covid-19. that siege was criminal behavior, plain and simple, that we, the fbi, view as domestic terrorism. the violence that the fbi is worried about is about racism. >> director wray saying very clearly that there's no evidence to indicate that the participation of any left-leaning or antifa protesters. >> reporter: this is "new day," with alisyn camerota and john berman. >> reporter: welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. this is "new day." it's wednesday, march 3rd. 6:00 here in new york. and just step back for a moment and think about what it would be like if every american were vaccinated. everyone with protection against coronavirus. after all we've been through the last year, it really would be a miracle. and now, it may be and a lot sooner than thought. president biden announced there will be enough vaccine for every adult american by the end of may, months sooner than projected. he announced a really unusual deal between pharmaceutical competitors to speed the process. if it all happens as planned, it really will be a remarkable achievement. now, we have to get there. and that means being careful and prudent, which is why the decisions from the governors of texas and mississippi are so notable and stunning, lifting their mask mandates. joining a list of states that have done the same. we speak to a doctor in texas this morning who tells us, it's going to be hell. and he warned his staff overnight to prepare for a new surge. meanwhile, fbi director christopher wray shooting down republicans who are trying to rewrite history about the capitol insurrection. the trump-appointed fbi director, unequivocally says there is no evidence that so-called fake trump supporters or antifa, participated in this attack on the capitol. 270 people have been arrested. none are masquerading as trump supporters. all of those trump flags you see here and this fervor, that was real. there's also no evidence that space aliens were behind this attack. but chris wray did not say that part. he did say there is still no evidence of widespread voter fraud in this insurrection. wray warning lawmakers that domestic terrorism is metastasizing across the united states. so this morning, we'll hear from the commander of the d.c. national guard for the first time, why did it take hours for them to show up. we begin our coverage with cnn's laura jarrett on states defying public health officials this morning. laura? >> alisyn, defying public health officials, going in the wrong direction. more states now rolling back restrictions, just as the white house looks to speed up vaccine production. but even with some states ignoring cdc guidance, experts are pleading with americans to stay vigilant. shipments of the third coronavirus vaccine arriving in texas as the governor says he's loosening restrictions in just one week. >> effective next wednesday, all businesses of any type are allowed to open 100%. also, i am ending the statewide mask mandate. >> the announcement frustrating some local leaders. >> to put it in very stark terms, it makes no sense. >> it's mind boggling, given where we are. >> reporter: and in mississippi, the governor also lifting mask mandates. >> this new order removes all of our county mask mandates and allows businesses to operate at full capacity without state-imposed rules or restrictions. >> reporter: and as more states roll back restrictions, health experts warn -- >> it's just irresponsible and goes against science, to try to open up. >> reporter: the white house is asking texas and others to keep safety measures in place. >> we think it's a mistake to lift these mandates too early. masks are saving a lot of lives. >> two, one -- vaccinate! >> reporter: meanwhile in ohio, a single shot of history, with the first johnson & johnson vaccines administered. >> it's definitely a game-changer. the problem we have right now is, as you know, there are only about 4 million doses available, so they really need to ramp up production. >> reporter: president biden using the defense production act to speed the manufacturing process, making a deal with merck to help pharmaceutical competitor johnson & johnson produce its single-dose vaccine. >> we're now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in america by the end of may. >> reporter: the president is also asking states to prioritize teachers and school staff on their vaccine list, an effort to allow more classrooms to reopen safely. >> we want every educator, school staff member, child care worker to receive at least one shot by the end of the month of march. >> reporter: biden urging the public to keep wearing masks and following safety protocols. >> there is light at the end of the tunnel. but we cannot let our guard down now. we must remain vigilant. >> reporter: health experts agree, as new highly infectious variants spread across the nation. >> there's a race between these variants and getting vaccinated and we've just got to push and push with that. and not remove these public health measures that have been helping us to reduce the transmissibility. >> reporter: now, it is true that the country is doing better than it was back in december in terms of deaths and number of cases, but it's worth noting that current levels across the country, they're still around the same levels that we saw over the summer. so that makes the rollbacks that we are seeing in places like texas and mississippi, john, all the more dumbfounding. >> all right, laura jarrett, thanks so much for that. joining us now, dr. paul offit. he's the director of the vaccine education center at the children's hospital of philadelphia and a member of the vaccine advisory committee. you're right in the middle of the vaccine situation. so i want to start with the announcement made by president biden. 