i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, defending the indefensible. tonight, investigators in georgia are trying to determine the motive of an alleged 21-year-old gunman who killed eight people, six of whom were asians. the fbi director says it does not appear to be racially motivated. but it comes in the midst of an anti-asian crime wave in this country that is down right disgusting. in a hearing today on capitol hill, which the whole purpose of this hearing was to raise awareness about the rise of anti-asian violence, congressman chip roy used his time to attack the very community the hearing was designed to protect and then even went on to glorify lynching. hear it for yourself. >> there's an old saying in texas about find a rope in texas and find a tall tree. i'm not going to be ashamed to say i oppose the chicom. whether talking about the chinese communist party, whatever phrasing we want to use, some people say we think those guys are the bad guys, for whatever reason. and let me just state clearly, i do. my concern about this hearing is that it seems to want to venture into the policing of rhetoric in a free society, free speech, and away from the rule of law and taking out bad guys. who decides what is hate? who decides what is the kind of speech that deserves policing? >> sometimes hate is not subject ti -- subjective. hate is what killed eight people this week, including six asians. police have not yet identified the rest of their names, including some whose families in korea need to be notified. not enough attention has been paid to the victims, and authorities were quick talking about the shooter's sex addiction, the fact that he killed eight asian americans. the police captain went even further. >> he was pretty much fed up and kind of at the end of his rope and i guess it was a bad day for him and this is what he did. >> a bad day. this is what he allegedly did, he says. kill eight innocent human beings. just a bad day. now cnn has learned that baker has been removed from the case after he posted an image of a shirt last year with a racist trump slogan, covid-19 imported virus from china, adding the caption that reads, love my shirt. that is what we heard again and again from the former president, from the start of the pandemic through just two days ago on the night of the shooting itself. i don't want to give president trump's words more oxygen, but it is important to know where these slurs come from, not just to be generic and talk about this surge in crime as if it's this thing that's happening right now. it is happening for a reason, and these slurs come specifically from one person. here's just a small sample of the more than 400 times trump used racist rhetoric to describe the coronavirus. >> the china virus. kung flu. the china virus, it's a horrible thing. the china plague. the wuhan virus. >> and there were 400 like that. you've heard them yourself. even tonight, when six asians are dead in a that is shooting, the trump sycophants will not denounce the shamefall language. today, kevin mccarthy defended a tweet where he used those same words. >> i would like to see why the shooter did what he did. but the virus came from china. >> those things go together. ryan young is "outfront" in atlanta. ryan, what is the latest there? >> reporter: erin, still a lot of questions, but just in the last ten minutes the head of the police department released a new incident report. we're learning more about the victims. we learned that three of the women that were shot here were shot in the head. they have not released the names just yet, because they haven't been able to contact their families. but you can see how brutal the shooting was. she's torn up about her dad being one of the victims. her dad was shot in the face but survived. >> he's a really good dad. i didn't want him to go. >> reporter: in atlanta, the human toll of eight people being gunned down by a sickle shooter is causing many in metro atlanta to reflect on what's been lost. >> she was a family going person. her family came first. everything was her family. >> reporter: dana told the sister that ilania young told brianna keilar about the sudden lost of her family. >> i know that he was arrested. i'm glad that he was. but i think he targeted these m places, and the fact that he would have kept going, yeah, that's -- i don't know, it's frustrating. >> reporter: atlanta police are still not identifying the four remaining victims. >> i was hoping that we would be able to release the names of the victims, but we are not able to do that at this time. and the reason is we need to make sure that we have a true verification of their identities, and that we make the proper next of kin notification. >> reporter: atlanta police saying their investigation is still ongoing. >> our investigation is separate from the chaererokee county's investigation. >> reporter: atlanta's deputy chief saying he bought the gun the day of the shooting. >> right now, it appears that he may have frequented those locations, yes. >> reporter: deputies say the 21-year-old robert aaron long admitted to the attacks on three spas, but said it's too soon to say whether it was a hate crime. his attorney decided to forego this morning's court