legislative priority of his presidency. also happening now, an fda board is reviewing johnson & johnson's vaccine, the first single dose option to fight the coronavirus that not only prevents most sickness but may also stop transmission of the virus. we're also watching syria after the president launched the first airstrikes of his administration. the pentagon says the attack was targeted against militias there backed by iran in response to recent rocket attacks on american forces in the region. we begin, though, in houston where the president will play a role that we haven't seen in a while, comforter in chief. in his first trip to a disaster zone since taking office, he will meet with local leaders and survey the damage caused by a deadly winter storm. last week millions experienced extended power outages with freezing temperatures that resulted in the deaths of 29 people. arlette saenz is covering this in houston. what are we expecting from this trip, arlette? >> reporter: president biden is set to land here in houston any minute now where he will be receiving an in-person on-the-ground assessment of recovery efforts after that severe winter storm battered the state of texas last week, leaving millions without power, water or even heat. the president will be making multiple stops here in the houston area. first he will tour an emergency operation system here in harris county and then he will visit a food bank and meet with volunteers there. his wife, first lady jill biden, will also be packaging water and food for the local community at that food bank a little earlier in the day. then the president will wrap his day here on the complex of nrg stadium, which is one of those federal mass vaccination sites as the government is trying to get more vaccine out to the american people. while he is on the ground in texas, he will be joined by the state's governor, greg abbott as well as john cornyn, both republican lawmakers in the state. ted cruz was in florida earlier today speaking at a conservative conference. white house press secretary jen psaki just a moment ago actually said there was no invitation, nor was there a request for cruz to join the president on this trip here in houston. there will also be the city's mayor visiting biden while he is on the ground. this trip is as much as assessing what kind of federal assistance can be offered the state of texas in the wake of these storms as it is a moment for biden to offer some comfort for a state that is still struggling as they're recovering after that storm. this is a role that you see many presidents step into in the wake of disasters and tragedies, and one that comes quite naturally to biden as he is quite well known for his empathy. you have seen him in the past go into multiple communities to meet with victims and families, and you've even seen those expressions of empathy come amid the coronavirus pandemic even in that somber ceremony over at the white house earlier this week. but that is something that will certainly be on display when the president is on the ground here in texas as the state is still recovering. >> tell us a little bit about this last stop that he's making, arlette. he is going to a covid vaccination site, you mentioned. >> reporter: that's right. this is a vaccination site set up by the federal government here just outside the stadium where the houston texans play. this is one of the efforts the administration has really launched to try to get more vaccines out to americans. the administration earlier today announced that they will be launching two other sites just like this one, one in chicago ask another in north carolina. and this site actually just opened up yesterday and is expected to issue out about 6,000 vaccines a day as the administration is trying to get closer to that goal of 100 million shots in 100 days. >> arlette, thank you so much. we know you'll be following this all day there in houston. the house is expected to vote and to pass president biden's nearly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package today, but a $15 minimum wage is something that has really been a sticking point and that has been doomed in this bill now. i want to bring in cnn's david chalian to talk about this. what can we expect in the bill? >> well, you said it, brianna. it's a $1.9 trillion bill. it's an enormous bill, and it has some key big-ticket items. obviously those stimulus checks. we know the additional $1400 that joe biden promised. this was something actually that donald trump agreed with as well back in his final days of his administration, so getting those additional stimulus checks is a part of this package. take a look at the unemployment benefits, right? so there is some extended unemployment benefits, federal unemployment benefits. there is a deadline that comes around on march 14, which is why biden wants to get this bill signed into law by then because of this extension of some of those federal benefits. education and child care. the administration constantly talks about the money in the package to get the schools back open full-time. vaccine money, $20 billion in here to get vaccines distributed out, to get vaccines produced, and then, of course, perhaps one of the more controversial items when it comes to the partisan battling over this is the $350 billion or so for state and local aid that's inside this package. the administration argues that there is not a lot here to cut, that everything is needed to get the country through this pandemic and to get the economy back on its feet. joe biden often says to republicans who don't seem poitzed to vote for the bill, what would you have me cut? they have pointed to some local infrastructure projects, maybe some of that state and local aid that they think is a little extraneous and not directly tied to covid relief, that would have brought the price tag down. the administration said, no, they believe they have