300 million doses by the end of may, two months earlier than originally projected. this deal, this really unusual deal between merck and johnson & johnson. what's the significance of all of this? >> it's great news. we're almost there. i mean, if you look at last friday fda's meeting, the cdc stated that roughly 83 million americans have already been infected. so when we say it's roughly 29 or 30 million, that's a low number. it's really 83 million. that's 25% of the population. plus, another 15% have either been fully vaccinated or partially vaccinated. you're up to 40% of the population. get to 80% and we can significantly stop the spread of this virus. to do that, we need to vaccinate about 120 million more people. and we can do that. if we're still going 2 million doses a day, we can do that by june. it's very frustrating, actually, when you have the people from texas or mississippi saying, let's open things up. we're still in the midst of this pandemic. there's 60,000 cases a day and 2,000 deaths a day. it's obviously still the pandemic. and if we can just hang on for a few months and mask and social distance until we get everybody vaccinated that needs to be vaccinated, we'll -- we can stop this pandemic. it's just really hard to watch us not being able to wait those few months that i think we need to wait before we can get on top of this. >> i totally understand. when you see the finish line, somehow it feels longer away. i mean, i understand the sudden, you know, impatience. but there's two different things that you raised. one is reopening, okay? then there's the mask mandates going away. those two things are at odds. it's the wearing of masks that allow the businesses, like the retail stores, the nail salons, the hair salons to reopen successfully. the reason that those haven't been super spreaders, we now know, during these past months, is because everybody wears masks going into the hair salon right now. so they're at odds. i mean, you should reopen businesses, my feeling, you tell me if you agree, but keep the mask mandate. >> i agree. i think we don't realize the power of masking. it is spread by small droplets. if you mask appropriately and do the best that you can to physically distance, that's a powerful way -- it's as powerful as the vaccine, frankly. and so while we're waiting for the vaccine, that's what you do. this is sort of the pre-vaccine thing to do. but you're right, i don't think people understand exactly how powerful the masking can be. >> dr. offit, we're going to talk to dr. joseph varon, an emergency room physician who hasn't had a day off in over a year, and he told his staff, prepare for a new surge. he thinks it's going to be hell. he thinks if people stop wearing masks in texas, which isn't a guarantee, but it gives them permission to stop wearing them, he's worried it will lead to more cases and soon. >> right. so we're doing the natural experiment, right? we're doing the natural experiment in texas and the natural experiment in mississippi to see if, in the middle of a pandemic, which we still are essentially in the middle of a pandemic, if you eliminate mask mandates, what will happen? i think we already know the answer to that question. it's just hard to believe that we still want to do that kind of experiment. >> here's another fringe benefit, although i guess it's not even fringe, it's a huge benefit of wearing masks. the flu this year, doctors can find very little evidence of the flu. exactly a year ago, on the right side of your screen, that's last year. that's the flu, the purple, the red, the dark crimson there. those are very high levels of flu. on the left side is where we are right now. all the green means basically minimal or undetectable. that's where the flu is right now. i mean, the fact that last year, at exactly this time, the positivity rate of flu was 30%. this year, 0.1%. i mean, that's -- that's got to be masks, right? and the fact that people are slo social distancinging. >> that's right. typically, every year between 150 and 200 children die of influenza. this year, so far, one child has died of influenza. on friday, march 5th, our fda advisory committee will meet to discuss which flu strains we are going to pick to be in next year's flu vaccine. we figure out what flu strains have been circulating in places like australia and south america, which sort of predicts what strains are likely to come into our country. there's been so little flu in those two areas, i think it's going to be hard for us to try to figure out what flu strains to pick. but you're right, if we mask and social distance every year, we will see a dramatic reduction in flu, which usually causes hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and tens of thousands of deaths. i wonder if that will be the teleph lesson from that. >> i want to go back to the deal that president biden announced yesterday between johnson & johnson and merck. how important something like that is? how unusual is it that merck will