appearance but released this statement -- our condolences are with the victims and their families. >> i think it's -- we need to be here for each other. we bleed the same blood. >> reporter: erin, as i stand here, i'm between both of the shooting sites. there are people dropping off flowers, stopping, saying prayers, crying. some of them very upset about what's happened. i'll show you something that happened in the last hour or so. here's video of what was a protest that happened here at one of the sites. you had several people coming and asking for more in terms of the investigation. they want to know everything. of course, they were pushing to have more sort of focus put on these asian hate crimes. you can see the community standing up to fellow community members. >> thank you very much. i want to go to stephanie now, the executive director of the atlanta chapter of asian americans advancing justice. she's been in touch with the white house about what happened. thank you for your time tonight. i want to start with the very latest we have learned from the fbi, where the director says the massacre doesn't appear to be racially motivated. what is your reaction when you hear that? >> it's troubling. it definitely feels racially motivated. you ask anybody in the community, they feel it is racially motivated. this person sought out these spas and targeted these women and now we just heard the report that he shot them in the head. >> let me ask you about that, because that is the very latest we're learning now. we don't even yet know all of their names, because their families have not yet been notified. but we do know that three of the women were shot in the head, as we just found out from police. as an asian-american woman, how is this case impacting you? >> this is my community. this is impacting me in so many different ways. i am a spokesperson, often times i'm a leader in the asian-american communities. and just in the last couple of days, and always outspoken on issues about race, gender, sexual orientation, and voting rights here in the atlanta area. and now i'm getting so much hate mail. we had a community response forum just to gather information for folks, and we're getting hate messages on that, as well. and it's mostly from them saying that i should. be doing or saying what i'm doing, and that white supremacy is not a piece of this, and it definitely is. >> so just a few moments ago, i know you heard, but i showed captain jay baker of the sheriff's office, what he said about the confessed shooter. what he said was, he was fed up and had been kind of at the end of his rope. yesterday was a really bad day for him, and this is what he did. that's what they said about the confessed shooter. but back in april, baker, the police captain, also allegedly posted a photo on facebook of shirts about covid-19, talking about covid-19 from chy-na. do you see a connection between these two things? >> i think the connection around any violence and hate speech around asian-americans is increased, and this is what everybody feared would happen is that we kept saying that these incidents of hate and harassment and attacks were escalating. and i don't feel like it was getting the attention that it deserved. we talked about how language matters. everybody talks about how language matters. but for some reason, it's being swept under the rug on things around asian-americans. i think now at this moment, it's really changed, and it's really opened people's eyes, that this is actually the hate speech and that' it actually incites other violent acts. >> stephanie, thank you very much. i appreciate your time tonight. i want to go straight now to democratic congressman ted lu. he was inside that hearing today where congressman chip roy made those comments that i played earlier. congressman, i appreciate your time. so let's just start with this. no matter what this wasn't, we know what it was. it was a late crime. it was done out of incredible hate. do you think it should be handled and charged as such? >> thank you, erin, for your question. let me first say that my heart goes out to the families of the victims of the eight victims. we know that the murderer in this case went to an asian business and shot up four asians. he then drove 27 miles to a second asian business and killed more asians. and then he went to a third asian business. so you have six of the eight victims who are asian. to rule out that this is not a hate crime is way too early. and it seems like he was targeting asian businesses. my hope is they continue to do the investigations, and then do what prosecutors do, which is they rely on the facts. >> so it sounds like you're also questioning what the fbi director said when he does not appear to be racially motivated at this point. it sounds like you also think that he may be jumping the mark there? >> i do. i think it's still early in the investigation. i'm not sure all these witnesses have even been interviewed. and the local korean press has interviewed at least one witness that said the murderer did make remarks that would suggest that this was, in fact, a hate crime. we don't know until law enforcement interviews those witnesses. >> let me ask you about where you were today. you were there with