Ramps up today. This morning, well see legal briefs from the house Impeachment Managers and trumps legal team. But we already have a preview from mr. Trumps newest lawyer who says the trial is completely unconstitutional. And there are new warnings from one Prominent Senate republican who claims next weeks trial could lead to delays in President Bidens agenda and cabinet confirmations. Were going to begin with new reporting on the pandemic relief talks. Joining us, john harwood and aisha roscoe, a White House Correspondent for npr. John, i want to put on the screen this picture, this remarkable picture of people actually having a conversation, a civil conversation about substantive issues. President biden with nine inperson republicans, one on zoom, and when i saw this, john, i realized what you had been trying to tell me patiently about your reporting and your analysis. That sometimes bipartisan is the way you go about doing things, even if what you ultimately agree on isnt 100 unanimous. So that picture is important. That picture is very important. Even if the white house decides to go this alone, explain. Well, look, that picture that you referred to amounts to a victory for both those republican senators and for joe biden. They are both displaying that we can have a congenial conversation. However, it has not so far changed any of the fundamental dynamics of this investigation. It would be one thing if you had an offer that went onethird of the way to the new president s total from, say, the republican leader. Mitch mcconnell proposed that, that would have more gravity to it. But here you have the bare minimum number of republicans needed to overcome a republican filibuster, a number that doesnt come anywhere close to the president s proposal, that omits a core democratic demand which is aid for state and local governments. Thats simply not an offer serious enough to put pressure on biden to seriously negotiate. And the statement we got from the white house last night after that congenial picture was taken was, yes, we want to move fast. We want bipartisan support but we have to go big. Thats a message that were not feeling any pressure because of this offer. Could that change . Yes. If they if the republicans want to demonstrate seriousness and come up with an offer that generates pressure on, say, joe manchin and Kyrsten Sinema to say, well go with those republicans and side with the scale of their offer, but they havent done that yet and theres no particular reason to think theyre going to, democrats remain confident despite that furor over the Kamala Harris interviews with West Virginia television, they remain confident they can hold all 50 Democratic Senators behind their proposal and that appears to be the track theyre pursuing. Im not as fluent in washington double speak as you and john are. So when susan senator Susan Collins came out last night and gave a gracious statement to the press and said weve had a wonderful conversation. And conversations will continue, i think she said, at the staff level, does that mean the chasm is too wide to bridge or does it mean that some compromise might happen in the next couple of days. Well, what stood out to me from what senator collins said was that she didnt talk about anything specific that they actually agreed on. And either side did. The only thing they said they agreed on was they care about the american people, which is a pretty low bar for compromise. I mean, you know, we hope that all lawmakers care about the american people. So when they come out kind of issuing those sorts of platitudes but not talking about specifics, then thats what makes it seem like there is a large gulf here between them. And also, now granted oftentimes they dont want to negotiate in public, but there wasnt any sense that there had been any Common Ground and that statement from the white house really there were a lot of buts in it. But, you know, we appreciate the bipartisan, but we have to be bold. And we have to move fast. And were not going to compromise. And that seemed to be a signal to President Bidens base that hes not going to give in to these demands to cut the package, you know, down to almost onethird. But i do think that i have no reason to doubt that Susan Collins was genuinely pleased to have the chance to make the case. And you got the sense rom the republican senators they were genuinely pleased to make the case. And it may very well be they dont agree at the end. Its likely they dont agree at the end. But this may be progress in how things get done Going Forward in washington. Absolutely. And i think theres been this big question when it comes to President Biden and this new administration, what does he mean by unity . What does he mean by bipartisanship . And what he seems to be saying is that what he means is not necessarily that he is going to, you know, that republicans and democrats are always going to see eye to eye, but that they can have these conversations. They can be cordial with each other. They condan hear each other out lay out whats important to them without namecalling and people storming out of the room and slamming doors. I think that that is what President Biden has been trying to say when it comes to unity is that its that theyll be able to have these conversations and maybe they can find areas where they can work together. Hey, john, i just wanted to add to that. There are definitely going to be changes in this package. Joe biden himself has signaled hes open to more narrowly targeting those checks so that people at higher Income Levels dont get the checks. Theres a good chance that that 15 minimum wage comes out of the package. The democratic chairman of the Budget Committee says it may not be able to move under those accelerated budget rules. You could even see the size of state and local government aid coming down because there have been estimates that show the amount of aid exceeds the amount they have suffered. The package is going to be close to the 1. 