manufacture johnson & johnson's vaccine and how important is it? >> it's incredibly important. only vaccine makers have the resources and spexpertise to ma vaccines. so merck has graciously stepped forward and said, okay, we have experience making things like replication effective or replication incompetent viral vaccines like the johnson & johnson vaccine, which is a replication incompetent adnovirus 26 vaccine. we can do that, so we'll help out. it's not like you can get a shirt manufacturer to do it. only a pharmaceutical company would have the resources and expertise to do that and it's definitely going to help out. great news. >> dr. paul offit, thank you very much for all the expertise. great to talk to you. >> thank you. developing overnight, at least ten rockets targeting a military base in western iraq that houses u.s.-led coalition troops. at this hour, there are no reports of casualties. this is the first attack since the u.s. struck iran-backed militia targets along the syria border last week. the al asad air base was attacked by u.s. militaries last year in response to an air strike that killed iran's top general. the head of the fbi stating unequivocally there is no evidence at all that so-called fake trump supporters or antifa or blm participated in the capitol insurrection. this will put an end to the conspiracy theories that some republican lawmakers are pushing? 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>> we have not seen evidence of that. >> is there any evidence at all that it was organized or planned or carried out by groups like antifa or black lives matter? >> we have not seen any evidence to that effect thus far in the investigation. >> no evidence of space aliens behind it either. i mean, he didn't say that, but that's what i'm assuming. >> fda director christopher wray completely debunking claims by some republicans, like senator ron johnson, that maybe it was fake trump supporters behind this capitol attack. all of these people that you see here wearing the maga paraphernalia, carrying the trump flags, yeah, those were real, we found out. this morning, the commanding general of the national guard will testify for the first time. joining us now, cnn political analyst, rachael bade. she's a reporter and co-author of the politico playbook. so, i mean, will that put it to rest, rachael? is that -- now will ron johnson believe this authority figure who has all of the evidence about who has been arrestedback still go to right-wing blogs for his information. >> from having covered him for a while, we'll probably continue to hear him talk like this, knowing ron johnson. but i think what you're seeing is some republican voters around the country and at least one in congress trying to rewrite history here. and that's very dangerous. and so, to the extent that lawmakers can continue to have these hearings shining a spotlight on what happened and getting to what trump's actions were on january 6th, i think is very important. and not only trump's actions, but these clear, blatant falsehoods about, you know, fake trump protesters driving what happened on january 6th. i mean, people were there, republicans were there, they know what happened. and dick durbin called this the second big lie, the next big lie coming down the pipeline after trump, you know, said he won the election and biden did not. and this is just as dangerous as the first one. and so to the extent that lawmakers can get these authority figures up on the hill, put them on the stand to sort of push back on these falsehoods is really important and i think that that's why we're going to continue to see these investigations, obviously trump has already been impeached again over what happened. but there's a lot of detail. and the more detail that can be put out there and the more authority figures that can sort of confront these conspiracy theories, the more important. there are people, not just ron johnson, but people across the country, some republican voters, trump supporters, who are saying this as well. and it's very dangerous. >> look, you know, christopher wray was soft spoken, but this was a crystal-clear, systemic debunking of the major claims. not incident, the major claims being made by republican elected officials, republican activists, republican talk show hosts, and the former republican president. line by line, christopher wray just, you know, blew them all up there. it wasn't antifa, there were white supremacists. sorry, tucker carlson, who were part of the crowd there. and he even had to say at this hearing, no, there wasn't the widespread election fraud. this wasn't a fake election, which the former president just told 7 million viewers on sunday. listen to this. >> to be crystal clear on this, as fbi director, these would be federal crimes, you're aware of no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, correct? >> we are not aware of any widespread evidence of voter fraud, much less that would have affected the outcome in the former election. >> the former president told his 7 million viewers on sunday that he won the election, repeatedly. and the fbi director, under sworn -- under oath right there, sworn testimony, has to say, no, this is just not true. it's a lie. yet those members, republican members of congress continue to enable this kind of speech. >> yeah, i mean, by clearly not pushing back more forcefully, it