congressman chip roy and you heard those comments from your republican colleague. let me play this again. >> there's an old saying in texas about find the rope in texas and get a tall tree. i'm not going to be ashamed to say i oppose the chicoms. who decides what is hate? who decides what is the kind of speech that deserves policing? >> how did that make you feel to hear that in a house committee hearing today, which was talking about the anti-asian violence when we're talking about six asian women being shot this week? >> i served on active duty in the united states military and defend the right of anyone to say stupid, racist stuff, including representative chip roy. he glorified lynching at this hearing. lynching has had a profound effect on san frafrican-america asian-americans. the largest lynching in american history was on chinese immigrants. i called on him to apologize, and he's refusing. this hearing was about attacks on americans who happen to be of asian descent. it's that inability to participate the two that caused the japanese-american internment in world war ii and causing hate crime against asian-americans at this point. >> at this point, congressman rodney davis was asked if he believes public figures using words like china virus, kung flu, which are used by the former president, are connected to the dramatic increase in hate crimes, and he said "no, i don't. it's all political correctness." how do you respond to that? >> the expert witnesses at the hearing today testified that the reports and research showed there is a link between racist rhetoric and the rise in hate crimes. so when the former president used racist terms like kung flu, you can see that there was also an increase in hate crimes against asian-americans last year. nearly 150% spike in 16 major cities. and as of march, there's been nearly 3800 reported incidents of hate crimes and hate incidents. i just ask my republican colleagues to please stop using ethnic identifiers in describing the coronavirus. i am not a virus. when they say it, it hurts asian-americans. >> congressman, i appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you. "outfront" next, dr. anthony fauci clashes with senator rand paul over masks. >> no, it's not -- >> you wear two masks. didn't that threeuateer? >> here we go again with the theater. plus, a potentially dangerous stair down between putin and biden, as biden refuses to back down after calling the russian leader a killer. and i'll speak to actress lucy liu. she'll tell me about the racism she has experienced throughout her life and career. ♪ ♪ ♪ [triumphantly yells] [ding] don't get mad. get e*trade. (man) i'm a verizon engineer, part of the team that built 5g right, the only one from america's most reliable network. we designed our 5g to make the things you do every day better. with 5g nationwide, millions of people can now work, listen, and stream in verizon 5g quality. and in parts of many cities where people can use massive capacity, we have ultra wideband, the fastest 5g in the world. this is the 5g that's built for you. this is 5g built right. only from verizon. psst! psst! allergies don't have to be scary. spraying flonase daily stops your body from overreacting to allergens all season long. psst! psst! you're good. managing type 2 diabetes? you're on it. staying fit and snacking light? yup, on it there too. you may think you're doing all you can to manage type 2 diabetes and heart disease... ...but could your medication do more to lower your heart risk? jardiance can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults who also have known heart disease. so, it could help save your life from a heart attack or stroke. and it lowers a1c. jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration, ...genital yeast or urinary tract infections, and sudden kidney problems. ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may be fatal. a rare but life-threatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this bacterial infection, ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction... ...and don't take it if you're on dialysis or have severe kidney problems. taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. lower a1c and lower risk of a fatal heart attack? on it with jardiance. ask your doctor about jardiance. (customer) movie night. (burke) should have been watching the stove instead. (customer) tell me something i don't know. (burke) with your farmers policy perk, guaranteed replacement cost, your home can be rebuilt, regardless of your limits. (customer) that's really something. (burke) get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ toojtd tonight, dr. anthony fauci clashing with republican senator rand paul. he's still questioning the knee to wear masks. >> you're telling everybody to wear a mask, whether they've had an infection or vaccine. what i'm saying is they have immunity and everybody agrees they have immunity. what studies do you have that people who had the vaccine is spreading the infection. if we're not spreading the infection, isn't it just theater? >> here we go again with the theater. let's get down to the facts. when you talk about the infection, and you don't keep in the concept of variants, that's an entirely different