to be a press conference about covid. that's what made him rise to fame sort of nationally was his handling of covid during the height of the pandemic here in new york. but of course he is facing a number of controversies that he could be asked about. there is the still unfolding nursing home scandal. there are these accusations of bullying and intimidation. and also these two former aides who have accused him of sexual harassment and now a third woman accusing him of an unwanted advance at a wedding reception a couple of years ago. the last we heard from him in terms of any kind of statement was sunday night when he said in response to the second allegation from a young woman named charlotte bennett that he apologized for his actions having been misinterpreted. we know that that young woman has blasted that apology saying, look, his actions weren't misinterpreted. she called his behavior predatory. and she's been urging other women to come forward. that is when a day later or so we saw anna ruch, this third woman who accused the governor asking to kiss her at this wedding reception. we have not seen the governor in person in public in a week. and so now this is going to be the first opportunity for members of the press to ask questions and even if he wants to focus on covid, we can imagine all sorts of questions about these other contopics are going to come up. a lawyer for bennett has called governor cuomo's actions textbook sexual harassment. and make sure they look into what other women have been subjected to a hostile work environment. there are dozens of questions that he could be asked about a number of topics as this gets going here, brianna. >> athena, we are going to bring our viewers his comments live when he does address the allegations. we also have some other breaking news. an alarming warning that domestic extremists may be plotting another attack on the u.s. capitol tomorrow. according to sources, the fbi and homeland security are hearing increased chatter from extremist groups including members of one that attacked the capitol six weeks ago discussing possible plots. tomorrow's date is significant to qanon conspiracy theorists because they believe in an absurd theory that donald trump will retake the presidency on march 4th. so this is coming at a very significant time. right now the head of the d.c. national guard is testifying for the first time since the january 6th siege. and it's damning. he says that he was stunned by the delay from the trump administration to grant permission to deploy troops during the siege. and we'll have more on that in a moment. also, despite the fact that donald trump put a target on his back falsely claiming that mike pence could overturn the election that day, the former vice president is straight up pushing the big lie in a new op-ed claiming large-spread election fraud without evidence. tell us, whitney, how serious these march 4th conspiracy theory threats are and what you're learning about them. >> well, the chatter is what's really concerning. the united states capitol police department thinks that this is serious enough that they need to ramp up their staffing additionally house sergeant at arms timothy blodgett is sending notices to members of congress saying this information's out there and you need to be aware and you need to be vigilant. serious enough that the security officials on capitol hill are doing everything they feel like is appropriate to keep people in the loop and that includes keeping the rank and file in the loop. they are sharing their actions as well as their intelligence departmentwide. this also came up in a hearing today, senator ron johnson asking intelligence officials about this plot. here's what he said. >> is that a threat that you're aware of? >> senator, we issued a bulletin last night co-authored with the fbi about extremists discussing march 4th and 6th. is that what you're referring to? it is an intelligence bulletin we released last night around -- it was very late, midnight i think? yes. >> so what's different this time is as you heard that intelligence official say they found out about this intelligence late last night. now they're on high alert. they are not going to let another january 6th happen on their watch. however, brih ana, it's important to know that what we are hearing from other intelligence officials is that there is no indication anybody is headed to d.c. right now. but we are keeping a very close eye on it because as we saw on january 6th, situations change and they change fast, brianna? >> whitney, thank you so much for that. as officials are beefing up security at the capitol, senators inside the capitol grilled fbi and defense officials about what went wrong on january 6th. moments ago the commanding general of the d.c. national guard painted a mixture of mixed messages and bureaucratic hand-ringing which left bus loads of his troops sitting for hours and waiting for the green light to mobilize at the capitol. >> at 1:49 p.m. i received a frantic call from then chief of united states capitol police steven sund where he informed me that the security perimeter of the united states capitol had been breached by hostile rioters. chief sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated that there was a dire emergency at the capitol. he requested the immediate assistance of as many available national guardsmen that i could muster. the approval for chief sund's request would eventually come from the acting secretary of defense and be relayed to me by army senior leaders at 5:08 p.m., about three hours and 19 minutes later. >> what would have been the impact of sending those 155 right around that 2:00 time frame? >> based on my experience with the summer, i have 19 years -- i have 39 years in the national guard. i was in the florida guard, hurricane andrew. i've been involved in civil disturbances. so