continues. and you know, trump didn't just say this once over the weekend, he said it over and over and over and over again. seemed to be mocking this whole notion that he won the election. it wasn't joe biden. this is a problem for the entire country. i wonder if the self-interest of republicans will at some point prevail. you talk to some of them privately, and they acknowledge that this is bad not just for the country bulb it could decrease conservative confidence in the voting system. and that's one of the reasons they believe they actually lost the georgia election. okay, well, if that's -- maybe you should say that more broadly. what is it going to take to make people sort of condemn that conspiracy theory and say point-blank, our elections are secure and joe biden won the election? again, conspiracy theories are very dangerous. and republican leaders have to be the ones to push back on this. otherwise, these republican voters who do believe it will not change their minds. >> it seemed like director wray was having to do double duty. debunk these conspiracy theories and lies and explain what went wrong, what happened? did the fbi sound the alarm loudly enough? and how are they going to prepare for whatever is coming down the pike. there's all kind of this charter in qanon that tomorrow is another big day where they think that president trump will sow be reinstated -- i don't even know what the word is -- and made president again tomorrow. and when that doesn't happen, there'll be widespread anger and confusion and disappointment. and so here he is explaining that he thinks that the fbi did try to sound the alarm three different ways. >> that raw, unverified information was passed within, i think, 40 minutes to an hour to our partners, including the capitol police, including metro pd, and not one, not two, but three different ways. one email, one verbal, and one through the law enforcement portal. >> one verbal? who did they tell it to? i'm not sure we actually got the answer yesterday of where the ball was dropped. >> and this is -- i mean, this is the ongoing problem right now. last week, we heard from top police chiefs who said, yes, there was some sort of message conveyed the night before january 6th. but remember, these capitol police officers were also getting ready for january 6th. that fell through the cracks, if something was e-mailed, if somebody talked to -- the communication broke down. that message was not conveyed. and so that's one of the things lawmakers are trying to get to the bottom of. another thing they're trying to get to the bottom of is why exactly pentagon officials, you know, delayed so long in sending national guard. and that's something we're going to hear more about today, specifically, you know, army officials, who were on the phone with capitol police chief and the chief of the metropolitan police department, saying they were worried about optics. the optics of sending in the national guard as these trump supporters were storming the capitol, searching to kill lawmakers. and they're worried about optics. so i think, you know, today, we're going to hear more about, what were these pentagon officials thinking? i'm also curious, were they hearing from somebody at the white house? clearly they had to be in touch with the white house. what were the instructions, what was the sentiment coming from the white house. and this is going to be part of this ongoing investigation to find out, was there some sort of stand down order or were they not able to get approval for something? and that's going to be critical in terms of accountability to make sure this doesn't happen again. >> we'll hear from major general william walker. he will be testifying today, so that will be fascinating. rachael bade, thanks so much for being with us. meanwhile, it's all about tv commercials. that's what senator john cornyn fold officials about the fight that republicans are gearing up for as they try to tank the coronavirus relief bill. cnn has brand-new reporting next. why choose proven quality sleep from sleep number? because a good night's rest is where muscles recover, and our minds are restored. the new sleep number 360 smart bed is temperature balancing. and it helps keep you asleep by sensing your movement and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. perfect for those relaxing weekends. proven quality sleep, is life-changing sleep. only from sleep number. did you know you can go to libertymutual.com to customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need? really? i didn't-- aah! ok. i'm on vibrate. aaah! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ it's moving day. and while her friends are doing the heavy lifting, jess is busy moving her xfinity internet and tv services. it only takes about a minute. wait, a minute? but what have you been doing for the last two hours? delegating? oh, good one. move your xfinity services without breaking a sweat. now that's simple, easy, awesome. xfinity makes moving easy. go online to transfer your services in about a minute. get started today. the senate is expected to begin debate on the coronavirus relief bill as soon as today. overnight, speaker pelosi announced that two infrastructure projects that were part of the bill will not be part of the final legislation. cnn's lauren fox live on capitol hill. a lot of developments here, lauren. >> that's exactly right, john. we are down to the wire when we are looking at this coronavirus relief package. the expectation and hope for senate democrats is still to put something on the floor and begin that debate today. once they start, it will be 20 hours of debate, followed by what is known as a vote-a-rama on capitol hill. this is an opportunity that republicans plan to take advantage of. essentially, it is an opportunity to force democrats into a series of very difficult votes. not for a couple of minutes, not for a couple of hours, but potentially through the night thursday into friday. and the goal i'm hearing from republican lawmakers and aides is that they want to exert maximum political pressure and pain on democrats. meanwhile, democrats are trying to stay together as they try to negotiate the final pieces of this bill. but a couple of areas that republicans are eyeing to basically try to peel off some moderate democrats are amendment votes on things like those transportation projects that you mentioned. that's part of the reason why we expected that these were pulled from the bill. in part because republicans have held them up as examples of waste, fraud, and abuse in the coronavirus relief package. one of those projects was a bridge from upstate new york, $1.5 million from upstate new york into canada. it was removed from this underlying bill, but it is just an example of the kind of votes that republicans are going to try to force their democratic colleagues into have to taking on this amendment process known as the votevote-a-rama. a lot happening today. negotiations still continuing to try to get that final language so they can go to the floor and begin that debate today. alisyn? >> lauren, thank you very much for all of that and what we should expect. meanwhile, president biden featuring his first cabinet defeat, the white house pulling neera tanden's nomination as budget chief when it became clear they did not have the votes. jeremy diamond is live at the white house. >> reporter: last night, the white house pulling that nomination of neera tanden to be head of the office of management and budget, amid bipartisan opposition to her nomination, because of some tweets she issued attacking both democratic and republican lawmakers. that was the primary reason for much of the optposition on capitol hill. this comes nearly two weeks after joe manchin, a democrat from west virginia, announced that he would vote against her confirmation. and really, that made very clear that she was going to face a narrow, if not impossible path to actually being confirmed. but over those two weeks, the white house vowing to fight for that nomination, trying to find support among some of the moderate republicans in the senate. but that support never came. and by yesterday, it became very clear to white house officials that she was not going to be able to be confirmed. the support from senator lisa murkowski, republican of alaska, whose support the white house had been pushing for, that support never came. and a senior administration official also telling us that there were question marks, still, about the votes of senator bernie sanders, a democrat, senator kiryrsten sinema, a democrat of the state of arizona. that was also leading to questions there. ultimately, the white house deciding to pull this nomination, but the president making very clear in a statement yesterday that he would still find a place for her in his administration, just a position that doesn't require senate confirmation. alisyn? >> jeremy, thank you very much. so new york governor andrew cuomo's troubles continue amid allegations of inappropriate behavior. we have a live report with the latest from albany, next. now, simparica trio simplifies protection. ticks and fleas? see ya! heartworm disease? no way! simparica trio is the first chewable that delivers all this protection. and simparica trio is demonstrated safe for puppies. it's simple: go with simparica trio. this drug class has been associated with neurologic adverse reactions, including seizures; use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders. protect him with all your heart. simparica trio. use a single hr software? nope. we use 11. eleven. why do an expense report from your phone when you can do it from a machine that jams? i just emailed my wife's social security number to the entire company instead of hr, so... please come back. how hard is your business software working for you? with paycom, employees enter and manage their own hr data in one easy-to-use software. visit paycom.com for a free demo. hon? first off, we love each other... new york governor andrew cuomo has not been seen in public for a week now after three women have accused him of inappropriate behavior. cnn's athena jones in albany with the latest developments. >> reporter: cracks in the support for new york governor andrew cuomo deepening after two former aides accused him of sexual harassment and a third woman of an unwanted advance at a wedding reception in 2019. in a statement sunday before the third woman made her allegations public in "the new york times," cuomo acknowledged some of his past comments may have been interpreted as an unwanted flirtation, but maintained that he never inappropriately touched anyone. cuomo, who seized the spotlight with his coronavirus briefings throughout the pandemic, has yet to make a public appearance