ball game. that's a good reason for a mask. let me just state for the record that masks are not theater. masks are protective. and we -- >> if you have immunity, they're theater. you're wearing a mask to give comfort to others. >> i totally disagree with you. >> "outfront" now, dr. jonathan reiner. your reaction to senator paul? >> well, one of two people in that conversation is wrong, and i have news for senator paul, it's not dr. fauci. let's just state the facts. neither vaccination or prior infection are perfect guards against reinfection and by extension, transmission of the virus. so we know that -- say i get the pfizer vaccine, for example. it's phenomenally effective, but its efficacy is not 100% in terms of preventing disease. so you can get both doses of that vaccine and a small number of people will still get the virus. let's talk about prior infection. a large study just published this week out of denmark, looking at their second surge, was able to calculate how protective prior infection is for subsequent infection. what they found, having a prior infection with the coronavirus is about 80% protective. and once you get over 65, it's even less protective. so it's dropping down to about 47%. so neither vaccine nor prior infection is a perfect guard against becoming reinfected or having a new infection. >> which you laid out perfectly. and also then, of course, there's variants, as well, right? which they're changing quickly, but in the case of variants, the protective level of the vaccine is somewhere between the two. but the point is, it's lower than that, and the variants are running rampant. >> right. so, look, the vaccines will greatly reduce your risk of getting infected but it will not remove it entirely. so that's why we are going to wear masks until the level of virus in the community is much lower than what it is now. now, this kind of libertarianism that senator paul continually goes back to is just selfishness. and his freedom ends when virus leaves his mouth. two years ago during measles outbreak, he said that he does not favor relinquishing his freedom for a false sense of security. so he needs to read about this virus, because he's woefully ignorant. he should set an example. >> woefully and willfully. he's a very smart person, so this would be his choice to be ignorant on it. by the way, he has imposed that on others. he goes on the senate floor constantly without a mask. when he had been exposed to coronavirus and was waiting for his test results, he went maskless to the senate floor with everyone else around him. obviously, midost of them are older and never had a problem with that. he had a medical degree. what explains this? >> having a medical degree doesn't protect you from being a fool. and he's acting foolishly. and he's setting a bad example for a large portion of this country. look, 25% of legislators in the u.s. congress have not been vaccinated. how is that possible? how sit possible that our leaders are not setting the example? if we don't vaccinate 70% to 80% of this country, we are going to be dealing with this virus going forward for a very long time. people like senator paul need to set an example, need to promote vaccination and mask wearing. parts of this country, i won't say surging again, but parts of this downry are no longer dropping in terms of cases. if you look at parts of the midwest and northeast, cases are rising in some places. the way to stop that is to get people to mask up. whether you've been vaccinated or not. i was vaccinated three months ago. i wear a mask everywhere i go. because it's the right thing to do medically, and i want to set an example. i expect our legislators to do exactly the same thing. >> doctor, thank you very much. appreciate your time. >> my pleasure. and next, a meeting between the u.s. and china, just descending into a heated confrontation before the cameras. this is putin and biden increasingly trading personal barbs. and chilling new video from the fbi of what it calls an attack on officers during the capitol riots. ♪ ♪ ( doorbell ) thanks boo. ( piano glissando ) i think you better double them tots. no, this me was last year. i didn't get my madness last year, so we're doing double the madness this year. ♪ ♪ be right back. with moderate to severe crohn's disease, i was there, just not always where i needed to be. is she alright? i hope so. so i talked to my doctor about humira. i learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of crohn's disease after trying other medications. the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief in as little as 4 weeks. and many achieved remission that can last. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores . don't start humira if you have an infection. be there for you and them. ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible. it's an important time to save. with priceline, you can get up to 60% off amazing hotels. and when you get a big deal... you feel like a big deal. ♪ priceline. i have an idea for a trade. oh yeah, you going to place it? not until i'm sure. why don't you call td ameritrade for a strategy gut check? what's that? you run it by an expert, you talk about the risk and potential profit and loss. could've used that before i hired my interior decorator. voila! maybe a couple throw pillows would help. get a strategy gut check from our trade desk. ♪ tonight, the white house doubling down on joe biden calling vladamir putin a killer. >> does president biden regret calling vladamir putin a killer? >> nope. the president gave a direct answer to a direct question. >> that coming just hours after putin said this to biden -- >> translator: what would i answer him? i would tell him, be healthy. i wish him good health. i say this without irony, without jokes. >> the back and forth between the two leaders all starting off this interview with biden, who, unlike former president trump, did not fall back in his criticisms of putin and put him on notice of interfering in the presidential elections. >> he will pay a price. we won't talk, he and i, but i know him relatively well and i said, i know you and you know me. if i establish this -- be prepared. >> you said he didn't have a soul? >> i did say that to him, yes. and his response was, we understand each other. i was alone with him in his office. that's how it came about. it's when president bush said i looked inside his eyes and saw his soul. i said i look if your eyes and you don't have a soul. >> so you think president putin is a killer? >> uh-huh, i do. >> what price must he pay? >> you'll see shortly. >> caitlin collins in the white house. this is a remarkable thing that joe biden said and the kremlin said the comments are very bad and there hasn't been anything like this in history. it's true, actually. what is going on behind the scenes at the white house? because they obviously are choose thing pass purposefully. >> reporter: they are, but there hasn't been anything like this in the last four years. this is a very different u.s. president we are now seeing the russians deal with. president trump, not only embraced them, he often praised putin on the world stage. so now this is a complete turn of events. the white house says they want to start a -- or chart a path forward. you see joe biden not holding back. and i don't know if this is a strategy that they were pursuing. i'm not sure they knew abc was going to ask about russia during this interview. but he's maintained this long running criticism of vladamir putin. since he was a vice president, when he was running and now in office. so it's breaking out into the open now, because the russians are basically erupting in fury over these comments he's made, agreeing that putin is a killer. so the conversations that they have is going to be what is to watch. because you saw how clearly irritated putin was with that, wishing biden good health and inviting him to have a live conversation if they want to continue. so the white house is aware of this. they also said more actions against russia are coming in weeks, not months according to the press secretary earlier today in response to the russian meddling in the u.s. elections. >> so matthew, pultin saying i wish him good health and then adds i say that without irony. some see it as a threat. but former president medvedev also said about biden, time hasn't been kind to him. so what are they trying to do here? >> reporter: yeah. i can say, erin, i might see that as a threat how president biden stays healthy. but i don't think it was intended in that way. i think it sort of mays into a much broader campaign that we're seeing played out in the russian media at this moment, trying to cast president biden as somebody too old for the job, he's not in charge of his faculties. you're hearing that a lot on russian state television. one anchor saying maybe biden hadn't taken his pills. another one said, maybe he's got some sort of dmenemdementia. of course, more broadly, that plays into the broader persona of vladamir putin. he likes to portray himself as the vital, you know, youthful guy. remember the pictures of him riding bare chested on a horse. you know, he's 68 years old. but in comparison to president biden, he's trying again to cast himself as the youthful, vital leader. >> the biden administration had its first in-person meeting with china and got off to a rocky start. tell me about it. >> reporter: this is really stunning. you don't often see something like this play out in front of cameras, but we did earlier just a few moments ago, as this first meeting between biden security officials and the secretary of state and national securitied a v -- adviser, they were trying to get the press out of the room, and jake sullivan said no, no, come back inside. they both started with their opening statements, and then china responded with their own sharp remarks, accusing the u.s. of being condescending, breaking protocol. and you saw the press was going to be you arushered out of the . and secretary blinken said no, stay in the room. and then i believe a camera left the room. and he said no, we want them in here for our response, as well. so you saw them going back and forth with the chinese officials, bringing up things like black lives matter. you saw sullivan and secretary of state blinken responding to that. it was quite remarkable to see them defending the u.s., saying it's an evolving country that talks about the rights and wrongs here. and going after the chinese officials