9 trillion. Biden has the strength to insist on that. John harwood, lets move on to former President Trumps Impeachment Trial. His lawyers, his new legal team, have come out and said their defense is going to be this is completely unconstitutional. You cant try a former president , they claim. Is that a surprise . Isnt that what we were expecting since weve already had that vote from the republican senators, 45 who have tried to make that claim. Thats exactly what weve been expecting. That is the path of least resistance toward getting the result that republican senators want, which is an acquittal for President Trump. As you mention, 45 senators have already voted to say that. Thats a disputed legal point. The consensus i think of legal scholars, as mitt romney has said is that it is constitutional to have this trial. Nevertheless, that is a safe harbor, much safer for republican senators than saying, well, donald trump didnt have going to do with that interaction insurrection because we can all see what happened and we followed the building tension surrounding this lie the president was pursuing since the election. Thats likely to be where theyll go and is any lawyer going to stand up and try to make the case that donald trump wants to make which is that the election was stolen from the president by fraud . Obviously, it was not. And anyone with sense will be to look at the evidence honestly can see that it was not. Republican leaders, Mitch Mcconnell, has said that its not. So they got to go some place that is defensible and i think they think this is a constitutionally defensible argument to make. Mitch mcconnell, the Senate Minority leader doing something ive never seen him do, which is to attack or go after a republican member of congress. Albeit a house member, with really harsh words calling Marjorie Taylor greene loony, a cancer on the party, in great detail. This has to do with lies shes told about school shootings, about jewish space lasers. I mean really vile stuff in this case. But the question is, why is Mitch Mcconnell saying this and why does he want Kevin Mccarthy to actually do about Marjorie Taylor greene . Well, i think he wants to make sure that Marjorie Taylor greene, that she is marginalized and if not taking in the way that has happened like with congressman steve king where he was taken off of his committee assignments. I think that what you are hearing from Mitch Mcconnell is the result of seeing what happened with that insurrection. That if you allow these big lies to stand, it leads to violence. And that if you continue and if the Republican Party continues to feed these Conspiracy Theories and wink and nod at them and let these people become leaders or just become people who soak up all the attention in their party, that that is not sustainable. That there are real consequences to that. And thats what, you know, this country saw when the capitol was overtaken. John, how can this be a tough one . How can this be a tough call for leader Kevin Mccarthy . Marjorie Taylor Greene cant be on an education committee. She cant be anywhere near schoolkids. The last time that we have evidence of her near a schoolkid, she was chasing david hogg down the street who is a survivor of the Parkland School shooting. She cant she has no qualifications. Shes not a critical thinker in any way. How is this a tough call . Of course shes not a critical thinker. Of course shes not capable of being a serious legislator, as weve come to expect members of congress. However, the reality is, and Republican Leaders have shown that they understand this reality, that their party to win elections in 2021 relies on the energy and the intensity of people that Marjorie Taylor greene speaks for. The feelings of anger and bitterness and fear of people who think the country is moving away from them culturally, racially, economically, that anger is a Critical Force in republican politics. Remember, the Republican Party had a Convention Last year. They did not adopt a platform of any kind. They rallied behind trump who is the tribune for that anger in the Republican Party. He continued to be after the election. It finally blew up in all of their in his face, in everyones face. Cost the lives of five people or a couple of suicides since then. So its been very consequential and damaging event for American Democracy internationally as well as at home. And now theyve got to come to grips with it. But they still know if they turn off a significant chunk of those people that she is speaking for, they are going to lose. That may be the smart play for them in the short term and Mitch Mcconnell is looking at the long term. He wants to win his majority back. He understands that the Major NationalPolitical Party that has a significant chunk of it thats manifestly crazy, thats not going to be viable. But how you get from here to there is the challenge for the Republican Party and Republican Leaders. Yeah, very quickly, one more time, Marjorie Taylor greene, according