george floyd. floyd's sister will join me in a few moments. and fallout from the interview with prince harry and meghan, alleging racism in the royal family. >> there's a conversation with you -- >> with harry. >> about how dark your baby is going to be? >> potentially, and what that would mean or look like. >> much more on that interview straight ahead this hour. but i want to get right to something we've all been waiting for. the cdc releasing official guidance for americans who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. what can they do? where can they go? can you hug your family, or be inside without masks? dr. jonathan reiner joins me now. thanks for joining. this is good news. we can see some small gatherings, grandparent hugs. but dr. leana wen argues, it's too cautious. you should be cautious, right? she says the cdc should be saying if you're willing to get vaccinated, you should be able to travel freely. do you agree? >> i agree. this administration said that science would drive their policy. if science was truly driving this policy, they would acknowledge that folks who are fully vaccinated are very well protected against becoming infected themselves. and are also pretty well protected now against transmitting the virus to others. and we have that data from our large patient cohorts coming out of israel. what i think is happening with the cdc is they're reluctant to make a recommendation like if you're vaccinated, go ahead and knock yourself out, get on an airplane, because they're concerned about folks who are not yet vaccinated taking that cue to start travel. and they're very worried about igniting a spark that might create another, a surge in this country. so they're going to wait until there's more, a sort of core group of vaccinated folks in this country before they start making these kinds of travel recommendations or telling you it's okay to sit in a restaurant without a mask on if you've been fully vaccinated. but the science already tells us that. if you're fully vaccinated, it is safe for you to travel. and if you are fully vaccinated, it's safe for you to sit in a restaurant. >> that's my question. she says it's too cautious. if you're vaccinated, you should be able to travel freely. >> i agree. and it's the big reason in this country, it's important for our economy. people are hurting, in the airline industries, servers, restaurants. >> restaurants are closing, people have lost their tips. sorry, go on, doctor. >> but this is not about getting people who are going cabin crazy at home out of their places and into restaurants. it's about re-igniting our economy. and that is why, when the science matches, we should be advancing the recommendations. my sense is that the cdc is getting their footing. it's led by a super capable person, and my guess is soon they'll start to make these kinds of guideline recommendations. >> speaking of science, senator rand paul said, rather than listening to government scolds, look to the science of immunology. two weeks after, trash your mask and live free again. multiple states are removing mask mandates. we're seeing burn the mask rallies in idaho. the thing is, how do you know if someone is walking around without a mask, if they meet the guidelines that senator paul is talking about. how dangerous is this, doctor? >> it's super dangerous. i don't take any recommendations from dr. rand paul. i remind you, he was the guy that as he was waiting for his covid test to come back, decided it was a good idea to take swim in the senate swimming pool. so, you know, the key sentence in that tweet of his says live free. he considers masks a burden. he considers it a lack of freedom. and that is the other big lie. that's the lie that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of excess deaths in this country. the lie that tells people that masks somehow impinge on your freedom. i was incredibly offended looking at that mask burning event in idaho. 525,000 people in this country have died. think of all the families and friends that have suffered this year because of this kind of politicization of masks. >> yeah. >> so we need to be smart. we need to stick with masks for quite a bit longer. and then finally put this, you know, pandemic away. >> yeah. i just kept thinking about what they're teaching their kids there. thank you, doctor. good to see you. >> have a good night. >> you as well. president biden says he'll sign the covid relief package as soon as it lands on his desk. which could be as soon as wednesday. joining me now, congresswoman sheila jackson lee. this $1.9 trillion covid relief package is huge. will it pass the house? and what does it do for people? >> it's a rescue package. and frankly, don, people need rescuing right now. people have been unemployed for a very long period of time. women have been impacted the worst in the work force. many not being able to return. schools have not been able to open. this rescues the american people. $28 billion for mom and pop restaurants, essential workers, waitresses and waiters. they've been put out of work. $350 billion to help our cities and counties to pay law enforcement and firefighters. it provides $20 billion-plus for vaccines, contact tracing, and testing. it really is a lifeline for the american people. and once these dollars are out invested and helping this economy turn around while people are still wearing their masks, socially distanced, america can get back to work again. >> i got a