in that sense. it was remarkable because you don't often see this play out in front of the camera. you never see this play out. this is the first meeting between these officials. so the question is, what tone did this set going forward? that we don't know yet. >> it is pretty incredible. the press being in and out of the room, to speaking about each other in public, it is incredible. thank you both very much. and next, shocking new video tonight from the fbi. rioters attacking officers at the capitol with fists, polls and spraying them with chemicals. tonight, authorities need your help. plus, actress lucy liu is my guest. she has a message about the growing number of attacks on asian-americans she wants everyone to hear. ♪ ♪ when a hailstorm hit, he needed his insurance to get it done right, right away. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa ♪ ♪ like an echo in the forest ♪ ♪ (singing in korean) ♪ ♪ like an arrow in the blue sky ♪ ♪ (singing in korean) ♪ ♪ on my pillow, on my table ♪ ♪ yeah life goes on ♪ ♪ like this again ♪ ♪ oh oh oh oh ♪ germ proof your car with armor all disinfectant. kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses. when we found out our son had autism, his future became my focus. lavender baths calmed him. so we made a plan to turn bath time into a business. ♪ ♪ find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com tonight, the fbi releasing dramatic new video of officers being violencely assaulted during january's riot at the u.s. capitol, asking the public for help in identifying ten individuals, suspected of carrying out some of the most vicious attacks that you'll see against police. this is four of the suspects that they are hoping to catch in these videos. you can see one rioter grabbing an officer by the helmet. others attacking officers with fists, poles and spraying them with chemicals. lauren lieberman is "outfront." >> usa! >> reporter: amid a chorus of patriotic chants, the mob advanced. and in the kchaos, someone calld for backups. number 153, wanted for assault on a federal law enforcement. in video and images from the fbi, he's seen attacking officers with what appears to be a stick. he has a light and a gas mask in other images. bolo number 123, is seen in the video grabbing an officer's gas mask and pulling it toward the door. more than 300 people are facing federal charges stemming from the january 6th attack. the department of justice has charged more than 65 people for assaulting law enforcement. the fbi has released video and pictures of ten more people seen attacking officers on january 6 during the riot. >> they are committing appalling crimes against officers who have devoted their lives. >> reporter: bolo number 170 swings directly at a camera, his face briefly visible between punches. you can see he reaches over an officer's riot shield as he tries to get closer in the attacks. bolo number 191, charges officers after pushing through the gates. bolo number 231 reaches above shields and throws a spray paint can and seen attacking officers. the list goes on. evidence of a mob, what officials are calling a coordinated attack. >> we know it can be difficult to report information about family, friends, and co-workers. but sit the right thing to go. >> reporter: bolo number 255 walks to the edge above the riot and unleashes a cloud of chemicals on a large group of officers. overhead, american flags are waving. the fbi has made it clear that tips from the public have been an enormous help in making these arrests. now more than two month afc the january 6 riot, the work is far from over. the fbi still has 250 unidentified individuals from that day. erin? >> thank you very much. and next, i'm going to speak with actress lucy liu about the spak in attacks on asian-americans and the racism she has experienced in hollywood. and georgia republicans are pushing to restrict voting access and democrats want biden to do even more. ♪ ♪ e sketchy website i bought this turtle from stole all of my info. ooh, have you looked on the bright side? discover never holds you responsible for unauthorized purchases on your card. (giggling) that's my turtle. fraud protection. discover. something brighter. if you're 55 and up, t-mobile has plans built just for you. get 2 unlimited lines for only $70. and now get netflix on us with your plan. and this rate is fixed, you'll pay exactly $70 total. this month and every month. plus, switch today and get a free smartphone for each line. the best value and award-winning customer service. only at t-mobile. you're strong. you power through chronic migraine - 15 or more headache days a month, ...each lasting 4 hours or more. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. so, if you haven't tried botox® for your chronic migraine, ...check with your doctor if botox® is right for you, and if samples are available. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection ...causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing, ...speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness... ...can be signs of a life-threatening condition. side effects may include allergic reactions... ...neck and injection site pain... ...fatigue, and headache. don't receive botox® if there's a skin infection. tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions... ...and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. 