the democratic votes to go with it, and today, as you noted, is the first step with the house representatives voting late today. >> yes, it is a big step. david, thank you so much for that, david chalian. in the coming hours, the advisory board is expected to vote on whether to give emergency use authorization to the first single-dose coronavirus vaccine. it is made by johnson & johnson which says its vaccine is 85% effective against severe covid. once the fda gives its green light, the process moves on to the cdc. moments ago the cdc director said she is ready and waiting to review what should become the third vaccine in the u.s. >> following the fda's actions, the advisory committee on immunization practices, or acip, meets to discuss in the advisory meeting. then acip will make recommendations for use of the vaccine and i will stand by ready to review them and sign. >> steve medical correspondent sanjay gupta is standing by to talk about this. sanjay, what are you expecting to see in the coming days? how fast will this new vaccine from johnson & johnson become available? >> it could happen very fast, brianna. we have some precedent on this because we saw this process play out with pfizer and moderna, you remember, and in those situations the advisory committee met and that evening or that day the fda actually approved that recommendation, so then you have an authorized vaccine. the cdc basically would meet to determine the who, how, when, meaning who is going to get this, how the vaccine is going to be rolled out, those sorts of recommendations, and then you just heard from dr. walensky who would give that final approval. there's a lot of steps but it can happen quickly. we also know johnson & johnson has been manufacturing millions of these doses at risk, which means they should be available and possibly able to roll out later next week. >> sanjay, thank you. i'm going to have you stand by for me. we do have some breaking news. this is breaking news just in to cnn. the director of national intelligence has just released a long-a waited report on the 2018 killing of "washington post" columnist and saudi journalist jamal khashoggi. i want to get straight to our team who has been following this story and awaiting this report. our cnn chief white house correspondent, kaitlan collins. tell us what the top line is here. >> reporter: brianna, this is huge. th this was a highly anticipated report. it is now declassified. the white house was talking about this earlier. we knew this was coming. they were waiting for that call between president biden and the saudi king to happen first, but this is an intelligence report from the united states confirming what we had already believed to be true, and it says, we assess that saudi arabia's crown prince, mohammad bin salman, approved an operation in istanbul, turkey to capture or kill saudi journalist jamal khashoggi. that is when he was taken into that saudi consulate in istanbul, dismembered, and his death was widely covered for so long and the questions about the culpability, and there was so much finger pointing at the crown prince who, we should note, had a very close relationship with jared kushner, with former president trump. that was something he often spoke to. the biden administration said they wanted to make it different with how they would move forward with saudi arabia, and they wanted to recalibrate this relationship. but this is a damning report to have this on dni letterhead saying this is what they believed happened after they went through this report and they investigated this, and we should note, brianna, the reason they're making this assessment in here is they say, we base this assessment on the crown prince's control of decision making in the kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser in what happened to jamal khashoggi, his murder, and members of his protective detail in that operation. and also, brianna, this key line, the crown prince's support for using violent measures to silent dissidents abroad, including khashoggi. it says since 2017, the crown prince has had absolute control of the security organizations, making it highly unlikely that the saudis would have carried out an operation of this nature without his authorization. >> this is key when they're talking about this link here. if you can stand by for us, kaitlan, i want to bring in security adviser alex marquardt. we just got this. what more can you tell us? >> what strikes me immediately is how short this is. it's just three pages. this is what the intelligence committee has deemed they can release in this fashion. this was something sitting out there ready to go. this is something that was ordered by congress through law that it get released by the director of intelligence publicly. th this was a law that was ignored by the trump administration. we have been waiting for this to come out knowing that, according to the ci ayea and according to sources, that they had determined with high confidence that mohammad bin salman, the crown prince, had made this order. there were questions about how much farther this report would go. in actual fact, it's not going that much farther. it's not offering a ton of detail in terms of how the crown prince actually issued this order to the band of assassins, including some members of his protective detail and some of his top lieutenants. what is striking, however, now, the most important part, brianna, is that this is the u.s. intelligence community coming out and saying that the crown prince approved of this extrajudicial killing of jamal khashoggi. there is no detail in here about how he did that, there is no smoking gun, which was a big question after the murder of khas khashoggi. there was no message he referred to about transmitting this order. but in the first line of this report they say the crown prince, mohammad bin salman, approved an operation in istanbul, as kaitlan