much of it he had not wanted on his agenda like more mass shootings and a surge at the border. the president had hoped to tout his accomplishments like getting stimulus checks to struggling americans and far exceeding his vaccination goal. later this morning we'll see the 21-year-old gunman who carried out the attack in boulder appear in court. he's charged with ten counts of murder. people on the street are paying tribute to the neighbors they have lost. the president will have his first news conference. joining us now, cnn's correspondent maggie haberman with "the new york times." you know the president wanted to talk about the success of the vaccinations t relief bill, and the checks getting into people's pockets. that was the plan. that seems to be to some extent out the window with all the news and challenges he faces. what do you expect to see. >> john, i still think there will be a reference to that. to be clear, i don't think it will be without acknowledging what the administration sees as very strong accomplishments they have done in a very short amount of time, but clearly they know the topics they're going to be asked have changed dramatically and it's because of the events happening around the country. i wonder if we'll see the president try to set the table when he steps out of this press conference by acknowledging some executive action on guns or something preemptive to steer the direction of the press conference. beyond that, he's been preparing for many days. they're going to phase a wide range of questions that will be uneasy to potentially uncomfortable. we don't know how long it will take and there's the obvious question these are not generally great formats for him, so we'll see how he does. >> what will you be watching most closely? >> look. i'll be watching, alisyn, whether he loses -- these are stylistic points to be clear. it's guns, gun safety, issues related to vaccinations, issues related to the coronavirus variant, you know, and so forth, concerns within the democratic party. stylus particularly what i'll be looking for is how does he handle the press? he has a time certainly on the campaign, got irritated with questions he didn't like. how does he do -- what is his demeanor, what is his style. some of this will set the tone for how he does what the press corps going forward for a while. listen, it's in our interest and the press's interest and, frankly, the public's interest to hold a press conference. i think this is going to tell a lot. >> to an extent he doesn't set the course of how this news conference will go. he can't press the questions. he has some control. you can walk out with an opening statement. and we expect him to make an announcement on vaccinations, setting a new goal. it was initially 100 million in the first 100 days. he has blown past that. they could double that. they're on course for that. as you said, he could choose to make news in terms of guns. how much off their initial course do you think they want to go? he's got the infrastructure rollout that he wants to make. >> i don't -- look. i don't think very far, john. i think they recognize they're going to have to do it somewhat. i think the two mass shootings since he became president is enormous and it resurfaces as an issue we've see repeatedly in this country in many ways, in a pointed way for the past ten years this. is an issue joe biden has cared about historically. i think we will hear him speak from a place of compassion on this issue, but i think you're right. i think they want to talk about for understandable reasons things they've gotten done and things they still need to get done related to the coronavirus. there are a number of other pieces of legislation that joe biden would like to look at. infrastructure is one of them and whether that's somebody possible. i don't expect him to delve that far into that. again, i think this is going to be about talking about what they've achieved and taking questions on the topic of the day. >> maggie, how about his health? he tripped going up the stairs and air force one last week and he hasn't recently released updated medical records. how will he tackle that? >> it's an excellent question, alison, and i think we have to see. they know this is a question he's likely to get asked. they're certainly aware of the video of him tripping went viral and was likely to raise new questions about his health. it's also true he has not released records since 2019. i think they know that's not going to be sustainabler from. so what i envision happening -- and this may not happen, but i can see them saegt date when they'll release more health records. i would be surprised if that happens today as some kind of delivery to the press of what exactly is in his health records, but, loochlk they know this is an issue and has new focus and it's something that came up during president trump's -- former president trump's tenure in office. they know it's going to continue here. we'll see how they handle it. >> what kind of a contrast do you expect to see with the former president who did do news conference-type events more frequently, but it doesn't necessarily mean there was a lot of substance or policy depth in that. what would the major differences be. >> look. i think the major differences will be, john, in substance and style. i do expect him to speak pretty easily about the substance of what his government is doing. thats with not always as you know something that was donald trump's strong suit especially during the coronavirus. he often found himself drifting off into cul-de-sacs, talking about "bleacher report" and disinfectant. i think biden will be able to talk about what his administration is doing with ease and answer questions. bluntly, i don't expect him to scream "fake news" at people or getting into with reporters for the sake of it. that