to all the local georgia press, she has a multimilliondollar company she was given from her dad, a construction company. So the fact that she speaks for sort of disenchanted or impoverished people or whatever is a myth. John, ayesha, thank you very much. Lawyers on both sides of former President Trumps second Impeachment Trial face a big deadline this morning. So what we already know about the case that the Impeachment Managers plan to make, next. Liky Supplements Neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. Memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. Try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference. Wanna build a Gaming Business that breaks the internet . That means working night and day. And delegating to an experienced live bookkeeper for peace of mind. Your books are all set. So you can finally give john some attention. Trusted experts. Guaranteed accurate books. Intuit quickbooks live. Were hearing for the first time from the former president s new impeachment lawyers. And shortly well hear from the Impeachment Managers about how they will present their case that the former president incited the insurrection at the u. S. Capitol. Joining me now is democratic congresswoman Sylvia Garcia. She was a House Impeachment Manager in the first Impeachment Trial against the former president. Thank you so much for being with us. What case do you think that the new House Managers need to make . Well, i think its going to be a very strong case, and a case that, quite frankly, the whole world watched all the facts as they unveiled that day, everything from the inciteful words that the president used at the rally to all the video and all the photos and tweets and all the activity on social media that happened that day. And then theres all of us who are there on the floor who were there as witnesses, as victims, as Congressman Garcia appears to be frozen temporarily. Well wait and see if we get that video back up and running. Were going to try to get her back in a second. While were waiting and trying to get her back, i want to play for you, she was saying the video of the riots, what happened that day. We did hear for the first time from the former president s new impeachment lawyer david schoen. Does this country really need to see videotapes . We know now that mr. Swalwell and the other managers tend to show videotapes of the riots and people calling in people being hurt, Police Officers talking. Why does the country need that now . Wed stipulate there was a riot that went on that day. It was a tragedy. President trump has condemned violence at all times. Read the words of his speech. Calls for peacefulness. This had nothing to do with President Trump. This has nothing to do with President Trump. That is the argument that will be made from his new impeachment lawyers. But but we, of course, do have the former president s own words from before the capitol was attacked. Listen. Were going to walk down to the capitol and were going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and were probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because youll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength. And you have to be strong. Youll never take back the country with weakness. Well discuss what message was received by those attackers, and were going to try to get the congresswoman back, next. Also, theres still no deal as the threat of a Teachers Strike looms in chicago. The mayor of chicago joins us. F. What a great day what an ok day. What a messed up only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Hey malcolm, your podcasts are on audible right . And your new audiobook. With everything from mel robbins to blake griffin, is there a more fascinating place than audible . No. And ive done the research. Of course you have. Audiobooks, podcasts, audible originals. All in one place. New years resolutions come and go. So give your business more than resolutions. Give it solutions, from comcast business. Work more efficiently with fast internet and advanced wifi. Make your business safer with powerful cybersecurity solutions. And stay productive with 24 7 support. Make this years resolution better solutions. Bounce forward with comcast business. Get started with a powerful internet and voice solution for just 64. 90 a month. Plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a 500 prepaid card when you upgrade. Switch today. We are back with congresswoman Sylvia Garcia who was a House Impeachment Manager in the president s first Impeachment Trial. Were talking the case house Impeachment Managers need to make. I played sound from the former president s new lawyer who says basically, we dont need to see video of the insurrection. We will stipulate that there was an insurrection or riot at the u. S. Capitol. The argument that were making, this attorney says, is that the former president is not responsible for it. So how do you prove that he is . Well, i, number one, i disagree with him. I think you do need the video because you take the words of what he said at the rally. You take the tweets, you take all the action, Social Media Action that happened before the event, and then you juxtapose that with what actually happened in words from some of the domestic terrorists in their own words saying, oh, yes, we were following what the president said. And then you look at some of the affidavits they filed in Federal Court saying that, you know, they were doing what they were doing because