i believe that number could've made a difference. we could have helped extend the perimeter and helped push back the crowd. >> cnn's security correspondent josh campbell is with us now. it is hearing the general, hearing general walker there talk about that, josh, is -- you know, he's very straightforward but he really gives you a sense of how dire the situation was. what new insights do we get into the time line and some of these security failures? >> we're seeing that distance of time from when that call first came in, a frantic call from the u.s. capitol asking for support and actually working its way through those bureaucratic channels to get members of the national guard deployed. as you say, hearing from the head of the national guard, you really get that sense of desperation that they were there waiting to be deployed, waiting to have their members go and assist as the nation, indeed the world, watched the united states capitol being stormed. and just seeing that tiktok is opening up just a new aperture, new window into those decisions. what the head of the national guard said is that when you compare the constraints on his team on january 6th with what happened last year during some of the black lives matter protests, he said there was no bureaucratic hurdle last year. he was able to deploy his military members as he saw fit. that was different this time where he was actually told by the secretary of defense that it would require his signature in order to move people ahead and move people to assist law enforcement. so there's a difference there. there's this question about maybe its optics, they thought there was overuse of force last year so they didn't want that to happen again. but there's also been this lingering argument on whether they were simply unprepared. we got some additional insight from that hearing into this fbi report, the initial intelligence from their norfolk office, the fbi official saying as we heard from the fbi director that they shared this information with their joint terrorism task force. but that just raises that question. and this was a point made by senator hassan during that hearing. this wasn't a run-of-the-mill threat. this wasn't a run-of-the-mill location. this was the united states capitol on january 6th, a day that was symbolic in that the election was going to be certified, you had all of the eastbound medicines of congress there. you had the vice president of the united states, should someone have picked up the phone and started setting hair on fire when they received this report, again a lot of lingering questions there, a lot coming out of that hearing today about what appears to be failures both in preparation and in responding to that domestic terrorist attack, brianna. >> josh campbell, thank you for tracking that for us. i want to bring in our cnn chief national correspondent jim sciutto. jim, what's the significance of your new reporting today about a new threat to the capitol? >> well, it's remarkable, brianna. nearly two months out from january 6th there was another threat to the capitol that authorities are taking seriously enough to deploy, extend, and greater deploy national guardsmen. men and women around the capitol. and i just want to draw attention to a statement that came out from the u.s. capitol police after whitney and i broke the story this morning. they say we have obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the capitol by an unidentified militia group on thursday march 4th. the words there more than just chatter here, right? something gives them a sense of a possible plot which suggests some evidence of organization. and they're taking steps necessary. that said, when you listen to that hearing, brianna, even as they're efforting to respond to this latest threat, you still have so much time wasted on issues that have already been settled. as i was watching yesterday, for instance, the number of questions from republican lawmakers about antifa, which had nothing to do with january 6th, as the fbi director said repeatedly, nothing to do that day domestic terrorism, white supremacy, this kind of extremism threat on par with international terrorism. you see how the politics continue to infuse a response to a real national security issue. >> yeah. and they know antifa isn't a part of this. a lot of their base thinks it is, and they're playing very much to that. peter, you can't help when you see these miscommunication issues when it comes to january 6th. you can't help but think of 9/11 where afterward there was this massive effort to solve the issue of interagency coordination and communication when it comes to threats. why are we getting this picture of miscommunication regarding a threat when it comes to the capitol attack? >> yeah, brianna, it's kind of amazing. the situational information report that was derived out of fbi norfolk and provided via the joint terrorism task force out of the washington field office. that's the item of concern. these reports are unclassified reports that are generated by the fbi that have detailed information that allows the fbi to pass that to our public safety counterparts in law enforcement. so, generally that information should be actionable. so intelligence should be actionable. and then the capitol police's failure on this end of it is, yeah, we received that report, we kind of got it late. but intelligence in these intelligence reports shouldn't just be taking it at face value. even though what's going on for this alleged qanon event based on these other reports, this intelligence needs to be developed. it needs to be nurtured. so i've worked special events. visits from the pope to new year's eve events in times square, u.n. general assemblies. there are undercover agents and undercover law enforcement blending with the crowd that should have had the ability to see what was going on in the