lot of topics i want to talk to you about. i want to turn to the for the people act, the democrats' e electoral reform act. allowing for 15 days of early voting, expand mail-in voting, and protect curbside voting. is the republican-led assault on voting, does that show just how important passing these protections are? >> absolutely. yesterday is bloody sunday, the day that many walked across the edmund pettus bridge in selma, alabama for the right to vote. and voter suppression is running rampant. the former president of the united states characterizes what it seems the republicans want to do. and that is his speech in mar-a-lago or in florida, he indicated, give them one day to vote. so this hr-1 is imperative, along with hr-4, the voting rights enhancement act. there's a pandemic of voter suppression everywhere you look. republican legislatures are trying to stop, in most instances, black voters and other voters from voting. so this gives a free opportunity for people to express their views. when i say free, a widely, freedom-based voting system that gives you more days. that gives you the opportunity to be registered. and it is long overdue. and we have to fight voter suppression. and it is on the rampage in the united states. >> perhaps the most important thing about the act is the way that it would create 15-person independent commissions to re-draw lines in states to stop gerrymandering. what are the implications for future elections? >> i certainly know this bill will go to the senate and we certainly want fair redistricting. anything we can do to help that. and i believe this bill has components in it, and it will make a difference that republicans, again, unfortunately, cannot skew the lines and to ensure that there is one vote, one person, and that it is not a republican drawn map. so that more republicans go to the legislature, the state legislature, and that is what has been happening. we don't want that to happen again. >> thank you so much. see you soon. be safe. >> wear your masks. thank you for having me. >> thank you, i have mine right here. the trial of derek chauvin in the death of george floyd, set to begin tomorrow morning. i'm going to talk to george floyd's sister. what is his legacy for america? >> this is our opportunity to move in a different direction. this is our opportunity to ensure that our justice system is fixed, and our communities can begin to focus on what type of nation we want to be. ive ski. with our highest concentration of prebiotic oat intensely moisturizes over time to improve skin's resilience. aveeno® healthy. it's our nature™. did you know that every single flush flings odors onto your soft surfaces? 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>> it's been like a roller coaster ride. ups, downs, left, right, it's just -- we just really just talking with each other, praying with each other. and we have faith that we will get a conviction. so basically, that's all we talk about is memories of george floyd. everybody. >> ben, how critical is it, with jury selection, how critical is the makeup of a jury in a case like this? >> it's critical, as we've known from history, oftentimes people who don't share our understanding of george's background, his culture, his life experiences, will be likely not to give him the benefit of consideration and humanity. so we want diversity on the jury. we pray that the attorney general and his prosecutors demand that they have a diverse jury that reflects the population of the city. >> potential jurors are being given a questionnaire asking things like what coverage they've seen of the case, what experience they have with drug addiction, what podcasts they listen to, if they have martial arts training. >> don, what they taught us in trial practice back in law school, if you got your jury, the facts don't matter. so it's going to be critical that you have a diverse jury. if you have a jury that don't believe george floyd was worthy of consideration, that don't believe george floyd's life matters, then we get those results that you and i have seen far too many times, with philando, or trayvon. so we have to have people show up for jury duty. and one of the hardest things for a black lawyer to do is go into a courtroom and the only other thing in the courtroom black is the judge's robe. so we need people to answer jury summons and serve on jury duty. >> the mother of eric garner, giving a warning ahead of this trial. i want you to listen to it. >> don't think that this is a slam dunk. because we know, once you get in court, they try to assassinate the victim again. first, they murder him. assassinate him on the street. then they want to assassinate the character. and, you know, we just need a justice system that is true, that is fair, to all people. not just some. >> you've already heard some of it. i wonder about your concerns, have you heard there may have been drug use, there was drugs in the car, on and on. the character assassination she's talking about. are you concerned about this? >> i'm not concerned about a lot of things. because you have seen the video. the proof is in the video. he was on my brother's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. my brother lay in the prone position, face-down, while chauvin had his hands in his pocket, with a smirk on his face. torturing my brother, as his soul left his body. if you can't get justice for that in america, what can you get justice for? >> yeah. ben, listen, there is a big difference, i think he's right. i'm not sure how it will play. listen, i'm not an attorney, i'm not on the jury. but there is a difference with the video. you did see the video in this case. and in the other videos, you didn't necessarily see. not in all the cases. is that how the defense is likely to play this, attack the character of george floyd, even with that video? >> don, again, going back to law school, we were taught, if you have the facts on your side, then you argue the facts. but if you don't have the facts on your side, then you attack your opponent's character in hopes that people will be distracted and won't focus on the facts. but with this video, don lemon, this video has galvanized the world. 