95% of patients may pay as little as zero dollars for botox®. so, text to see how you can save. botox® has been preventing headaches and migraines before they even start for 10 years. so, ask your doctor about botox® today. tonight, san francisco police investigating an assault on an asian man around woman. this 75-year-old chinese woman was standing at a traffic light when a man punched her in the face. that same suspect also attacking an 83-year-old asian man. the woman and her daughter speaking to our local affiliate after the attack. >> as you can see, she is extremely terrified. >> this rise in hate crimes inspiring some to speak out. including actress lucy liu, who wrote "my heart goes out to the families of these innocent victims. i know we can be better than this, we must be. lucy liu is "outfront." i know you don't speak lightly, you know, you don't take this decision to speak out lightly. and i know you believe that the vitriol or rhetoric and the violence against asians over the past several years, especially during the pandemic, your w-- d you think things will get worse before they get better? >> i do. i think that even a percentage that we currently know in the rise of hate crimes, 1900% against asian-americans. but i think there are more that are unreported personally. i think culturally, we are not a people that speak out and talk about being victims. and i think that's something we learn -- i mean, i was born in this country, my parents were not born in this country. but it is something that is passed on. so i think are's more that we don't know about, and i think it's going get worse before it gets better. >> you live in new york where we have seen these attacks against asian-americans in recent months. 52-year-old woman shoved outside of a bakery. she ended up in the hospital. a filipino-american man slashed in the face with a box cutter. there is a lot of talk right now about stopping these crimes. the truth is, lucy, i feel like i see a new case every single day. do you think enough is being done to protect people right now? >> i think the recent murders in atlanta have really brought more attention to the fact that so many asians are being targeted. and i really do think it starts with words and language, and how people speak, and how people understand what's really going on there. and because there's so many different facts out thereand be. people are frustrated, and they're taking out their anger through violence on asians. and this is unacceptable, and it is an absolute hate crime. and i think there has to be more awareness before anything can be done. >> so, when you talk about the hate crime, the numbers show asian-american women are especially vulnerable to this hate. 68% of the incidents over the past year against asian-americans have been targeted at women, 68%. so, that's the vast majority. you're talking about two-thirds. you have experienced racism throughout your life and your career, and i know this is a hard thing to talk about because it's not something that you just want to come out and emphasize, but it's really important. can you share any kind of experience or a story so people understand that truly this can happen to anyone? >> absolutely. i mean, there have been so many -- i mean, throughout my entire childhood and my career, slurs, assumptions about how someone's presented just because they're asian. they must be unable to speak english or that they must be superintelligent. i've had many times where i was in an interview with somebody and we were at a lunch and i poured them water. and they just assumed i was subservient because of that. and even in the roles that i've been in, you know, cast in, you know, people reviewing them or people sort of instead of saying that these other women that are in the movie with me fighting against other people, that my role was sort of highlighted as stereotyping asians and perpetuating that stereotype of kung fu. or even the character i played on "ally mcbiel," people would often times compare me to a dragon lady, which i, erin, at the time had to look up because i didn't know what that means. i found that astounding that if i'm doing something in my job, acting, that also has to be prescribed as well as an asian stereotype. that continues to perpetuate something as opposed to she's just doing this job and she's doing it well. >> can i ask you one other question. we're both mothers. your son just turned five a few months ago. and on his birthday you posted a photo with the comment we must come together to fight for a brighter and safer future for our children. how do you try -- i don't know if obviously at this age you do or don't, how do you try to explain all this to him? >> well, i haven't yet explained the violence because, as you know, children have an innocence and have a very magical quality about them. and i think once that is shattered or cracked, it starts to open up very quickly. i did explain because we have been in new york the entire pandemic and the lockdown and continue to be about the peaceful protests and what it means and why people are protesting and why they're walking