crowd to understand that there's escalation. so, yeah, we had intelligence, but the intelligence wasn't nurtured. it wasn't derived and it wasn't developed. not just on how the information didn't get to the white house but also what type of preparation the capitol police made as those crowds started to swell. >> that's a really interesting point there, peter. jim, you just heard our colleague josh talk about the d.c. national guard commander testifying that optics may have contributed to the lack of a security presence initially on january 6th. let's watch that. >> so, the army senior leaders did not think that it would be a good optic. they further stated that it could incite the crowd. so their best military advice would be to the secretary of the army who could not get on the call. so we wanted the secretary of the army to join the call, but he was not available. we were told he was with the secretary of defense and not available. but the army senior leadership expressed to chief contee, chief sund, dr. mitchell, the deputy mayor, and others on the call that it would not be their best military advice to have uniform guardsmen on the capitol. >> jim, what do you think about that? >> it's not the first time i've heard it in the wake of january 6th. i've spoken to folks in law enforcement and even d.c. mayor's office if you look at public comments there following the events of last june black lives matter protests and discussions of active military uniformed military, others wearing military uniforms. there was reaction at a number of levels that that did not look good for the u.s. military on the streets responding to civilian protests. so going into this, there was something of an overlearning of that lesson, it seems. and making more hoops for folks to jump through to deploy in the event of something like this. now, that may, it seems, have contributed to the delay in getting national guard forces out there on january 6th. i will tell you this. in the wake of that january 6th, the recommendations that might be made public as soon as this week according to my reporting and zachary cohen's reporting is that they want to create an on-alert 24/7 d.c. national guard battalion that can take very quick calls to respond to threats to the capitol and elsewhere to recorrect, in effect, that lesson so that the national guard is ready and it can happen much more quickly than we saw on january 6th. >> jim and peter, thank you so much. mike pence, who escaped the senate chamber just one minute before capitol rioters breached it is now pushing the big lie that prompted the attack. we're going to discuss his dangerous new op-ed. plus in moments, new york governor andrew cuomo is supposed to make an announcement as he faces allegations of sexual harassment. and more breaking news. president biden has conceded to moderate democrats agreeing to narrow income limits for the next round of stimulus checks. this is cnn's special coverage. legit unlimited data , for as little as $25 a month. and the best part, it's powered by verizon. but it gets crazier. bring a friend every month and get every month for $5. which is why i brought them. two $5-a-months right here. hey. hey. plus the players of my squad. hey. what's up? then finally my whole livestream. boom! 12 months of $5 wireless. visible, as little as $25 a month or $5 a month when you bring a friend. powered by verizon. wireless that gets better with friends. - [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. get exactly what you want on wayfair. - grub what you love. hi. last piece. -kelly clarkson? you're welcome. like an updated kitchen in just an afternoon. it's a whole new look. -drinks? from the new kitchen cart? -yes. the bedroom style of your dreams. this room is so you. -i got it all on wayfair. yeah you did, and so did i. the perfect setup for game night. i know this! it's the singer, it's the singer! yes! i got next game. -kelly clarkson. i love this sofa. look at the storage. you like my sofa? -i love your sofa. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home. you can't plan for your period's... what the gush moments. but the right pad can. only always ultra thins have rapiddry technology and, they absorb 40% faster. the gush happens fast. that's why always absorbs faster. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy, even a term policy, for an immediate cash payment. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized that we needed a way to supplement our income. if you have one hundred thousand dollars or more of life insurance you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit conventrydirect.com to find out if you policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance. rely on the experts at 1800petmeds for the same medications as the vet, but for less with fast free shipping. visit petmeds.com today. more breaking news. a democratic source tells cnn that president biden has just reached a compromise with moderate democrats to narrow the income eligibility for the next round of stimulus checks. this is part of the push to get the president's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package through the senate. cnn's chief congressional correspondent manu raju is live on this from the hill for us. what are these income limits that they have agreed to, manu? >> well, essentially, they have agreed to phase out the more of the upper income that would be eligible for the stimulus checks under the house-passed bill. so, essentially, the people who make up to $75,000 a year will still be eligible for the full benefit as proposed by the house-passed plan. that's $1,400 for people who make up to $75,000. but if you make more than $80,000 under this deal that the senators reached, you would not get a dime. and that's double for families. and under the house plan actually if you made up to $100,000 for an