50 million people have saw that video. and if the jury does not look at that video, as he said, and hold these officers accountable, then god help us, because where can a black person get justice in america? >> a new poll shows americans see this case largely along racial lines. 64% of black americans see this as a murder. fewer than a third of white americans see it that way. are you concerned about what that means for getting justice? >> i'm not concerned. i have confidence in the team. they know what to do. and also, like i said before, the video, that video is, like, you watch him at the movie theaters or something. that was the thing to see. it was the pandemic. it was covid. people were in their homes. they were glued to the tv when you were talking about it, because they just couldn't believe it. they don't understand why somebody's life had to be taken from them, for nothing. they had to explain that to their kids. their kids, they're looking at that. they don't understand. but the older kids, they haven't been through this before. they are like, mom, you told me that things like this don't happen. and all of a sudden you have to explain what is going on in america today. my brother, he was killed. the pain -- [ inaudible ] -- it's like, gianna has to look at all of this, the kids have to see this. it's devastating. [ inaudible ] >> thank you both. we'll be watching this closely as we've been covering it. we appreciate both of you joining us. >> thank you, don. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. we'll be right back. (doorbell rings) excellent as a local access show, we want everyone to support local restaurants. right cardi b? yeah! eat local! (trill sound) the harry's razor is not the same our razors have 5 german-engineered blades designed to stay sharp so you can enjoy lasting comfort and we never upcharge you for high quality harry's. available in store and at harrys.com for skin that never holds you back don't settle for silver #1 for diabetic dry skin* #1 for psoriasis symptom relief* and #1 for eczema symptom relief* gold bond champion your skin four, five, turn, kick. gold bond we got chased by these wild coyotes! they were following her because she had beef jerky in her pocket. (laughing) (trumpet playing) someone behind me, come on. pick that up, pick that up, right there, right there. as long as you keep making the internet an amazing place to be, we'll keep bringing you a faster, more secure, and more amazing internet. xfinity. the future of awesome. we haven't heard from the royals since meghan and harry's interview, but the fallout has been intense since it was broadcast in the u.s. last night. especially the allegation that someone in the royal family expressed concern about the skin color of the couple's son, archie. let's discuss with our guests. the meghan interview has now aired in the uk. it is late there. but how is meghan being perceived? is she being blamed? what is the response? >> it's definitely a divided response. you have people who are definitely in support of meghan, who understand what she was trying to share with everybody, which is that she was suffering in silence. and you have those who have taken a side, which is to stand for the monarchy. i don't think that the interview was meant to be against the monarchy. they were just speaking their truth, and speaking about their experience. but people rather than listen to what they have to say, those who are in the camp of we're against harry and meghan have seen it as a direct attack against the queen. >> they're facing a lot of backlash in the media. and you've been watching. look at the headlines we have up there. maybe that's to be expected. but here's what some of what we are hearing on fox news here. >> although the royal couple now lives in a $14 million mansion, duchess meghan maintains they're just trying to get back to the basics. >> it's hard to believe they're the victims in this. >> there's so much money, it's hard to pity them. >> they're going to have plenty of money the rest of their lives. i don't know what the point of that interview was. >> why has this become a right-wing issue in the united states, and what does having a lot of money have to do with it? >> they're all pro-monarchy now. money does not protect you from racism and from suicidal ideation. those are the two key things i took away from the interview that meghan talked about. the only, i think, appropriate response to what she said would be empathy. right? this is a woman who said, i wanted to die. i did not want to be alive anymore. okay? and no amount of money is going to help a person who is feeling like they want to end their life. and no amount of money is going to protect somebody from the kind of racist