since the allegations surfaced. and tuesday, both new york senators making strong statements about the accusations. >> these women have to be listened to. i have always believed that sexual harassment is not acceptable, must not be tolerated. look, the bottom line is just let me say on this issue, i have a great deal of faith in the attorney general's investigation. >> reporter: senator kirsten gillibrand, who in 2017 called for her colleague, then minnesota senator al franken to resign before an investigation was completed, initially dodged the question on tuesday. >> i've already answered that one. >> reporter: but later writing in a statement, the behavior described in these allegations against governor cuomo is completely unacceptable and every allegation of sexual harassment must be taken seriously and be reviewed. house democratic leadership stopping short of calling for cuomo to step down. after one democratic lawmaker publicly called for him to resign. >> these allegations are very serious. now that the attorney general has taken over the investigation, it will be fully independent and thorough and i await the results of that investigation. >> reporter: now the white house facing renewed pressure to address the matter. >> vice president kamala harris was one of the most vocal critics of justice brett kavanaugh, of senator al franken, but she hasn't said anything about the three women who are accusing governor andrew cuomo. >> let me reiterate that they both believe that every woman coming forward should be heard, should be treated with dignity and treated with respect. >> reporter: on top of these allegations, the new york state legislature is moving to repeal cuomo's expanded executive powers granted to him at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. the move coming after revelations the administration underreported covid-related nursing home deaths in the state. the bill is expected to pass with a veto-proof majority. john? >> athena jones for us in albany. thank you very much. joining us now, errol louis, the political anchor for spectrum news and jesse mckinley, the bureau chief for "the new york times." he broke the story on cuomo's second and third accusers. errol, among national democrats and new york democrats, how many do you count this morning standing up and defending governor cuomo? >> well, vocally defending the governor, the answer at this point is zero. and by vocally defending, i mean, saying, i know this man and this couldn't possibly be true. or this would be greatly out of character or this comes as a shock. and nobody is saying that they're shocked. nobody is saying that they want to vouch for his character over and above any particular facts that may have already come out. and that's telling. and frankly, it's damning. it's a problem. you've got an investigation that's going to take some time. and until that investigation is done, if you don't have anyone standing up as a character witness for the governor, it really says something about the political alliances that he has ever never built or allowed to degrade over time. >> jesse, wouldn't it be hard for people to come out and say something like that when he has admitted to some of this. he says he was joking around, he likes to ask personal questions sometimes in a joking manner of his staff, about if they're married, they're not married. how -- the fact that he has admitted to some of this makes it hard for people to come out and say, impossible. >> well, not so much admitted as not denied and not strenuously denied. i think as errol knows and would probably say, the governor is not shy about telling people when he thinks they're wrong or they've gotten facts wrong. he has not said any of that in light of our reporting on saturday and/or monday. and as errol points out, i think what's interesting right now is the governor has not been heard from. as athena pointed out, it's been a week since he's made an appearance in public. if anyone should be out there defending andrew cuomo, it is andrew cuomo and he is nowhere on the scene at this point. >> i have a couple of sound bites i want to play for you. because you have really eloquently stated the interesting nature of the timing of all of this. it comes after the me too movement. i would note, i think the things that the governor have been accused of are creepy and potentially actionable in any era. but i think the note -- >> it's hard to have missed what happened in me too, the message from me too, i think. >> and there is evidence that governor cuomo didn't miss it or at least knew it was happening at the time also. listen. >> you had thousands of women stand up and show the courage to come forward with the me too movement and speak about the sexual harassment that is endemic in our society. >> and change should come to this nation's policy vis-a-vis sexual harassment against women, which is chronic, long-term, and endemic. and it has to stop. and we're going to do our part. >> it says to the nation, once the problem is revealed, do something about it. >> so errol, quickly, that was in 2018. everything he's accused of doing now has happened after 2018. >> yeah, and listen, those words were backed up by action. the governor pushed through important changes to the law, so it doesn't have to be a situation where just harassment is pervasive. that used to be the old standard. they also lengthened