individual, you would still get a benefit. it would be less than $1,400. but you get still some form of relief check from the government. so this deal that was reached among senate democrats that joe biden the president has signed off on would eliminate anybody getting additional money from the federal government if they make more than $80,000 an individual. this was raised by moderate democrats. they wanted more targeted relief checks as part of the larger 1 is$.9 trillion plan. now also part of this deal that was worked out among senate democrats that the white house signed off on is to ensure that enhanced jobless benefits for individuals would continue at $400 a week till later in the summer. that is different than what some moderate democrats including joe manchin had pushed for. manchin had asked to pair back that benefit to $300 a week. but they ultimately have agreed to $400 a week that would be included in this plan. but the big change there is about the eligibility of those stimulus checks. i just spent some time on the house side of the capitol talking some more progressive members who actually seem not pleased by the changes but not enough for them to tank the bill assuming it gets passed by the senate and gets passed by the house. they may begrudgingly accept these changes which may be necessary in the senate to win over moderate democrats, brianna. >> yeah, that will certainly be key. we'll have to see what it does to the good will there between the white house and progressives. manu, thank you so much, live for us from capitol hill. congressional lawmakers still may not be in lockstep over president biden's covid relief bill. but several state and city leaders are. and many of them are republican. dozens of gop mayors across the country are imploring lawmakers to get behind the plan that they say the american people need right now. jeff williams is the republican mayor of arlington, texas. he was one of four gop members to attend a sit-down last month with president biden and other governors and mayors to discuss the covid relief plan. he also joined more than 30 republican mayors in signing an open letter to congress to pass this bill. mayor, thanks for being with us today. >> thank you for having me, brianna. >> so, mayor, most of your republican colleagues here in washington are fervently against this plan. why are you in favor? why do you break with them on that? >> well, it's been obvious here for the last few months that both republicans and democrats have been really in favor of state and local assistants until it gets to talking about how much money. and then consequently when that discussion starts, there's been too much of a void between democrats and republicans. and so we end up on the cutting room floor. it is so important right now because cities are still going through the pandemic. in fact, here in our community, we have opened up on our own a vaccination center there at our expense. because it was the right thing to do to try to take care of our citizens and help protect them. so we also are experiencing expenses there in testing and so forth also that is continuing. and we don't know when the pandemic will be over. but also we want to be able to help, continue to help our citizens. and cities know where the needs are. there have been aid that has come. but of course we know where the holes are where our citizens, our small businesses need help. and just as an example, cities are really known for their small businesses. the mom and pop restaurants, the neighborhood hardware store. for us it's the largest christmas store in texas there. so, there are a lot of those that have really been hurting. and we want to be able to help them. and then of course the most important thing is that continue on with quality services because right now our citizens and our businesses need them more than ever. so we are really come together, mayors from all over the country have come together asking for aid just like we would if we had had a flood. this pandemic has been a national disaster. so we are asking for the same thing that we would if we'd experienced a flood or an earthquake or some other national disaster. >> so let me ask you this. >> or mercy aid. go ahead. >> you outline what you call an obvious -- that's the word you used, an obvious need. you outline it very clearly there talking about what you are seeing with business owners and people who live in your city. presumably, you would think especially members of congress who represent the same people that you do, that they would see that there is an obvious need. is that problematic for you that they are not seeing what you're seeing or responding to what you're seeing in support of getting aid to these people? >> well, i think it continues to be -- they know the need, and, in fact, i've been very encouraged over the last few months there that they really do see the need. as i mentioned before, it's the amount of money. that is where it seems to always fall apart there with the quantity of money. but yet the need is very real, and i've got citizens there that are crying out for help. and i need to be able to respond. >> but you're saying i need to get my constituents something, right? i'm not going to take nothing because i maybe don't like the exact number, i need to get something for them. that's not how congressional republicans are seeing it, though. >> well -- >> what do you say to them? >> well, i would say that we really still need the help. and actually i think our economic recovery will be very much shortened here with this help. and, in fact, jerome powell, ahead of our federal reserve has said that time and time again. even locally here our dallas federal reserve chairman has said that we need to get help to our cities because that will shorten this economic recovery, and they are an important economic engine of our nation. >> mayor