The Rundown: Trump...Ease Lockdowns While Protecting Safety

President Trump said last night that states can gradually lift their lockdowns while protecting safety amid the coronavirus pandemic. Trump, who's anxious to get the economy restarted, made the remarks during a virtual town hall from the Lincoln Memorial hosted by Fox News Channel at which he took questions from Americans. Acknowledging the fears of people who are worried about getting sick and those who have lost their jobs or livelihoods, Trump said, "you can satisfy both." He said some states would be able to open up earlier than others, depending on their situation with the virus. While increasing his projection of what the U.S. death toll will be, up to 80,000 to 90,000 from what he said was the 65,000 he used to say, Trump was also optimistic about the nation recovering, saying, "It is all working out. It is horrible to go through, but it is working out."

On death toll: "I used to I say 65,000. And now I'm saying 80 or 90 and it goes up, and it goes up rapidly. But it's still going to be, no matter how you look at it, at the very lower end of the plane, if we did the shutdown."

➤CORONAVIRUS DEVELOPMENTS: As of last night, there were more at least 67,680 deaths in the U.S. from the coronavirus, according to the Johns Hopkins University count, and nearly 1,158,000 confirmed cases.

➤SOUTH KOREA SAYS KIM JONG UN DIDN'T HAVE SURGERY: A senior South Korean official said Sunday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un didn't have surgery or any other medical procedure, after Kim reappeared in recent days. There had been rumors that Kim might have been gravely ill or even dead after undergoing a heart procedure. North Korea said Saturday that Kim went to the completion of a fertilizer factory on Friday, his first public appearance in nearly three weeks, and released video. However, some noted that his walking looked a little stiff, continuing questions about his health. South Korea has been saying from the start that the rumors are untrue and stating there were no unusual activities in North Korea.

➤SENATE RETURNING TODAY, HOUSE STAYING AWAY BECAUSE OF CORONAVIRUS: The Senate will reopen today (May 4th), with members returning from across the country for the first time since March, but the House is staying closed because of safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic on the Capitol physician's advice, who said they didn't have the means to perform instant virus tests. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has compared the lawmakers to essential workers. President Trump offered Congress access to the instant test that's used to screen visitors to the White House, but McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi turned it down in a joint statement, saying resources should go to the front lines.

Lesley Stahl shares her personal battle with coronavirus https://t.co/qR5HukBvAa pic.twitter.com/w64UqDzGUc

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 4, 2020

➤'60 MINUTES' LESLEY STAHL WAS HOSPITALIZED FOR WEEK WITH CORONAVIRUS: Lesley Stahl of CBS News' 60 Minutes revealed at the end of last night's (May 3rd) show that she'd been ill with the coronavirus and was hospitalized for a week. Stahl, who is now recovered, said she was, quote, "really scared" after fighting pneumonia caused by the virus at home for two weeks before going to the hospital. The 78-year-old praised the hospital staff who helped care for her as well as all health care workers, saying, "Thanks to them, like so many other patients, I am well now. Tonight, we all owe them our gratitude, our admiration and, in some cases, our lives."

➤'MURDER HORNETS' APPEAR IN U.S. FOR FIRST TIME: There's some more nightmare fuel for the U.S. as if we don't have enough of it right now -- Asian giant hornets, dubbed "murder hornets," have appeared in the U.S. for the first time. They were spotted in Washington state in December, and they were also seen in British Columbia in Canada last fall. The two-inch-long murder hornets" are the world's largest species of hornet. They attack and destroy honeybee hives, and although they aren't generally aggressive to people or pets, if provoked, they can and do kill humans in rare circumstances. It's not known how they arrived in the U.S.

➤NFL PLANNING TO START ITS SEASON ON TIME: The NFL isn't planning to delay its season because of the coronavirus pandemic. League spokesman Brian McCarthy told ESPN the league will release its 2020 schedule late this week without any major changes, saying, "We plan to start on time." That includes a September 10th opening date and the Super Bowl on February 7th. McCarthy said, "If we have to make adjustments, we will be prepared to do so based on the latest guidance from our medical experts and public health officials and current and future government regulations."