was just saying. they say they can make this determination because of the control that he has in the kingdom, because of the operational control that he has over the security and intelligence apparatus. because of the makeup of this team. they go on in this report to name 21, i've just counted, different individuals who participated in, ordered or were otherwise complicit in the death of jamal khashoggi. this is a very important line in this report, brianna. the crown prince viewed khashoggi as a threat to the kingdom and broadly supported using violent measures if necessary to silence him. so on the one hand, the report is not offering a lot of evidence in terms of the order from the crown prince, but this is the u.s. government saying in explicit terms that the de facto ruler of one of america's closest allies ordered the murder of this journalist and that has huge implications for the u.s.-saudi relationship. >> it has huge implications. let's talk to our international diplomatic operator nick watson. now that we have this report, because this is such a key part of what the diplomatic response is going to be from the united states and perhaps even the global community, what is the u.s. going to do with this? the trump administration went very easy on saudi arabia when it came to this. the biden administration is not going to go so easy. where does this lead that process? >> i think some of the hints for that come in the conversation that president biden had with king salman last night, and that was that transparency was going to be part of the way that the two countries would work together, and we heard from ned price, the spokesman at the state department just last night also saying that this was transparent, that this would lead to transparency and that would lead, therefore, to accountability. so i think that's how you frame the relationship going forward. but i think this begs an absolutely huge question right now. what happens when the king dies, he's 85, there's every possibility that he could pass away while president biden is president. the crown prince becomes the king. that's what happens. that's what a crown prince is. so president biden, through protocol that he has recalibrated only deals with the head of state, the king, but the crown prince would become the king. where does that put the relationship between the two countries then? this is a hugely important relationship. saudi arabia is a massive power in the gulf. it is a huge partner in counterterrorism to the united states. it is an important strategic partner in the gulf that as we know has a destabilizing influence of iran. this is a very, very difficult moment. we can only understand that some of that must have been covered in the conversation, parts of the conversation, between biden and king salman that weren't made public. but, you know, from a saudi perspective, i think you'll find that they will point to this and they'll say there is no smoking gun. their defense at the time was th th this was a rogue operation that went wrong. i think the cia's assessment, the report put forward by the u.n. special reporter for non-judicial killings completely undermine that narrative, but that, i think is how, if we hear the saudis push back, they will, and i think people in the detail close to the crown prince kind of, because they were there, that implies that he was responsible. the saudis have pushed back on that before. one of the points i get from this report is naming this key lieutenant of the crown prince, saud al katani who is linked to many dissidents in saudi arabia and alleged torture of them. it's possible we may see efforts to have him pushed out of the relationship equation. >> also mentioning the team also included seven members of the crown prince's elite personal protect tive detail known as th rapid source, looking to defend the crown prince, says it answers only to him and has directly participated in earlier dissident suppression pr operations. a lot of this stuff we knew, but it's very important, right, that it's coming from the dni in the u.s. i want to chat again with kaitlan collins if we can go back to the white house. this is a critical moment for the u.s. saudi relationship. this was something, this killing that happened in 2018, which largely went undefended by the u.s., by the trump administration, that is not what's going to happen with the biden administration, but this is also delicate. this is something that the saudis did, and to a journalist obviously with saudi ties, of course, but who was working for an american publication, this was something that was really seen as an affront. so, kaitlan, where does this go from here? >> brianna, this takes me back to when president trump was in office and the way he talked about this. this report is being released under the biden administration, declassified. they talked about it a lot. i remember we used to talk about this with former president trump and we used to question him on it, especially after it was reported that the cia had concluded that, yes, the crown prince had ordered jamal khashoggi's murder. president trump used to tell us that the crown prince, he believed, was very angry about what happened and he was upset about it. that's what he kept pointing to as kind of this defense of his position, and we were questioning him about his role given he was the leader that the former president, president trump, communicated with. when i'm looking at this report it says the crown prince had fostered an environment in which his aides were worried about failing to complete an assigned task because they were worried they could be fired or arrested. so here it says, brianna, that aides were unlikely to question his orders or undertake sensitive actions without his consent. it is pointing the finger at him about as much as it can with what they know, it appears, and it's just notable given how unwilling the last