jeff williams of arlington, texas, thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you, brianna. >> it's great to see you, mayor. in moments new york governor andrew cuomo is supposed to make an announcement as he faces allegations of sexual harassment. plus, mike pence who escaped the senate chamber just one minute before capitol rioters breached it is now pushing the big lie that prompted the attack. we will fact-check. so you're a small business, or a big one. you were thriving, but then... oh. ah. okay. plan, pivot. how do you bounce back? you don't, you bounce forward, with serious and reliable internet. powered by the largest gig speed network in america. but is it secure? sure it's secure. and even if the power goes down, your connection doesn't. so how do i do this? you don't do this. we do this, together. bounce forward, with comcast business. plaque psoriasis, the burning, itching. the pain. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. now the lawyers say i shouldn't say anything when you have a pending review until that review is over. i understand that. i'm a lawyer, too. but i want new yorkers to hear from me directly on this. first, i fully support a woman's right to come forward. and i think it should be encouraged in every way. i now understand that i acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. it was unintentional. and i truly and deeply apologize for it. i feel awful about it. and, frankly, i am embarrassed by it. and that's not easy to say. but that's the truth. but this is what i want you to know, and i want you to know this from me directly. i never touched anyone inappropriately. i never touched anyone inappropriately. i never knew at the time that i was making anyone feel uncomfortable, i never knew at the time i was making anyone feel uncomfortable. and i certainly never ever meant to offend anyone or hurt anyone or cause anyone any pain. that is the last thing i would ever want to do. i ask the people of this state to wait for the facts from the attorney general's report before forming an opinion. get the facts, please, before forming an opinion, and the attorney general is doing that review. i will fully cooperate with it. and then you will have the facts. and make a decision when you know the facts. i also want you to know that i have learned from what has been an incredibly difficult situation for me as well as other people. and i've learned an important lesson. i'm sorry, i'm sorry for whatever pain i caused anyone. i never intended it. and i will be the better for this experience. thank you. questions? >> thank you, governor. we would like to ask a question, please use the raise hand function at the bottom of your window. we'll take a brief moment to compile the q&a roster. governor, your first question comes from marcia cramer of wcbs. your line is open. please unmute your microphone. >> governor, can you hear me? >> marcia cramer, the dean of the delegation. >> so, governor, i have actually two questions. first of all, i wonder if given the distractions of these two investigations, especially the one involving sexual harassment, do you feel that you might want to step aside or that you should step aside, especially in negotiating the budget which could be one of the most important budgets that the state has ever had to deal with? and my second question has to do with the pictures that have surfaced of you touching -- anna ruch. the reason i'm asking a question is that i've seen pictures of you touching the faces of people all over the state young and old, whatever. and i wonder what you make of those pictures. >> yeah. thank you very much, marcia. let me take both questions. first, you're right about the state budget. it is critically important. the state budget is going to turn the page to the rebuilding phase. we've been working very hard to get funding from washington to fill the gap. and that has been going well. we have to see what we actually get. but we then have tremendous financial needs on top of that. people have to pay their rent, they need food, et cetera. you also have new york city, which is in a very precarious situation. it's teetering, to use a word. crime is way up. homelessness is way up. many people have left new york city, hamptons, mid-hudson valley, other states. we have to get new york city functional again and safe again and viable again. we have to do that quickly. we have a new mayor that's going to be selected basically in june, i guess. something could happen in november, but basically in june. and that work has to start right away. so, yes, the budget is very important. >> should you step aside though and let somebody else handle it? >> having said that, i'm going to cooperate with the attorney general's investigation and do the budget. remember, we did a budget last year in the spring in the heat of covid where it was the most intense period of my life of this government's life of the state's life. and we did both. and we'll do both here. on the pictures, marcia, i understand the opinion of and feelings of ms. ruch. and you are right. you can find hundreds of pictures of me making the same gesture with hundreds of people, women, men, children, et cetera. you can go find hundreds of pictures of me kissing people, men, women -- it is my usual and customary way of greeting. you know that because you've watched me for let's just say more years than we care to remember. by the way, it was my father's way of greeting people. the governor of the state, you want people to feel comfortable, you want to reach out to them. i do it -- i kiss and hug legislators. i was at an event in queens the other day. i hugged the pastors and the assemblymembers who were there. so that is my way to do that. however, what i also understand is it doesn't matter. it doesn't matter my intent. what it matters is if anybody was offended by