of what President Trump asked them to do. In fact, some of the statements suggest that lawyers suggested they wanted to get a pardon. So i think you must have the video, you must have the tweets. You must have the photos because you connect the words with the actions. When he said and we fight, that we have to fight like hell, i mean, thats inciteful. Thats telling people, go out there and do something. So youve got to look at the totality of the circumstances, all the facts around the actions that were taken. And once you do that and connect the dots, the case is made. What about witnesses . You called yourself a witness and every member of congress a witness, too. Do you believe or what do you believe that live witnesses would provide to this . How essential are they, and what do you make of Lindsey Graham threatening, and im not sure i follow the logic behind the threats. If you call witnesses well call witnesses, including the fbi. Well, you know, i am going to leave that up to the managers and lead manager jamie raskin who i have a deep respect for. A constitutional scholar and expert on all of this. Because witnesses do add a lot. Theres nothing like hearing the exact words from people that were there. Eyewitness accounts of anything. But thats a call that the Impeachment Managers have to make, and im not going to try to second guess what their strategy is. I just know that any time that i looked at a case, i always would ask that would always be one of my first questions. Was there a witness . And as we recall, the first Impeachment Trial, we were denied having any witnesses. So well see what happens, and like the rest of america, ill be watching next monday. Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, we appreciate your patience. Thanks for bearing with us. Thank you. Thank you. Alisyn . Americas Third Largest school district, Chicago Public schools, narrowly avoiding a Teachers Strike today, but for how long . The mayor wants schools to open this week. The Teachers Union says theyre not ready. The two sides are in a, quote, cooling off period. So where does that is leave the students . Joining us now, chicago mayor lori lightfoot. Youre in this cooling off period. What issues still need to be resolved in the next 36 hours for schools to reopen. Thank you for having me on this morning. We are making some progress, and i thought it was in the interest of all that we announce a cooling off period, meaning negotiations would continue intensely, but we would not take any disciplinary action against teachers who were refusing to report to their classrooms. So whats the Sticking Point . We continue to work im sorry . Whats the Sticking Point . Yeah, we need to continue to work on issues around vaccines and accommodations for individuals who have individuals in their household who have challenging medical conditions that they believe would be exacerbated with covid. So, look, this is a very difficult situation. And were in it still because of the incompetence of the Previous Administration. So i think its important for both sides to come to the table in good faith, recognize that were both trying to work through a very challenging situation, but we must get a deal done. So ive tried to say lets cool down. Lets lower the temperature, but lets focus on bridging the divide in the remaining issues so we can get a deal done. And those 70,000plus parents who have said i want to come back to inperson for my student, that they have the option to do so. Is the Teachers Union insisting that all the teachers be vaccinated before they go back into the classroom . Look, i dont want to negotiate everything here on tv, but its important that we focus on whats realistic and whats not. And thats the kind of clarity that my team is bringing to the Bargaining Table. As i said, we made material progress yesterday. I remain optimistic. Weve got to work hard today to get everything done. But thats why the clock is ticking. Weve got to get a deal done by the end of the day tomorrow or wednesday. Here is what one teacher says. This is a teacher who lost her grandmother to covid in november. Heres her reasoning. I need to worry about not just what my students are facing, but also what my family and myself are facing. I think its okay that in a time like this that i take a step back and consider me at this point. I have some Health Concerns that i worry about. What about that logic, if teachers go back in the classroom, they can expose their teachers to risk . Thats exactly why we gave thousands of accommodations to teachers. Teachers who were themselves suffering some underlying medical conditions or primary caretakers for people in their household who had underlying medical conditions. And were working to see realistically if we can expand the number of accommodations. As i said, these are really difficult times. In a pandemic, exacerbated by the incompetence of the Previous Administration that didnt leave us with enough vaccine to really quickly get to the entire population in our city that needs it. But were going to keep working hard, recognizing the concern that really all of our residents have regarding covid19. But we have done a lot of work over 70plus Negotiating Sessions with teachers every day for the last 2 1 2 weeks. Were going to stay at the table so we can get a deal done that recognizes and balances the variety of issues, not the least of which is that Remote Learning is just not working for too many of our kids. Particularly our