coverage which anybody can look up and see. it's there for anybody to see. we have side by side, the way kate was covered for doing the exact same things that meghan did in a completely different way. that's not saying that kate middleton did not have bad press. but the point is, there was a lot of abuse. and for some reason, people on the right want to bully meghan markle into not talking about her abuse. i applaud her, she's saying, no, i don't deserve to be treated this way. it doesn't matter if she has a lot of money. so what? >> and the reason -- >> go ahead. >> the reason why they're doing this is really plain to see. what do you do when you can't address the facts? you assassinate their cha characters. talking about how much they're worth, as though that will stop them from feeling depressed or from having suicidal thoughts. it's utter nonsense. let me just -- let me level set here. when george floyd said i can't breathe, one of the reasons that powerfully resonates is because it spoke to the inability of black people and people of black heritage to breathe, you know, plainly, in plain sight. for you to breathe visibly in plain sight, our ability to is constricted. i need people to understand that the structural systems in place, which includes the monarchy as an institution, are rooted in a culture of whiteness. and particularly for black people, and black women, and women of bi-racial black heritage, that intersects. that whiteness intersects with the patriarchy. so, yes, we have systems in place that reinforce the legacy of colonialism. and even for a child like archie, his proximity to blackness made him subject to racism. >> i want you to listen to what harry had to say about that. here it is. >> yeah, i think, you know, as we talked about, he was very much welcomed into the family, not just by the family, but by the world. he had one of the greatest assets to the commonwealth that the family could have ever wished for. >> what do you say to that? >> it is true that meghan's background as a bi-racial woman, coming into the royal family, it presented a lot of opportunities and the royal family missed out. this was a big opportunity. they missed out, especially since they're so fond of talking about how much they support the commo commonwealth. it's no good to pay live service to issues that particularly affect the lives of black people and ethnic minorities. if it comes down to it, you're not ready to give us an equal value of life and liberty. >> there was some very happy, exciting news that came out of this interview. >> the new addition to your family, meghan said she wanted to wait until you were here to tell us. is it a boy or is it a girl? >> you can tell her. >> it's a girl. >> you're going to have a daughter. >> so it's very exciting for the couple. but listen, here they are. they just laid out the challenges that they've gone through with the royals over having a bi-racial son. imagine what they might see with a bi-racial daughter. that will be the new challenge for this family. >> yes. i mean, they really -- i think, you know, they really have their work cut out for them. and it's a heartbreaking situation to watch, to watch people struggle, look, we all have families. we know how difficult families can be. what they're dealing with is on a completely different level. precisely because they're dealing with all these institutional and structural issues. so what meghan and harry is doing, we have to recognize harry's really important role in this. they're challenging the structural, institutional, patriarchal, racist problems in this institution. and that is why they're getting the backlash that they're getting. that is why people are coming at them so hard. and that's why conservatives don't like them. >> thank you both. i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thank you. if you or someone you know needs help, please call the national suicide prevention lifeline. and if you want more information about how you can support suicide prevention, go to cnn.com/impact. next, more on the bombshell interview. stay with us. ♪ comfort in the extreme. the lincoln family of luxury suvs. [♪] life is busy, comfand sometimestreme. odors can sneak up on you. for a convenient life hack. try febreze unstopables fabric refresher. with 2 times the scent power of regular febreze, unstopables fabric finds, neutralizes and eliminates tough odors trapped in hard-to-wash fabrics, like couches or smelly sports equipment; leaving an irresistibly fresh scent. and for a tropical burst of freshness, try new paradise scent. stop sneaky odors from lingering in your home, with febreze unstopables. did you know the source of odor in your home... ...could be all your soft surfaces? 