events that draw people to the beach such as concerts and festivals, and fireworks.
Restaurants must continue to offer take-out and delivery options only. Amusement parks, playgrounds and visitor centers will remain closed.
“We are not ordering it but we highly recommend that you wear a face covering, particularly when social distancing is difficult to maintain, such as while waiting in line for a slice of boardwalk pizza,” Murphy said.
Shower pavilions, changing areas and restrooms will also reopen at beaches.
Restrooms at parks will also reopen as a part of the order.
From CNN's Nikki Carvajal
The Trump administration unveiled plans for a more “robust” national stockpile to prepare for a possible fall surge in coronavirus cases, a senior administration official said today on a call with reporters. The official declined to go on the record.
“We’re going to have a much more robust, more capable, and less vulnerable strategic national stockpile, and this is going to require the permanent restructuring of a whole series of relationships using information technology and contracting capabilities very differently than anyone has in the past,” a senior administration official said.
What's in the supply: The official said that the national stockpile will hold “90 days-worth” of medical and testing supplies. Plans include adding critical care drugs that were not stockpiled before. Supplies that expire will be rotated into the medical industry, an official said, describing it as a “much broader and much deeper set of supplies to keep America safe.”
“We’re trying to address with this initiative two separate parts of the economy,” an official told reporters. “First and foremost, we are rebuilding the stockpile such that we are fortified against a resurgence of Covid — a potential resurgence of Covid,” the official corrected, “or any other upper respiratory pandemic.”
“A second part of it has to do with tremendous expansion of domestic capacity to manufacture these items, and we’re already in the process of expanding that capacity,” the official said.
From CNN's Maegan Vazquez
President Trump said Thursday that the White House will likely be making an announcement related to the World Health Organization next week, after his administration sought to cast blame on the organization for not acting quick enough to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
In April, Trump announced he was halting funding to the WHO while a review would be conducted.
“We’ll be making an announcement on the World Health Organization shortly, soon. Probably next week some time,” Trump said ahead of his departure from the White House. Trump is heading to Pennsylvania this afternoon today to tour a PPE distribution center.
Trump said at the time of his April announcement that the review would cover the WHO's "role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of coronavirus."
The President has also criticized the US decision to fund WHO more than China each year, suggesting that despite the funding, WHO still gives China the upper hand.
From CNN's Manu Raju
Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr was asked today if he has given any thought to the possibility of resigning his Senate seat during a Justice Department probe into stock transactions he made ahead of the sharp market downturn sparked by concerns over the coronavirus.
Burr said, “No.”
Asked if he had exercised poor judgment on his stock trades, he told CNN, “Nope.”
Burr also said “you’ll have to ask” the Justice Department about the search warrant and the seizure of his phone, noting they put the information out.
When asked about why he is stepping aside as chairman, Burr said to “eliminate a distraction” to a “very important” committee so members wouldn’t be asked questions about him.