black and brown students. I have to fear for, and i do fear for their future as well and make sure that i am an advocate for those children and advocate for those parents who simply want the option to either bring their children back or stay remote. Thats what this is about. We have to Fight For The Future of our children. So mayor, as you sit here, this morning, will Chicago Public schools be open for inperson tomorrow . Well, as i said, we did a cooling off period for today and tomorrow so we can get a deal done. So were going to keep pushing hard so that we cant open up as soon as possible. Will they be open on thursday . Well, lets see what happens at the Bargaining Table. Im going to work hard to make sure that we can get that done. Are you optimistic that schools will be open in chicago this week . Now, thats you must be a lawyer by training. Thats the third way to ask the same question. Im going to give you the same answer. Were going to keep working hard at the Bargaining Table so that we can get a deal done and that those parents, 70,000plus, over three quarters of whom are black and latinx get the ability to bring their kids back to inperson learning. Thats what were focused on. If we put Children First and we bring them and their voices and their concerns to the table as well as all the other interests, we will get a deal done. Well be watching very closely. Mayor lori lightfoot, thank you for the time this morning. We appreciate it. Thank you. The northeast is covered in snow this morning. Some parts measuring snow in feet. Two feet. We have details in a live report, next. Ah, a package you know what this human ordered . A backache. Consider pain, delivered. Pain says you cant. Advil says you can. It is love, love, love that makes it all worthwhile and it is love, love, love that cant help but make you smile. It is love, love, love. Send the love. Order now at edible. Com your Grooming Business is booming. You need to hire. I need indeed. Indeed you do. The moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a resume data base. Claim your seventyfivedollar credit when you post your first job at indeed. Com groomer if you smell gas, youre too close. Leave the structure, call 911, keep people away, and call pg e right after so we can both respond out and keep the public safe. If you see wires down, treat them all as if theyre hot and energized. Stay away from any downed wire, call 911, and call pg e right after so we can both respond out and keep the public safe. It might never stop snowing. Polo sandoval live in central park. This is one of the biggest storms weve seen in a long while. John, ill tell you this. The guy with the skis is out on the sidewalks. The dogs are out. Its safe to say weve entered that postblizzard phase but the event not necessarily over. Why . Because theres still plenty of snow throughout the city and in many of the sidewalks. Workers have been doing a really good job keeping this clear but other sidewalks across the city are still covered with that slushy mess. So the big recommendation right now going out to people is simply walk with care if youll be out and about in this. Obviously, theyre still hope philadelphia you dont have to leave your house and you go ahead and stay home because its certainly still quite cold but you have other regions, including in northwest new jersey, that got basically double what we saw here in central park. Here we saw close to 17 inches. Up there, almost 30 inches. That gives you an idea of the Cleanup Efforts folks may be looking forward to. Still, though, far from normal right now even though mass transit is mostly back online. You have remote teaching thats going to continue here. The Covid Vaccinations that were postponed yesterday, the ones from today will also be postponed until later this week, early next week, alisyn. My weather app says its going to keep snowing in new york through 8 00 p. M. You might just be in a lull, okay . So prepare yourself. But i have something even better it was a small break. I have Something Better than a weather app. Lets get the latest with cnn meteorologist chad myers. He has our forecast. Im sorry im cheating on you chad with this weather app, but are you seeing the same thing that its going to continue in new york for a while . Yes. Theyre not always as accurate as you would hope. Computer generated apps. Springtown, nazareth, all battling it out to be the best or the worst. 31 in nazareth, beating out our new jersey stat at 30 inches. A lot of these areas are exactly where the bullseyes in the Weather Models put them yesterday. Very, very good forecast yesterday. Cant really go wrong with this. This was days in advance we knew this was coming. There are still snow showers around. This is what your graphic looks like, alisyn. Light snow here in new york. Still in philadelphia as well. Its been snowing quite a good clip in d. Krrc. Its cold now and so snow can just fall out of the sky without even any reason. More snow, though, Upstate New York down even toward the delaware water gap. Its cold today. It warms up a little bit by thursday and then here comes this arctic blast. And wouldnt you know it, Punxsutawney Phil saying six more weeks of winter. Somehow in the snow and the clouds, phil saw his shadow. So there arent too many clouds when its snowing unless you turn on a bunch of broadcast lights. So were not really sure how this happened, but in the snow and with the arctic blast coming, im pretty sure hes right. I hope