in the rain, in the sun, and why it's important to be able to make your voice heard and to unite with other people. and i think that's one thing that, you know, we have to understand. in america there is still in come ways a caste stm ystem whe they always want to abbreviate another race. 9/11, it was about muslims and against people from the middle east. now it's about asians. and obviously black lives matter, api -- i mean, all of these communities are not separate. we are banned together in order to unite. that is how we can produce results frankly. >> all right. lucy, thank you so much. i appreciate you're being with me tonight and taking the time to share. thank you. >> thank you, erin, thanks for having me. next biden and harris about to make their first trip to georgia as the president is under pressure there to make good on his promises. see every delivery... every yikes... and even every awwwwwwww... wait, where was i? introducing self protection from xfinity. designed to put you in control. with real-time notifications and a week of uninterrupted recording. all powered by reliable, secure wifi from xfinity. gotta respect his determination. it's easy and affordable to get started. get self protection for $10 a month. tonight president biden ordering flags to be flown at half staff in honor of the eight people killed in the series of shootings at massage parlors across georgia, six of whom were asian. the move coming one day before bide skpn vice president harris plan to visit the state. jeff zeleny is "outfront." >> you still just feel the relief in the air. >> reporter: marianna davis is watching president biden's first two months in office with hope and gratitude. >> we actually are about to head back to somewhat of a normal situation that we were used to before. so, honestly, i'm satisfied. >> reporter: she's among the voters who not only helped him carry georgia but helped democrats win control of the senate, a triumph that paved the way for biden's agenda. inside the beehive, an atlanta boutique her sister owns and she manages, davis is feeling the effects of the american rescue plan. >> this week we have been gloriously overwhelmed by the numbers we've had. >> reporter: biden and vice president kamala harris are visiting georgia on friday, the first time since taking office, a trip to promote the covid relief bill taking a somber turn as they cancelled a rally and instead will meet with asian-american leaders after a rampage here this week killed eight people, including six women of asian descent. the white house has stopped short of calling it a hate crime, despite calls to do so. >> it is very, very troubling. >> reporter: for biden and harris, there is no state like georgia. >> one state -- one state -- can chart the course not just for the next four years but for the next generation. >> reporter: in november november, georgia went blue for the first time in a quarter century. >> well, hello, atlanta, georgia. >> reporter: in january that win made sweeter for democrats after raphael warnock and jon ossoff swept their run off races ending republican control of the senate. >> i shudder to think what would have happened if georgians not come out in historic numbers and flipped the senate. >> reporter: this woman leads the new georgia program. her jubilation has been tempered by backlash as republicans are trying to pass new laws to make voting more difficult here. she hopes biden will prioritize federal election reform which may only happen by eliminating the senate filibuster. >> i think the president could clearly and forcefully say there are no both sides to this debate. >> reporter: she echos the sent meant among progressive democrats who like biden but are eager to hear $15 minimum wage. a new season is dawning but old signs of the biden-harris campaign remain. >> it's much more peaceful. you come out here and everybody's smiling again. there's a weight lifting off because you come out and just -- it's what, tony motrrisson. you can breathe again. >> that's how you felt with president biden? >> definitely. >> reporter: that's that elation that comes to life with conversation with biden supporters like davis, who understands the urgency in the minds of some democrats. but she's willing to give him time. >> just be patient. it's coming. everything doesn't happen overnight. folks know that. >> reporter: now, in addition to meeting with asian-american leaders here in atlanta on friday, president biden is also we're told set to meet with stacey abrams. of course she took a lead in registering all of those african-american voters that contributed to biden's victory last year. but now, earin, front and cente is voting rights. >> thank you very much. thanks to all of you. i'll see you tomorrow. i'll see you tomorrow. anderson starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good evening, a full hour ahead. a look at what our lives could look like if we have a glut, not a shortage of covid vaccine. that and the mistaken belief that being vaccinated is a license to put the people around you at risk by being an inconsiderate jerk. we begin with a different manifestation of the tone deafness senator paul is showing toward anyone who has lost someone to covid or people in his