president was to do that when it came to the crown prince and how jared kushner had a very close relationship with the crown prince and spoke with him. and so just to see the change in that -- and you are right, it is going to be a delicate situation going forward. look at what president biden did. he called the saudi king, talked to him before this report came out. we were told they wanted to do that specifically, he wanted to talk to them before it came out. now, the white house readout did not actually say he brought up this report. it said he brought up human rights, and we've asked multiple times and the white house won't go further than that. i don't know if that's an agreement the white house and the saudis came to, but they didn't actually mention it in the readout, but we are told that's why he wanted to speak with him before this report came out, basically saying and pointing the finger at his son for the death and dismemberment of this reporter inside the saudi consulate in turkey. >> indeed. and it is going to be very delicate to that point, and i also just very quickly want to mention to viewers what you're looking at here on the right side of your screen. president biden is in houston he is there, obviously, where they have experienced a terrible weather tragedy last week and he'll be doing a lot of covid outreach. this is air force one that has touched down in houston. they put out this intel report that is directly linking mohammad bin salman to the murder of jamal khashoggi who was a columnist for the "washington post," a saudi journalist. back to you, alex marquardt, this is kaitlan said. it is not a coincidence that president biden talked to him before the report came out, not even that he specifically talked to him about the report but he talked to him about human rights issues. >> brianna, we expected this report yesterday, and it was clear this wasn't going to come out until the two men spoke. it's clear that the u.s., they talk about recalibrating this relationship. they're not going to do something as to blindside the saudis when it comes to something as important as this. remember then-candidate biden saying he was going to make saudi arabia the pa riah that i is. now he's in office and he's trying to strike this precarious balance of keeping campaign promises and shifting what is expected, at the same time maintaining this relationship with a critical ally. we see that in the readout of that phone call. absolutely no mention of khashoggi, no mention of the crown prince, no mention of this murder or this report coming out, but talking about human rights and the strong relationship, the historic relationship. meanwhile, you have to kind of take it in the broader context. this was a phone call that only happened more than a month after biden was in office. so it was a long time coming, and we have seen the biden administration trying to -- changing things significantly, pulling back on the war in yemen of the u.s. support for the saudis on the war in yemen, reviewing weapon sales to that country. nic robertson was talking about the state department mentioning that they will be holding saudi arabia accountable. that, brianna, really is the next big question. now we have the u.s. government coming out and saying that the crown prince approved this murder. so does that mean there are going to be sanctions against the crown prince? in the wake of the khashoggi murder we already saw -- >> how would they manage that, because that is the question, right? i spoke yesterday with the u.n. special repertoire who wrote the initial report about this, and there is clearly a view from people trying to stop this from happening that there needs to be sanctions. how can there be sanctions against the future ruler of saudi arabia who obviously is a country with different espoused views and values than the united states but is a clear ally as well? how do they manage that? >> yeah, it's a terrific question. we've already seen sanctions against most of those who the u.s. believes were involved in this operation, despite the fact that president trump at the time was essentially covering for nbs. his administration imposed manitsky act sanctions on 17 of those they believed were in charge of this operation. now that the government is going farther and saying nbs was actually complicit and approved this, will they actually apply sanctions to him? it's just an extraordinary situation where, as nic was saying, this is a person who, any day now, could take over the crown of that country, of this absolutely critical ally. and how do you do that? how do you apply sanctions to someone who is going to take over this country? it remains to be seen, but there is going to be bipartisan demand on capitol hill. republicans and democrats who are outraged by this for significant action against saudi arabia, against the crown prince, and i imagine, brianna, that will include sanctions. >> we will be watching. important news ahead after this report. alex, thank you so much, and to our colleagues kaitlan and nic as well. next we are keeping our eye on president biden who is now in houston where he is set to meet with texans impacted by that brutal winter storm, but he may face questions about this khashoggi report, no doubt. new details about the airstrike the president ordered in syria and what was scrapped at the last minute. also the threat is not over for the ins from the insurrectionists. what she shared when the president addresses congress. a lot of people think dealing with copd is a walk in the park. if i have something to help me breathe better, everything will be fun and nice. but i still have bad days flare-ups (coughs), which can permanently damage my lungs. my lungs need protection against flare-ups. so it's time to get real. because in the real world our lungs deserves the real protection of breztri. breztri gives you better breathing symptom improvement, and