phil has been vaccinated because those people who were Manhandling Phil were not wearing masks. So hopefully hes had his second dose, Punxsutawney Phil. You would think like a plush toy could fill in in weather like this. Phil looks awfully placid. Are we sure hes not a toy . Hes not biting anyone or moving. No, im not sure. He didnt see anything. Punxsutawney phil didnt see anything because thats a stuffed animal. He blinked. I think hes just drugged or sleeping off a hangover. He feels bad after the second dose of the vaccine. Chad, thank you very much for engaging in our silliness. How could he see his shadow today . Olympics Officials Say the tokyo games are taking place this summer, no matter what. Cnn has reporters covering the latest on coronavirus all around the world. Im blake essig in tokyo. The summer Olympic Games are pressing forward with no plan b. Japans Prime Minister extended the State Of Emergency for tokyo and nine other prefectures through march 7th, 18 days before the torch relay is set to begin in an effort to prevent the spread of covid19. Olympic officials have said that vaccinations will not be a prerequisite for athletes but there will be rules theyll have to follow which will be laid out in a series of playbooks expected to be released as early as tomorrow, explaining how japan plans to protect the health of athletes, coaches and others. Im steven jung in beijing. A team of World Health Organization experts are continuing their closely watched investigation into the origins of the covid virus in the city of wuhan. Visiting an Animal Disease Control Center on tuesday, indicating they are looking into the possibility the virus made the jump from animals to humans. Although they say the chinese authorities have been transparent and helpful so far, critics remain unconvinced. With the u. S. Secretary of state tony blinken saying over the weekend the Chinese Government had been falling far short of the mark in terms of allowing access to the site the experts needed to visit. Im rafael romo. The mexican president obra dor is on his second week of isolation after Testing Positive for coronavirus. The president has only been seen once since the january 24 diagnosis, and only in a video posted friday on youtube, something extremely unusual for a president who normally gives daily morning press conferences. A top official said the president is doing very well and only has mild symptoms which allows him to keep an eye on Government Affairs from the National Palace where he is observing a 14day quarantine. Our thanks to all of our correspondents around the globe. We want to remember some of the more than 433,000 americans lost to coronavirus. In 2017, clay coleman started selling barbecue out of his bait and tackle shop in tupalo, mississippi, to supplement his income. It was an overnight sensation garnering rave reviews in national outlets, including a Food Network Award for best ribs in the state. The 49yearold restaurateur leaves behind a wife, three children and two grandkids. For the past 13 years, beto cruz was a groundskeeper at Texas Christian University in ft. Worth. His son tells the star telegraph he had a tireless work ethic and could connect with almost anyone through friendly conversation. Cruz was 62. Rafino rodriguez worked at utah Valley Hospital in provo for 37 years. The medical degree he earned in guatemala was not accepted in the u. S. So he became a Respiratory Therapist helping thousands of newborns on life flight helicopters over the years. He was 65 years old. Well be right back. Just released Study Suggests people previously infected with coronavirus may only need one dose of the twodose vaccine regiment. So what about that. If youve had it still get vaccinated but you only need one dose . Make sense to you . From an immune sort of standpoint, what your Immune System is doing, it does make sense if you can show for convincingly that people have been infected before, that they have antibodies and then they get that dose of the vaccine, they should get Antibody Levels that are similar to if you go through both doses. Basically its when we think about two doses, one is typically designed to prime the imp Immune System and the other to boost the Immune System. So what the study sort of shows is if youve been previously infected, thats kind of like already having primed the Immune System and now the dose of the vaccine will sort of give you that boost. Theres a lot of caveats here. How do you know for sure if youve been infected. Do you have the Antibody Levels . And this is not in any way being recommended yet. But its interesting to see these scientific developments come out, especially at a time when were trying to get people vaccinated as quickly as possible. Should there be a distinction for people who have been infected in the past, perhaps i think theyll look at the study and make that decision. Sanjay, i want to ask you about whats been happening in new york state. Theres been a development over the weekend where its come out that eight High Level Health official in governor Andrew Cuomos administration have resigned over, it sounds like, differences of opinion with his style and maybe his philosophy. And then he said something on friday that raised some eyebrows. Here it is. When i say experts in air quotes, it sounds like im saying i dont really trust the experts. Because i dont. Because i dont. Do you know, sanjay, what he meant by that . Well, i mean, i guess theres a little context here