it. and i could intend no offense. but if they were offended by it, then it was wrong. and if they were offended by it, i apologize. and if they were hurt by it, i apologize. and if they felt pain from it, i apologize. i apologize. i did not intend it. i didn't mean it that way. but if that's how they felt, that's all that matters, and i apologize. next question, operator? >> governor, your next question comes from dave evans from wabc. dave, your line is now open. please unmute your microphone. >> can you hear me okay? >> yeah, dave. >> i just wanted to ask you, with all these calls in the last couple days calling for your resignation from some democrats, certainly not all democrats but some democrats, is today -- this has been going on for about a week. is this your way of saying i'm certainly not resigning? >> yeah. dave, look, some politicians will always play politics, right? that's the nature of the beast. i don't think today is a day for politics. i wasn't elected by politicians. i was elected by the people of the state of new york. i'm not going to resign. i work for the people of the state of new york. they elected me and i'm going to serve the people of the state of new york. and, by the way, we have a full plate. we have covid. we have recovery. we have rebuilding. we have a teetering new york city. we have a terrible financial picture. we have to do vaccines. so, no. i'm going to do the job the people of the state elected me to do. next question, operator. >> governor, your next question comes from andrew siff of wnbc. your line is now open. please unmute your microphone. >> governor, good afternoon. two questions. the first is given how contrite you've been today, why did it take a week for you to go before the cameras when people have noted your absence for so many days? my second question is what assurances can you provide new yorkers that there are not other accusers who worked for you who will lodge similar complaints to the two that have already been alleged? >> yeah. two things, andrew. i apologized several days ago. i apologize today. i will apologize tomorrow. i will apologize the day after. and i want new yorkers to understand because this is more the facts will come out in the attorney general's review. but i want them to understand the emotion. because it's really for me as much about the emotion. i never knew at the time that i was making anyone feel uncomfortable. i never ever meant to offend anyone or hurt anyone or cause anyone pain. i feel terrible that these people felt uncomfortable, felt hurt, felt pain from the interactions. and i'm embarrassed by it, and i feel bad from it. i'm not in this business to make people feel uncomfortable. i'm here to make them to help them. that's the essence of what i do what i do. i do not believe i have ever done anything in my public career that i am ashamed of. i didn't know i was making her uncomfortable at the time. i feel badly that i did. and i've learned from it. marcia asked me about my usual custom is to kiss and to hug and make that gesture. i understand that sensitivities have changed and behavior has changed. and i get it and i'm going to learn from it. next question. >> governor, your next question comes from core ena jerry of wutr. your line is now open. please unmute your microphone. >> thank you, governor. hi, how are you? >> good. how are you? >> i'm good. so i actually have two questions. my first one is if a member of your administration had done what you are currently accused of and have admitted to you, what would you tell them and what would be a satisfactory disposition for you? >> well, let's be clear on the facts. first, we haven't gotten the facts. let the attorney general do a review and let's get the facts. and that's what i said in my statement to new yorkers. i'm a former attorney general. i've been through a situation too many times where everybody has an opinion because they read this, they read this. then all of a sudden the facts come out and it's a different situation. so wait for the facts before you form an opinion. and, as i said, my behavior here, i never touched anyone inappropriately. i never knew at the time that i was making anyone feel uncomfortable. and if i ever did make people feel uncomfortable, which i now understand that i have, i apologize for it. but then let the attorney general's office actually review the facts. >> yes, thank you. >> thank you. next question, operator? >> governor, your next question comes from jeff of wsyr. jeff, your line is now open. please unmute your microphone. >> um, hi, governor. i was curious, and i know you had said and apologized several times this afternoon. who were you apologizing to? >> i was apologizing to the young woman who worked here who said that i made her feel uncomfortable. and in the workplace. >> were you also speaking to new yorkers, governor? >> oh, to new yorkers, i am saying that i'm embarrassed by what happened. my -- i wear a pin that says "pride integrity performance." that's what it says on the pin. you can't read it, "pride integrity performance." so i am embarrassed that someone felt that way in my administration. i'm embarrassed and hurt, and i apologize that somebody who interacted with me felt that way. again, i didn't know at the time i was making her feel uncomfortable. i never meant to. but that doesn't matter. if a person feels uncomfortable, if a person feels pain, if a person is offended, i feel very badly about that, and i apologize for it. there's no but. it's i'm sorry. let's take one more question, operator. >> governor, your next question comes from jennifer luci of whec. jennifer, your line is now open. please unmute your microphone. >> good afternoon, governor. i actually have two questions. one for you and one for melissa. governor, have you yourself taken the sexual harassment training required by new york that all employers