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>> it was a large part of it. i remember at the fund-raiser -- >> yes. >> one of the people at that dinner said to me, please don't do this with the media. they will destroy your life. >> i want to bring in the author of "the new age of empire." thank you, professor, for joining us. i really appreciate it. you say the only surprise out of this interview is how quickly the post-racial fantasy unraveled. in your new piece on cnn.com, you said markle has become an object lesson in how racism works today, blackness and the monarchy are like oil and water. what did you mean? >> we have this post-racial delusion around the wedding, and i said that's complete nonsense. >> i was optimistic. i thought it would help to bring some change within the royal family. so i guess i was wrong, unless maybe we'll see. but go on. you said, no way. >> no chance. i mean, they got married on malcolm x's birthday. which is the perfect symbol for everything that happened. it was a production that hollywood couldn't have topped. something that is supposed to be possible, but is never possible. it was always misguided, to be honest. and i'm glad it's unraveled like this. it's shown how deep racism goes in british society. >> and the british press accused her of being aggressive or a bully. you said this is textbook undercover racism. >> yeah, i think the reason this story resonates with so many of us, meghan is experiencing what a lot of us experience in these white institutions. the paper cuts of racism, no one is calling you the "n"-word openly. but it's about being not fitting in, and being aggressive, and it has a bad impact on your mental health. >> it was incredibly difficult to hear when she talked about how depressed she was, by her treatment, how she was treated, that she considered suicide. talk about how racism can damage mental health? >> i think statistics will tell you that black people are much more likely to suffer mental health crises. because of the day-to-day experience of things like holding her baby bump, and this seen to be devious and cunning. et cetera. this puts pressure on, it leads to more stress. and the impact is really bad on black people's mental health. >> and black men, and women, too, but black men are often viewed as more aggressive and viewed with suspicion as well. and one has to live their lives constantly with that. >> oh, yeah, completely. i can give you many personal examples. you can't behave in a way that other people would, because you're always read as being aggressive or dangerous. and seeing it in the royal family, from somebody you think has made it, is really showing you that you don't escape r racism, no matter how successful you've been. >> lessons, you think, to come out of markle's struggles. and you think it shows how p pervasive racism is. >> after watching the whole interview, it was really clear that what they wanted, which was to fit into the royal family, to become this image and beacon for the commonwealth, that would have been a nightmare. to become the pr brand for this terribly white, racist constitution. so it's good to examine these things. it's gone 2from being a terribl examination of race to a helpful one. >> professor, thank you. >> thank you. up next, millions of americans could be getting another round of stimulus checks. but there's a real game changer for families in this bill. and we're going to tell you about it. that's next. >> i'm encouraged and hopeful that we'll be able to get this done no later than wednesday, and give americans some assurance that the government will have their back. does scrubbing grease feel like a workout? 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>> because it gives families the means to invest in their kids, and to make sure their children have sufficient nutrition, housing security, et cetera. it's part of the broader social safety net. this is a one-year plan, as you point out. it would not continue, at least as currently proposed, past this current year. but there are certainly ambitions to make it a permanent feature. the question is, how it would be paid for. there have been previous proposals that had been paid for in part by shrinking the child tax credit for higher income families. and some progressive things separate from the child tax credit. but i think you'll see the battle in the months ahead over how to get this permanently into law, because it could be such a game-changer for so many low-income families. >> assuming this does pass, compare what would be biden's signature achievement in this bill, to former president trump's signature tax package. >> if you look at just the tax portion, the stimulus payments are advance tax credits. and the child allowance, those are the tax components of this legislation. the vast majority of benefits go to lower and moderate income households. something like 60% or 70% go to that bucket of households. by comparison, if you look at the tax cuts and jobs act from president trump, only something like 17% of the benefits went to those households. the majority of benefits accrued to wealthier, higher earning families. so very different set of priorities in terms of the distribution of these benefits. >> catherine, good to see you. thank you so much. >> thanks for having me. >> thank you for watching, everyone. our coverage continues. don't settle for products that give you a sort of white smile. try new crest whitening emulsions for 100% whiter teeth. its highly active peroxide droplets swipe on in seconds. better. faster. 100% whiter teeth. crestwhitesmile.com good evening. we're at the start of a defining week for this country's battle against covid and the financial collapse that occurred because of it. and for president biden, who captured the white house promising to bring relief to both fronts. the cdc unveiled guidance for those fully vaccinated. this as more than 2.1 million americans a day are now being vaccinated. promising more freedoms to have more unvaccinated people indoors and restaurants as well as the end to the need to quarantine which means grandparents that are vaccinated can hug grandkids who have not. the rules don't go far enough for some