in that he was basically, before that, talking about the fact that the experts didnt know that there was asymptomatic spread, meaning that people could have no symptoms and still be spreading the virus. That the experts, you know, were three months there was coronavirus spreading in new york for three months before experts really knew how much spread there had been. You know, look, i found this really surprising. Ive talked to Governor Cuomo a few times over this pandemic, and i found this really surprising. It is safe to say that nobody knew everything about this virus in the beginning, such as the nature of a novel virus. We didnt know that it would spread asymptomatically or that that would be a primary driver of the spread until the evidence proved that out. There was not enough testing. Theres still not enough testing in this country, which is why the virus circulates in many areas for a long time before its actually recognized. But what i just found so surprising about the governors comments is those same experts helped lead new york out of what was a pretty disastrous situation, obviously, as you know in the spring. And at a time when theres concerns about vaccine hesitancy, already a lack of trust in the scientific establishment over this pandemic. I think he just added a lot of fuel to the fire. Id be curious what he says Going Forward about that, but lack of trust in experts versus not knowing everything from the very beginning are just two different things. Id like to listen to the scientists when it comes to the pandemic. I think the science is what is going to help get us through this which is why when one of the leading scientists, dr. Anthony fauci, sanjay, talks about whats happening with the South African variant, it gets my attention. Listen to this. If it becomes dominant, the experience of our colleagues in south africa indicate that even if you have been infected with the original virus that there is a very high rate of reinfection to the point where previous infection does not seem to protect you against reinfection. So thats something. This variant in south africa is being shown that you can get infected even if youve had it before. As dr. Peter hotez said, really the business with in new variants changes everything. It changes how we look at this stage of the pandemic. Yeah, you know, we started to get some clues about this a couple of weeks ago. What they were doing at that point is taking the plasma from people who recovered from covid and exposing that to the new variant and saying, look, do the antibodies from people who have been infected work or not . There was already some clue at that point they werent working as well. That the convalescent plasma wasnt neutralizing the South African variant as well. And now you are starting to see evidence of these reinfections in south africa. We saw some reinfections from the different variant in brazil. Basically it means the variants are different enough that the antibodies that you have from previous infection dont seem to work as well. Thats the bad news. The better news is that the vaccine seems to offer a lot more benefit. When you get a vaccine, you are creating all sorts of different antibodies that are greater in number and greater in variety than just the antibodies you get when you get infection which is why people, even if theyve had an infection in the past as we were just talking about, should still get the vaccine. But, yeah, look, this is concerning. These variants are concerning. This is a curveball for sure and i think it just doubles down the idea we need to get people vaccinated as quickly as possible. Sanjay, thank you. Great to see you. Thanks for all the info. So an historic step forward for the American Civil Liberties union. The organization elected the first black product in its 101year history. The aclu says deborah archer, a law professor at nyu, is an established civil rights attorney, quote, scholar and teacher. Archer has been part of the organization for years serving as a member of the National Board and general counsel. Thanks for joining us today. John, get your sled ready. Have to get home somehow. Its not over yet. Speed skates. Well see you all tomorrow. Cnns coverage continues, next. Good morning, everyone. Im poppy harlow. Im jim sciutto. This morning, the battle over going big to rescue the economy divides washington as health and Economic Crises are gripping the nation. Hours from now, Senate Democrats are expected to begin the process to allow them to fast track bidens 1. 9 trillion Rescue Package without republican votes. The republican proposal was less than 2onethird of the presiden and democrats offer. Bipartisan deal or not, the fact remains it will take weeks at least to get relief to millions of struggling americans. It takes time. And it comes as Health Experts warn the nations Vaccinations Effort must ramp up immediately, calling it a race against time. Why . Well, new Coronavirus Variants are spreading quickly across the country. Thats right. Were now one week away from the second Impeachment Trial of former President Trump. That starts next tuesday. House democrats today, though, will issue their first pretrial brief. Thats going to come next hour. Their focus, the president s lies about widespread election fraud, barring him from future Public Office and why they argue it is constitutional to try him, even though he is no longer president. The former president s legal team, they have until noon to basically issuth