flare-up protection. it's the first and only copd medicine proven to reduce flare-ups by 52% breztri won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. it is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. don't take breztri more than prescribed. breztri may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. for real protection ask your doctor about breztri. ♪ hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play ♪ ♪ hey now, you're a rock star, get the show on, get paid ♪ ♪ and all that glitters is gold ♪ get 5 boneless wings for $1 with any handcrafted burger. only at applebee's. extremist groups involved in the january 6 insurrection are eyeing the capitol again. when president biden addresses a joint session of congress, the speech that is given in lieu of the state of the union in the beginning of a new presidency, they say they want to target the building. this is according to the acting capitol police chief. >> we know that members of the militia groups that were present on january 6 have stated their desires that they want to blow up the capitol and kill as many members as possible with a direct nexus to the state of the union, which we know that date has not been identified. >> that address to a joint session should be scheduled for a date here in the coming weeks. cnn's whitney wild is following this story for us. whitney, this is a pretty explicit and alarming warning that is coming from the head of capitol police. >> this is really the first time we're hearing any details about why that fencing is still there. a lot of lawmakers have said, whag what else the purpose of this? we learned yesterday that it's costing up to $2 million a week to have this fencing, so so many lawmakers have said, what is the purpose of this? now it seems there are these threats out there that are meant to not only cause harm to them but to send a message with additional detail that congresswoman pitman addressed yesterday. >> we know the people attacking the capitol weren't only interested in attacking officers. they wanted to send a message to the nation of who was responsible for that legislative process. >> reporter: there are similarities here, so when you're looking at the intelligence that led to january 6, some say that intelligence should have been taken more seriously, saying there was a date, a time and a place. there will be a date, a time and a place for this new threat. so they are now taking this intelligence very, very seriously. i point blank asked representative tim ryan if he feels safe on the hill based on what he heard during the hearing yesterday, based on some of these new revelations, based on what he heard about the leadership at uscp, and he maintains he does feel safe in part because that fence is still there, because the national guard is still there, brianna. >> for people who aren't driving by, we do on our way to work, whitney, and to look at it, it's this eyesore. it's not how you're used to seeing the capitol. it's a very different scene here in washington right now. but the police chief saying this, it's an indication of something that i think a lot of experts were raising as a question, that january 6 may have been just the beginning of a surge in anti-government extremism. >> reporter: absolutely. i think there was a hope that we had reached the summit and we were on the downswing, but that doesn't appear to be the case. all the intelligence we're hearing from, the acting chief as well as other sources in the intelligence community, indicates we're just as this really high plateau and we're staying there until who knows how long. that's what all the intelligence bulletins after january 6 have indicated, and additionally, they indicated that january 6 was a rallying cry, that people will say, hey, that went really well, let's keep trying it. that's what's so frightening and that's why there is this overwhelming security presence here in d.c. she is advocating to keep that, brianna, at least until september. she also admits they're making a lot of changes to their information flow, their communication flow. for example, they're having daily calls with their other intelligence partners to get a handle on what's out there, because clearly something was missed leading up to january 6. >> indeed. thank you so much for that, whil whitney wild. i appreciate it. cnn is learning more about the rioters who were arrested after the insurrection. one police officer is charged with attacking another police officer on january 6. he is accused of beating the officer with a metal pole. >> come on, take your [ bleep ]. take your [ bleep ]. >> i want to bring in shimon prokupecz who are our senior crime justice correspondent. first, looking a the that video, shimon, it is so distressing looking at the point of view of the police officers. you can feel your blood pressure rise just watching it. what more are you learning about this specific incident? >> reporter: yeah, it's certainly sickening. when you think about also the fact that this man, 54-year-old thomas webster, he's from here in new york city, the fact that he was a former police officer, protected city hall here in new york city where the mayor obviously works and other government officials and also a former marine, it just makes you wonder how much hate and how much buildup of this rage did these individuals have who came out for this, really, pro-trump riot in the end? that really depicts it. there are thousands of hours of this kind of video that authorities have been sorting through, trying to identify some of these individuals. and in this video, as you see, he was beating this officer with this metal pole, this flat pole that contained a marine corps flag on it. he then, also, according to prosecutors on the video, you can see him on the ground, straddling this officer to the point where he was trying to pull the officer's gas mask off his face, choking the