the statute of limitations, so you can bring a claim longer than one year after an incident might have happened. this is all sort of, i guess, coming back to haunt him in some ways, but there's no question, if you just looked at it politically, he has been a staunch advocate for making it easier for people to fight back against sexual harassment, which makes this also ironic, that all of this reporting is coming out now. >> so jesse, now that this investigation is beginning, this is going to take a while. and what's going to happen while this investigation unfolds? just a stalemate? >> i think if you're governor cuomo, you're looking at three different things. you're looking at how many democrats will continue to call for resignation. that is the r-word that is being bandied about at this point, and how many people will ask for an investigation, which could take a while, see whether or not the investigation itself determines these claims to be credible. but he's also going to be looking at polls. there was an emerson college poll out last night that had some bad numbers for him, showing that a lot of people are upset about this. and of course, he's looking at re-election next year. so if there are signals that his candidacy could sink other democrats on the ticket, or if donors are starting to flee from him, those could be troubling signs, as well. >> jesse mckinley, errol louis, thanks both so much for being with us. >> of course. so he is now a freshman member of congress, but a pentagon report paints a disturbing picture of ronnie jackson during his time as the top white house doctor. that's next. [♪] think you need to buy expensive skincare products to see dramatic results? try olay skin care. just one jar of micro-sculpting cream has the hydrating power of 5 jars of a prestige cream, which helps plump skin cells and visibly smooth wrinkles. while new olay retinol24... provides visibly smoother, brighter skin. for dramatic skincare results, try olay. and now receive 25% off your purchase at olay.com brand power. helping you buy better. developing overnight, the pentagon about to release a scathing watchdog report on republican congressman ronnie jackson and his time as the top white house position in the obama and trump administrations. cnn's barbara starr is live for us at the pentagon with details. first reported by cnn. wow, there's a lot in here, barbara. >> you will remember, alisyn, now retired admiral ronnie jackson, now a congressman from texas, had been president trump's choice to lead the veterans affairs department. these allegations came to light. it was, in fact, congress that asked the inspector general, the watchdog agency to investigate the allegations. the report expected to be released in the next couple of hours. cnn has had a look at it ahead of time. and what this report says is it details a number of allegations the ig said did prove to be validated in their view and were accurate. they said that ronnie jackson made sexual and denigrating comments about a female subordinate. they said that he violated the policy for drinking alcohol on a presidential trip. they said that he took prescription-strength sleeping drugs, raising concerns by his colleagues that he would be able to provide medical care to the president of the united states, which was his job as the top white house physician. now, ronnie jackson issuing a statement saying in part, and i want to quote it, i am proud of the work environment i fostered under three different presidents of both parties. i take my professional responsibility with respect to prescription drug practices seriously and i flat-out reject any allegation that i consumed alcohol while on duty. there are a number of accounts in the report that say people saw him consume alcohol. ronnie jackson denying all of this. congress briefed yesterday on the findings in the report. and it will be public later this morning. john, alisyn? >> barbara starr, terrific reporting, as always. thanks so much for being us. so country music legend, really more -- like earth legend, universal legend, dolly parton, she donated $1 million towards the development of the moderna vaccine. that money was so crucial early on. and yesterday, she received a dose of her own medicine. ♪ vaccine, vaccine, vaccine ♪ ♪ i'm begging of you, please, don't hesitate ♪ >> it's beautiful. >> obviously, that is a new song -- >> well, it's set to "joleen." >> which makes her a hundred times even more awesome than she was already. she posed getting vaccinated in nashville with this message to the american people. >> message for the american people, not seen here. she is basically trying to shame folks -- >> that was an understated message. >> she's sending a mentally telepathic message to the american people about how important it is -- how important it is to get vaccinated. all right. >> she's an angel. look, here's the point, she's an angel on earth. she has long by my girl crush since i was 12 years old and i played her in a variety show in my middle school. i have the picture. i'll show people. and she just continues to be an inspiration. >> so the message is, it's all about you. >> yes. >> also, doll y parton telling people to get vaccinated, really important there. meanwhile, broadway has been dark for nearly a year, but for some american performers, the show must go on, even if it's on the other side of the world. we'll explain. ♪ ♪ [keyboard typing] ♪ [trumpet] [keyboard typing] did you know the source of odor in your home... ...could be all your soft surfaces? 