are to give to their employees? and, melissa, as the highest ranking woman in state government right now, and someone who interacts with the governor on a daily basis, how do you feel about these allegations against him, and what is your message to women who see your in your position and see these allegations against the governor? >> the short answer is yes. and i'll turn it over to melissa. just keep in mind there are hundreds and hundreds of people who work with melissa. we have more senior women in this administration than probably any administration in history. but i'll ask melissa to respond. >> again, i would just ask that everyone refrain from judgment until the attorney general's allowed to do her work. we've asked her to come in, everyone's going to fully comply with that. but i am incredibly proud of the work that this administration has done to further women's rights, to expand protections for women in the workplace, out of the workplace, maternal health, reproductive health. the list goes on and on and on. and i am also proud that in my time as secretary, we've seen more women rise to highest levels in terms of commissioners and senior staff levels. and we've promoted each other and we've supported one another. and i don't think that this diminishes any of that. and i look forward to continuing the work that we're doing in order to continue to further women's agenda and strengthen women's rights for all new yorkers. >> thank you very much. have a good day. covid numbers are good. >> all right. governor andrew cuomo of new york saying i'm not going to resign. of course, he is now facing from three different women allegations of sexual harassment. he dealt with some of that today in a little bit more lengthy way than we'd seen in his written statement. i want to discuss this now with cnn's dana bash and athena jones and david freedlander who is a contributor to "new york magazine." dana, he says he's not going anywhere. he says he never touched anyone inappropriately, which is what one of the women has alleged, actually two of them have alleged. and i just wonder what your takeaway was from this here and if this is going to hold. >> right. i mean,is this going to hold? >> clearly attrition that he is sorry. he said he is sorry in many, many different ways, and what he said he was sorry for was making people feel uncomfortable, that was not his intention, he said. but he was very careful to say explicitly that he did not ever touch anybody inappropriately. he said, i never -- he said explicitly i never touched anyone inappropriately. i never touched anyone inappropriately. you know, he understands that that is, you know -- none of this is comfortable. none of this is okay, especially in a post-#metoo era, but it's one thing for anybody in the workplace to say things that makes people feel uncomfortable, particularly when it's sexual in nature, and it's a whole different thing, from his perspective, clearly, in reading what he said today, that, if you actually touch somebody inappropriately. you know, he did say very explicitly he's not going to resign. he is putting this entirely in the, in the lap of and the per view of the attorney general of new york, and says, you know, we're going to wait and see what happens there. you know, we hadn't seen him on-camera in about a week, and he, you know, kind of punted the question specifically on that, saying that he has put out written statements which is true, but i think one of the most interesting things as i was listening to him was that these allegations are, you know, again, not from -- a long time ago, like al franken, who ended up, was forced to resign, or others, this is in the, in the awakening that everybody has had in the post-#metoo era and that i think is a big difference. >> certainly something that stood out to me as well, dana. seemed as though the woman whose allegations he specifically seemed to respond to with an apology was charlotte bennett, who spoke to the "new york times," and, david, i wonder what you think about this? she alleges this happened in june. this is certainly post-#metoo. certainly the era of understanding what is acceptable, and something that institut stood out to me that he said was, i didn't know i was making people uncomfortable at the time, but in the case of charlotte bennett, there is a possibly particularly troubling detail in her account that contradicts that. if the investigation by the attorney general is to corroborate that. she told the "new york times" that he told cuomo's chief of staff, jill durochers, that she felt uncomfortable, very soon after the incident in particular that made her most uncomfortable and said she gave a lengthy statement to the governor's special counsel judith mogul and that after this was actually transferred to another job as a health adviser on the opposite side of the capitol, from cuomo. is that going to be a problem for him, david? >> i mean, i think it might be. you know, we'll have to see, you know, what else comes out here, but, you know, the governor's response in a way was sort of, i'm sorry if people felt uncomfortable. that wasn't my intention, but i mean, why he would ever think it's okay to talk about sex with a 23-year-old underling when you're a 60-year-old governor of new york, i think that's going to be hard to explain. you know, there's obviously, seems to be a system in place to kind of move her to the other side of the capitol as soon as this happened. so i mean, i think that this -- certainly there are many more questions that need to be answered here. >> and athena, one thing that stood out as well was the top aide to cuomo who spoke at the end really, you know, championing what he has done, what his administration has done when it comes to women's rights. tell us about who she was, is? >> right. so this is is a, the secretary to the governor. we became