doesn't mean he won't fight with reporters. does get thin skinned when asked questions he doesn't like. senators don't typically hold press conferences. they do engage with reporters, but in a different way. i expect we'll see a taking down of the temperature, but that doesn't mean it's all going to be easy and comfortable. >> maggie, let's talk about what else is going on in the country. just of last month, 43 states across the country have introduced some kind of legislation to restrict voting rights since this past election. senator amy klobuchar talked about basically how if 2020, which was, you know, the sort of most efficiently run election in our recent history. with as few problems as we've ever had. if that's what you need to question, she questions the logic. here's that. >> i've been hearing the word "kchaos "chaos" tossed around. let mel te tell you what chaos . it's like fikes or six hours long, chaos is where you can't vote like states in georgia. chaos is where a state declares you can only have one drop-off box in huge counties like harris county with nearly 5 million people. and chaos is what we saw happen at the capitol when people heard for an entire year our election isn't sound and they decided to come here and take it under their own hands. that angry mob? is that was chaos. >> yeah, but these restrictions aren't going away, maggie. >> no, they're not, alisyn, and, this is ultimately -- the senator is correct. this in some ways, in many ways stems from what donald trump was saying for the course of a year about voting and about the availability of voting during the pandemic and certainly then it stems from what he was saying about the election. this is something the republicans have wanted to focus on for a while, which is trying to roll back certain voting measures that allow for more expansive participation in the voting system. i think we saw last year the democrats did better than republicans in the national popular vote. not necessarily in specific states. so it's not surprising where this is going because the way donald trump framed everything was fraud, which is a legal term and not one he was ever able to prove. it's not surprising the democrats are going to try to draw a line and point to what was an increase in participation last year. but this is going to be a dominant fight heading into the midterms in 2022. >> maggie haberman, thanks so much. in just hours the alleged gunman of the boulder grocery store massacre will be making an appearance in a court. cnn's dan simon outside the courthouse in boulder, colorado. dan, what can we expect? >> reporter: good morning, john. it was a very somber evening last night when hundreds of people gathered throughout the community for a series of candlelight vigils, people huddled to honor and mourn the victims. as far as the investigation is concerned, authorities are still trying to ascertain a motive, trying to figure out why the aallergiced shooter targeted that particular grocery stofrmt after all, there were grocery stores closer to his home. this grocery zor was 30 minutes away. we know the suspect is set for his initial court appearance today. it will be relatively quick and routine. at least it's supposed to be. given the enormity of the case, it will be anything but routine. this is a court appearance where he'll be told of his rights and ten counts of murder. and as far as how long it will go, we'll have to see. we do know he's expected to be here in person or told by the judge to be here in person. he could waive that right, but he'll have to do so in writing. >> thank you. he risked his life to protect others when a gunman opened fire. a hero employee who tells us his story next. r. just more electrifying. still a night out. but everything fits in. still hard work. just a little easier. still a legend. just more legendary. chevrolet. making life's journey, just better. chevrolet. ♪ mom and dad left costa rica, 1971. dad was a bus driver at the chicago transit authority. mom expressed herself through her food. that was her passion. and on august 20th, 1990, they opened lrazu. last year business was great. and then the pandemic hit. we had to reset. the city had said that pick up and delivery was still viable. that kept us afloat. in the summer, we were so excited to have our customers back on our patio. safely of course. and keeping our diners informed was so important. last year was so hard, but the support from our customers, it honestly kept us going. serving the community, serving the neighborhood. this is the dream that mom wanted. ♪ see every delivery... every yikes... and even every awwwwwwww... wait, where was i? introducing self protection from xfinity. designed to put you in control. with real-time notifications and a week of uninterrupted recording. all powered by reliable, secure wifi from xfinity. gotta respect his determination. it's easy and affordable to get started. get self protection for $10 a month. more harrowing stories from inside a boulder grocery store where ten people were gunned down. our next guest was working as a barista and risked his life to save others. he was also friends with two of the victims including the youngest, 20-year-old denny stong and also ricky old, the 25-year-old. logan, thank you so much for being here. we're so sorry for the loss of your friends. >> it's all good. thanks for having me. >> as i understand it, you heard the first gunshot outside and you had the presence of mind to call 911. >> yes. >> and then what happened. >> so after a customer reported there was gunshots outside, i grabbed 911 and the shooting began inside while i was on the phone. as soon as that happened, i dropped the phone. i immediately went to find my co-worker who i was with behind the kiosk and i knew i had to protect her first over myself. she's older than me. she's my elder, and