officer. the officer said he couldn't breathe at one point. it took some time for officials to identify mr. webster, and they arrested him, the fbi arresting him. the prosecutor in court played this video for the judge in a bail hearing, the judge saying he was too violent, that webster was too violent so he's keeping him jailed. the prosecutor said that this attack by mr. webster, he attacked this officer like a junkyard dog, and so the judge saying that he was too dangerous has decided to keep webster in jail as he awaits trial, brianna. >> shimon, there are so many cases like this, so many stories you're following. we appreciate it, shimon prokupecz. still ahead, more details about the airstrike president biden ordered in syria, his first military action since taking o office. safety systems. or it isn't. it's either the peace of mind of a standard unlimited mileage warranty. or it isn't. for those who never settle, it's either mercedes-benz certified pre-owned. or it isn't. the mercedes-benz certified pre-owned sales event. now through march 1st. shop online or drop by your local dealer today. psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen, painful. tremfya® is approved to help reduce joint symptoms in adults with active psoriatic arthritis. some patients even felt less fatigued. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™. janssen can help you explore cost support options. so you're a small business, tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™. or a big one. you were thriving, but then... oh. ah. okay. plan, pivot. how do you bounce back? 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(upbeat music) get the food you love with perks from- - [crowd] grubhub. the u.s. putting airstrikes on syria using iranian-backed militia. the strikes are in retaliation to this, a rocket attack in northern iraq more than a week ago that killed a civilian contractor and wound aid u.s. servicemember. a u.s. official telling cnn, quote, up to a handful of militants were killed in this strike. secretary of defense lloyd austin says the strike was on his recommendation and he is confident that they went after the right target. >> we're confident that that target was being used by the same shia militia that contracted the strikes. >> cnn learned this morning that the original plan was to strike two sites but the second location was scratched because of concerns about possibility of civilians who might be endangered in the area. i'm joined now by retired u.s. air force colonel cedric leighton who is an analyst and also a burn fellow at the washington institute for near east policy. he's worked with iraq since the 1990s, embedding with forces and the iraqi militia. you predicted something like this would happen. explain that and tell us what the response from iran might be. >> it's not surprising the first test of biden would be in iraq. the iran militia is trying to see what happens now that trump is not there. they knew trump would not hit back hard, they weren't sure the biden administration would. the message here is the biden administration is capable of holding the line when it comes to detaining militia attacks even when they engage with iran's nuclear negotiations. >> colonel, can you talk a little bit about that? what is the ramification here for the -- i mean, i guess you could say the iranian u.s. relationship as they are going to be seeking to come to agreement on a nuclear deal? >> brianna, i think the big issue here for the iranians is they've been put on notice, and there is a very huge possibility that the iranians will look at this in a way where they've tested the resolve of the u.s. administration. as far as the next moves are concerned in the u.s.-iranian relationship, this basically puts the iranians on notice, telling them that the united states is going to respond to provocations. exactly how the united states will respond will probably depend on the nature of the provocation itself, but in cases like this where a proxy is being used, it is going to be a type of proportional response that is going to, in essence, serve to stop or at least attempt to stop these kinds of attacks. >> dr. knight, it's interesting to see how the u.s. in this case communicated with partners in the region to let them know this was going to be happening. what is this telling you about the way forward with how the biden administration is going to be approaching the region? >> so a multilateralism is the cornerstone of everything this administration is probably going to do. the cooperation with the iraqi government was excellent in this case. the briefing of other coalition partners is something that i'm sure will get better and better in the future. it was a very unilateral u.s. operation, brief to partners at a late stage. we even saw additional partners, like israel, kept in the loop about the fact the attack would happen. >> it's an interesting different approach here. retired colonel cedric leighton, michael knights, thanks so much to both of you. next we'll take you inside cpac where there is a golden statue of former president donald trump and crowds booing when asked to wear masks. oh, and senator cruz going full braveheart. >> in the immortal words of william wallace, freedom! may have changed this year. to say... account manager... third grade teacher... and senior vice dog-walker. don't add tax preparer. let jackson hewitt do it for you, so you can be certain your taxes are done right, guaranteed. ♪ ♪ are you ready to join the duers? those who du more with less asthma. thanks to dupixent. the add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. dupixent isn't for sudden breathing problems. it can improve lung function for better breathing in as little as 2 weeks and help prevent severe asthma attacks. it's not a steroid but can help reduce or eliminate oral steroids. dupixent can cause serious allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. get help right away if you have rash, shortness of breath, chest pain, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection and don't change or stop your asthma treatments, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. du more with less asthma. talk to your asthma specialist about dupixent. if your financial situation has changed, we may be able to help. this weekend former president trump is back and so is the big lie. he will make his first speech since leaving washington in disgrace, a source confirms to cnn trump will repeat the big lie in this cpac speech that the election was stolen from him. usually a cattle call for republican hopefuls considering a presidential run. trump may be in the group but also likely to overshadow all of the other members of it. cpac isn't so much a republican gathering as a trumplican gathering. look at names on the forum. a number protecting elections even though in evidence of widespread voter fractured in the election. others calls other culprits how judges and media refused to look at the evidence and covering it up and admitting it, there's always this session. failed states, pennsylvania, georgia, nevada, oh, my. those states, of course, are ones that trump lost fair and square, mind you to joe biden in 2020. alice stewart is with us now a cnn political commentator and republican strategist. you look at cpac, it's gone all-in on trump. what does that mean for the republican party? >> right now, rean brianna, tha former president trump is the lead of cpac and the gop. the three-legged stool of social and fiscal and national security conservatives. add the trump conservatives to that list. we're expecting trump to speak sunday and for people to buckle up, back better than ever. we can always expect a big speech out of him. look, i don't think anyone was under the mistaken notion he left anywhere, just because he was out of the white house and off twitter. almost like an electronic dog fence you can still hear the dog barking. i think we need to focus on the policies of conservatives. limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual liberty and constitutionalism like cpac but also focus on making sure the right person is delivering that message, whether or not donald trump is that person remains to be seen. i know they'll talk a lot about election integrity at this event. more than anything we need to reassure people that our elections are free and fair and don't do anything to question the integrity of that. >> there is a big chasm right now in the republican party and to that end i want to play something that really demonstrates it. recent comments by senate m minority leader mitch mcconnell. >> president trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. no question about it. president trump's trump's actions preceded the riot for a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty. >> if the president was the party's nominee, would you support him? >> the nominee of the party? absolutely. >> alice, how do republicans manage to walk this line between these two factions without more, i would say -- you know, conventional republicans falling in to a set of values that are not the ones that they have held so dear for decades? >> that's the great question, right, brianna? it's hard to square this circle. the goal here is more than anything, it's to recognize the fact that while i don't like the tone and tenure and former demeanor of the president he s s so solidivised voters and since in office we lost the house, senate and white house and need to go about finding a way to galvanize the voters that support him but do so in a way that is not only going to have a phenomenal primary wins candidate that supports the president but also can win a general election. >> alice, thank you so much. it is going to be a big weekend. i know you'll be watching. appreciate you being with us. >> thanks, brianna. several stories breaking right now. president biden just landed in houston to tour the damage from deadly winter storms there, plus a new u.s. intel report finds the saudi crowned prince responsible for approving the murder of "washington post" columnist jamal khashoggi. and hours away to green light a third covid vaccine to be available in the u.s. my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching ...the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant™ with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™ janssen can help you explore cost support options. - [narrator] grubhub perks give you deals on all the food that makes you boogie. (upbeat music) get the food you love with perks from- - [crowd] grubhub. some say this is my greatest challenge ever. - grub what you love. but i've seen centuries of this. with a companion that powers a digital world, traded with a touch. the gold standard, so to speak ;) cyber attacks are relentlessly advancing. to end them, cybereason built a cyber security solution so advanced... it can end attacks today -- on computers, mobile devices, servers and the cloud. and deliver future-ready protection, keeping you sharp for tomorrow. join us, the defenders, in our mission. cybereason. end cyber attacks. from endpoints to everywhere. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. it is the top of the hour. i am brianna keilar and we are tracking multiple stories breaking this hour both within and beyond american boarders. moments ago the u.s. officially accused one of its own official global allies of the murder of "washington post" columnist and saudi dissident jamal khashoggi. just released intelligence found the crowned prince bin salman responsible. much more in a moment. also breaking, president biden arrives in houston surveying the aftermath of the deadly deep freeze that left millions without food, water or heat. tonight the house votes on biden's nearly $2 trillion relief bill, the first step in