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[music: “forever young”] ♪let's dance in style, let's dance for a while♪ ♪heaven can wait we're only watching the skies♪ ♪hoping for the best but expecting the worst♪ ♪are you gonna drop the bomb or not?♪ ♪forever young♪ ♪i want to be forever young♪ - when i noticed my sister moving differently, she said it was like someone else was controlling her mouth. her doctor said she has tardive dyskinesia, which may be related to important medication she takes for her depression. td can affect different parts of the body. - [narrator] in today's trying times, we're here to help you manage td. visit talkabouttd.com for a doctor discussion guide to prep for your next appointment in person, over the phone, or online. - we were so relieved to learn there are treatments for td. - [narrator] at southern new hampshire university, we're committed to making college more accessible by making it more affordable, that's why we're keeping our tuition the same through the year 2021. - i knew snhu was the place for me when i saw how affordable it was. i ran to my husband with my computer and i said, "look, we can do this." - [narrator] take advantage of some of the lowest online tuition rates in the nation. find your degree at snhu.edu. it's been nearly a year since the lights on broadway went dark. since then, some actors and performers have packed their bags and traveled half a world away to find work and try to survive. cnn's will ripley reports. >> reporter: the brilliant lights of broadway, dark for almost a year. new york's iconic theaters empty, likely for many months to come. nearly 10,000 miles away, in sydney, australia, the show goes on. kismet created by reid kelly and jack dawson. the aerial straps duo, two fathoms. >> right now, this is really the only place that both of us can be and do what we do. >> reporter: what they do takes hours of daily practice, discipline, athleticism, sacrifice. >> i'm away from my family, i'm not at home, i don't get to see my husband. we face time every day, but it's been such a challenge. >> i'm good. how's your day? >> reporter: kelly's husband, a doctor in los angeles. they've been apart for almost a year. if kelly leaves australia, his visa won't allow him to return. sydney, one of the only places in the world where theaters have reopened. >> we seem to be doing really well. we're really grateful to be here where everything seems to be really under control. >> reporter: broadway star gabrielle mcclinton just returned to the u.s. she spent months in australia, as the lead player in the tony award-winning broadway musical was a smash hit in sydney. >> does that give you hope about broadway? >> absolutely. it definitely had its challenges, but we got through the season, and people came to the show wearing their masks, and we would get covid tested every week, and when we were on stage, we were in our masks and everybody obeyed all the rules and we did our due diligence when we were outside of the theater, to make sure that we weren't putting people at risk. >> reporter: a model for reopening broadway and beyond, says australian playwright, thom wright. >> you need political and social leadership to provide a safe set of circumstances for theater to reopen. >> reporter: sydney's theater has been open for five months. strict covid-19 lockdowns worked, virtually eliminating local cases. >> the reason why sydney has been able to reopen is because people at local, state, and federal level took seriously the safety of the most vulnerable people in their society. and we're a reflection of that. >> the pandemic's devastating toll goes beyond empty theaters. artists around the world are struggling. >> i've lost three people this year to suicide. and that's on top of the people that i know that have actually died from covid. it's not just a job for us. this is our lives. >> we want to do this and we need to keep doing this, so we're just pushing through and hope for better days. >> reporter: giving hope to performers everywhere. their future remains up in the air. >> reporter: how are they doing it in sydney? they're really taking a scientific approach. everything looks normal on stage, but offstage, there's social distancing, lots of sanitizer, wearing masks during rehearsals. they've kind of created a bubble around the cast and crew, separating them from the audience and the people who deal with the crowds, which means none of those backstage selfies. but people get the experience, alisyn, of being able to go in and see a live show. they have to agree to contact tracing. theaters have had to change their air ventilation systems, but it does give hope that people can go back to work. if you know any performers, give them a hug. it's been a tough year, but what's happening in australia should be a bright spot. >> we miss it so much here, will. we count the days until broadway can come back and we can all go to live performances. thank you very much. and "new day" continues right now. >> announcer: this is "new day"w alisyn camerota and john berman. >> we want to welcome our years in the united states and all around the world. this is "new day." and oneday after the cdc director warned us about a potential fourth surge in