familiar with melissa derosa's name related to this covid deaths in nursing homes scandal, because just in the last few weeks she was reported in a videoconference talking to state democrats about having put a pause, a freeze on delivering information about covid deaths to the state legislature. so that's how how name has become prominent but she made a point to talk about how proud she was about the work done for women, hiring and promotes a lot of women, set i don't think this diminishes any of that and echoing the governor, wait until the facts come out, asking everyone to refrain from judgment, let the attorney general or that investigation under the us a pa auspices of t attorney general do its work. she wanted people to be made aware of the kind of things she feels the cuomo administration has done for women or behalf of women. we know charlotte bennett, the second accuser blasted the governor's sunday night apology talking about sorry if people misunderstood him. seemed he heard that. wasn't my intention but doesn't matter my intention if people were hurt i apologize. we heard that at least a dozen times saying he apologizes even if it wasn't his intention to hurt people. >> go on, dana? >> can i say one other thing i think is noteworthy now that we are, you know, several years in to the reckoning that has happened, that has, was supposed to have given women a voice and maybe even more importantly men, and some women, but people in the workplace and elsewhere a better understanding of how their actions should be received. the fact that he was asked at the very end if he engaged in or if he read or was part of the sexual harassment training that i guess every worker in new york is -- is, it's mandatory for them to do and he said, yes. he said the short answer is, yes. i'd be curious to see what that training manual is, or how they're told to act or not act in the workplace. the other quick thing is. >> sure. >> i mentioned al franken earlier and sitting here thinking it was just as the #metoo movement was really at its zenith with everything that was so knew with it and al franken's fellow democrats had already been very critical of republicans and decided it couldn't look like a double standard and pushed him out. he was begging for an independent report and didn't get one. and now, you know, several years later, you have the governor asking for and getting an independent report before some democrats definitely called for him to resign, but before most democrats have gone that far. >> a very good point. i want to thank you all so much for discussing this very important press conference we just saw from governor cuomo. still so many questions we have and certainly this story is far from over. thank you. on january 6th, then vice president mike pence had a target on his back and it was put there by someone that he wawas deeply voted to. president donald trump. he said mike pence could turn over the election results if only he had the courage to, which is a lie. with one minute to spare before armed insurrectionists reached the senate floor pence was moved to safety amid this -- >> all: hang mike pence! hang mike pence! >> nearly two moss later pence is still out there pushing the big lie. in a new op-ed, marked by significant voting ig regularities and officials setting aside state election law. patently false. proved false by trump's own attorney general bill barr and trump's former fbi director chris wray just yesterday when he said there were no irregularities on a scale that would have changed the outcome of the 2020 election. with us for a fact check here, what else did pence put out there and what was kind of a lengthy op-ed? >> it was. the primary purpose of this op-ed was an attack on the democrats election bill known as hr-1. even leaving aside, brianna, the big lie stuff about the 2020 election, there was a significant amount of dishonesty just in the hr-1 part of the op-ed. for example, pence claimed this democratic bill would ban voter i.d. nationwide. it would not in fact, do so. what it would do is require states that do have voter i.d. to allow voters who are not presenting be you identification to sign, present, a sworn statement attesting to their identity. pence can say that requirement weakened states voter i.d. requirements but doesn't does not ban them. pence also claimed anyone listed in a government database, state and federal, would have to be added to the voter registration rolls under the automatic registration system of the bill including millions of undocumented immigrants. in fact, undocumented immigrants would continue to be prohibited from voting under this bill. nos changing federal law limiting voting to u.s. citizens. now, pence also claimed the bill would require states to accept, he said, every mail-in ballot that arrives up to ten days after the election. this is highly misleading at best. the bill requires states to accept ballots that were post-marked on or before election day, and then arrived up to ten days after the election, but it would not require states to accept ballots mailed after election day and then arrived up to ten days later. couldn't mail six, seven days later have it arrive day ten and be accepted. that's continue tos wrong, false in its entirety. >> so glad you sort that out. he says it, and he says it and other people say it and it sticks. right? these are the concerns. >> yeah. >> and certainly i think they know what they're saying that it isn't true, but thank you, daniel. it's so noornt your fact checking for us and the we will have more on this in just a moment. we begin the hour with breaking flus. security at the nation's capitol is on high alert after a new intel warns domestic extremists may be plotting another attack on the u.s. capitol tomorrow. the fbi and homeland security hearing increased chatter among extremist groups discussing