her life was more valuable than mine at this time, and so i pushed her into a corner and i barricaded her with trash cans. and then from that moment it was game on. i knew i was in a life-threatening situation, didn't know the extent of it, and i had just tried to find a place for myself. >> i want to show a picture of you with helen, your co-worker, who you hid behind garbage cans. there you guys are. you work together in the starbucks kiosk. and, oh, my gosh, logan, i mean, again, the idea that your first instinct was to save your co-worker over yourself. was she talking to you during that time? were you giving her instrugzs? how did you get her to hide behind those garbage cans? what were those moments like? >> yeah. we had a brief conversation. i was instructing her to stay calm. she didn't have her phone on her and it was on sound mode and so that was a little risky. but i told her to remain calm. don't go out. don't grab her phone, and just wait till help arrives. >> have you seen her since this shooting? >> since the day of i have not seen her or communicated with her at all. >> well, i'm guessing that she is very grateful to you. and then after you hid her and took care of her, you had to hide. you're 6'4" as you point out, and that was no easy feat. so then what did you do in. >> i just tried to hide as far away from sight as i could. i pinned my back against a wall. i had a trash can to the left side of me to block my chest. my head was visible, so that wasn't a great situation. and i just waited for police. there were moments where i did see the gunman like 15 feet away from me at times. he never noticed me, which i'm grateful for. >> these terrifying, logan. that's terrifying that you watched some of this. and you saw someone get shot, didn't you? >> i saw two people get shot. i -- when the customer reported that there was gunshots outside, i ran outside myself, i saw the gunman, i saw him shoot down a customer who was trying to run into the store. the customer was shot in the back and fell to the ground and died almost immediately. and then shortly after gunshots began inside, i was peeking outside of my kiosk, and i saw my best friend, my co-worker rikki olds get shot as well. she fell to the floor. that moment, it -- there was a split time in my mind that i wanted to run over to her, comfort her, and i was unaware if it was just one assailant or if there was multiple. if there was one, i probably would have made the decision to run and comfort her. >> oh, my gosh, logan, the idea that you had to make those split-second decision and make all of that, are you able to get that image out of your mind? >> i don't think i ever will. i just hope it fades slowly. >> tell us about rikki, your friend. >> yes. so i -- the first day i join ed king soopers, i got to know rikki. she was very charismatic. her laugh lit up a room. if you knew her laugh, you knew rikki. she was basically 25. i considered her my work sister, that's how close we were. we picked on each other every single day. me and her worked basically every single day together and we were best friends. >> oh, my gosh, logan. i'm so sorry for your loss. i know you were also friends with denny stong, who was 20 years old, and you and he were pals and you and he were, i think, gun enthusiasts, and you would go to the shooting range together on the weekend. we have some pictures of you guys. and so -- i mean, do you have -- have you been able to in your mind piece together nefrg about what you think should happen as a result of this horror? >> in terms of what should happen, i -- this situation is definitely a divisive and controversial situation. people support guns. people are against. i just want people to be united and come together for the loss of life. i want action taken within my company to ensure the safety of employees and customers, however they pursue that. i don't think the lives of employees and customers will be guaranteed until that is taken. >> i understand. logan something, take care of yourself. we're so sorry you had to endure all of this and that you will forever have these images in your head. please get help. take care of yourself because this is just incredibly traumatic. >> for sure. >> we'll check in with you as well. >> for him and so many people, it's the dual challenges. it's the loss. it's dealing with the holes now that are in your life and also the sheer terror of what he saw. >> his life will never be the same. he is in his early 20s. he's a young man, and in a flash of a moment because somebody violent had a gun, he now has these images burned into his mind as well as, as you say, losing his best friend. it's unthinkable. >> that was a nice conversation. all right. france, germany, and canada all sounding the alarm about the uk coronavirus variant. are we vaccinating americans fast enough to fight this? next. aliens are real, alright. there's just too much evidence. but ghosts? not so much. i mean where's the proof? show me the data. ooh, iced tea! kill weeds not the lawn with roundup for lawns products. keeping your oysters business growing has you swamped. you need to hire. i need indeed indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a resume data base claim your seventy-five-dollar credit when you post your first job at indeed.com/promo i've lost count of how many asthma attacks i've had. i've been on and off oral steroids to manage my asthma. does that sound normal to you? it's time for a nunormal with nucala. my nunormal: fewer asthma attacks. my nunormal: less oral steroids. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. it targets and reduces eosinophils, a key cause of severe asthma. nucala is proven to help prevent severe asthma attacks, and reduce the need for oral steroids. nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away if you have swelling of your face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop your corticosteroid medications unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. common side effects include headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about taking nucala at home. learn about financial assistance at nucala.com. find your nunormal with nucala. france, germany, canada, brazil, all raising concerns over the highly contagious variant first found in tu nighted kingdom, b.1.1.7. professor, as always, thanks so much. we don't have to look to brazil. we don't have to look to france. what about michigan? i mean you can look to your left from where you are in minnesota and start to worry about the possibilities of the variant here. cases on the rise, steeply on the rise in michigan. hospitalizations, clearly on the rise in that state. so why? what's happening there? how concerned are you? >> well, thanks very much for having me on this morning. this is a tail we've been talking on this very show and what would happen. i don't have to look any further than where i'm sitting right now. minnesota, we've had a 23% increase in cases in the last several days in our state. right now 33 states have seen in the last seven days increases. this is exactly what we have been talking about, that once this variant, the b.1.1.7., which is at least 50% to 60% more efficient in transmission, 50% more in causing illness is widespread throughout the united states. we're going to see as we open up more an more this virus move quickly and unfortunately infect a number of people. >> why is this uk variant seeming to affect younger people and have a more severe illness? >> this is one of the great questions, alisyn, we don't understand. one of the reasons i was a strong proponent to reopening schools, particularly k through eighth grade is we saw very little transmission by children to children or by children to teachers or even other family membersful that's all changed with the b.1.1.7. now they're like the rest of us. they're not transferring it any more frequently than younger adults or older adults, but they're now transmitting it in ways of this is what we're seeing in terms of the spread of our communities. in our communities, youth sports has been a major way this virus has been moving quickly city to city, county to county, withion children getting ill, getting infected, and transferring it to those who are older and having a much more serious illness. >> i was going to ask you how it will affect this. but if you're talking about spread within younger people, they're not getting vaccine yet. >> that's right. john, i think right now we have to take a step back and be very careful how we're assessing the success of our vaccination programs. first of all, the united states deserves great credit for what we've done over the course of the past 4 to six weeks. i think the administration has done everything it possibly can to speed up the available of the vaccine and get it out and for that i give them great credit. but i worry the media right now is missing a major point and that is when states are opening up to everybody, somehow this is seen as a great success. i think this is almost a failure. what i mean by that is states right now are being held accountable to how many doses they put in people's arms. not whose arms that those doses go into. if you look in the last several days in this country, we were at 68% of those vaccinated. today, 69%. we've only vaccinated 1% over that. we have over 17 million of these individuals not vaccinated rk and so what's happening is when it gets tough to find people we need to vaccinate, whether they be the older population, the bipop community, we're saying get it into anybody's articles so we can show the media today we've vaccinated x number of people. if we miss these high-risk people who are going to be the ones who are hospitalized or the ones who die, we're going to have a real challenge on our hands. we have to look at the success of the vaccine campaign. it's not just how many, but who gets them. >> now this variant is preying upon 20-year-olds. in europe, britain and france have more sick people without any comorbidities, 20-somethings entering the icu more than ever before. in ontario, the most active cases are people between 20 and 29. shouldn't we start opening up the vaccine for 20-somethings? >> alisyn, that makes perfect sense if you look at it from the standpoint of more infections. they are occurring. more 20-year-olds are gets more seriously ill and hospitalized, more 30-year-olds and 40-year-olds, but they make up a high percentage of the deaths we have in the country. if you want to see them impacted, leave the people who are from a work standpoint still at risk. leave the people who have comorbidities who are older population members, that's where we're going to see the real hit in terms of deaths, populations, and illnesses. i want to get everybody vaccinated. your producer asked me what's supposed to be the goal. i want everybody in the country to be vaccinated. but the bottom line is in the short period of time while the b.1.1.7. is rolling out and doing what it's doing, we want to get those people most at risk of being seriously ill vaccinated, and we're not doing that right now. >> professor osterman, yauls eye-opening and sobering. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. >> we want to remember some of the 145,000 lost. daniel leddy is survived by his partner and husband of 54 years, rick oliver. for decades, a sculptor sold traditional pottery in santa fe, and about 12 years ago she began making more abstract sculpture real form. she earned multiple rewards. she leaves behind a husband and two sons. we'll be right back. that's why at america's beverage companies, our bottles are made to be re-made. not all plastic is the same. we're carefully designing our bottles to be one hundred percent recyclable, including the caps. they're collected and separated from other plastics, so they can be turned back into material that we use to make new bottles. that completes the circle, and reduces plastic waste. please help us get every bottle back. ♪ that completes the circle, i've always been running.. to meetings. errands. now i'm running for me. i've always dreamed of seeing the world. but i'm not chasing my dream anymore. i made a financial plan to live it every day. ♪ there was a dream ♪ ♪ and one day i could see it ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com if you have... ...moderate to severe psoriasis, ... ...little things... ...can become your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea,... ...nausea or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts... ...or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and... ...headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines, and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. are your hr processes weighing down your employees? on to quarterly projections! and if you're pregnant or planning to be. expense report! if you're using multiple systems, re-entering data over and over time sheet! using email and spreadsheets to manage information and approvals, then your hr systems are a drag on productive time. with paycom, employees enter and manage their own hr data in a single, easy-to-use software. visit paycom dot com and schedule your demo today. do they know this door is locked see every delivery... every yikes... and even every awwwwwwww... wait, where was i? introducing self protection from xfinity. designed to put you in control. with real-time notifications and a week of uninterrupted recording. all powered by reliable, secure wifi from xfinity. gotta respect his determination. it's easy and affordable to get started. get self protection for $10 a month. this morning we're taking you inside one of the great humanitarian crises the cry sneeze government would rather you not see. children are being ripped away from their families. some of the loved ones left behind are turning to us for help. in a new heartbreaking report, ch china's policy of the uighurs and breaking up family. china denies the human rights abuse allegations claiming their actions are justified to battle religious extremism and terrorism, but in an exclusive report david culver, steven john and a photo journalist travel to a heavily surveilled region and with the parents' permission, they went in search of the lost children of scthe area. >> they were blocking roads that lead to possible intermentme camps. cnn searching for the lost uighur children. they allege china is committing genocide. thousands of families have now been ripped apart due to china's actions. we tracked down two of them. now in adelaide, australia, this man plays the recent videos he has of his daughter and son. he has not held his wife or their children in more than five years. he's among thousands of families who have been torn apart according to a new amnesty international report. >> april 2017 the mass interment had started. as one of the finish people detained, my wife was detained too. >> reporter: before they were separated he was studying for a phd in cual la lumpur. his we've was study english. she lost her passport. chinese officials told her to renew it, she had to go back. she brought the couple's two young children with her thinking they'd soon be able to travel back with her husband but that was late 2015. it allows china to control the narrative, keeping something precious to dissuade a loved one from outside the country to bad mouth china. the foreign minister recently called it preposterous adding -- >> translator: we welcome more people from around the world to visit. seeing is believing. it's the best way to debunk rumors, he said. so we decided to try to find the missing children ourselves with permission from their parents. the five-plus-hour flight from beijing ending with a strange request from cabin crew. as we landed, all window shades had to be shut, no explanation why. we went through a standard covid test for all passengers, loaded up a rental car, and roamed without anyone stopping us, though, as is the case in china, you're immediately watched. the faces all so different. perhaps not what you'd expect in china. from the grand bazaar to the central mosque, we traveled through. that's when we noticed people were trailing us. >> we know itted men on phones keeping a social distance, shall we say. >> it seemed they wanted to know who we were searching for. this video of john's little girl was a critical clue for us. the first day, no luck. >> i hilt another dead end. >> this might be it. let's try this. >> reporter: 24 hours and 20,000 steps later we weaved our way through one last corridor and suddenly -- >> that's her. the daughter and her grandparents were not expecting us, but they let us into their home. she told me she's going to turn 11 in may, but amidst her innocence and awareness not to say too muslim she told us she'd not spoken to her father since 2017. and when we asked her, what would you want to say to him if you could talk to him? >> i miss him, she later told me. >> can you tell me some of what you're feeling? >> i don't have my mom with me right now. i don't have my dad either. i just want to be reunited with them, she told me. off camera, her grandmother overcome by grief. as i asked about her mother and if she had been sent to a camp -- how long was she away for? >> she quickly bolted to her grandfather. camps are too sensitive of a topic to discuss. as they talked, notice the subtle murmurs in the background. it seemed word of our visit got back to officials and other family, bringing an abrupt end to our visit. >> she wants her family together. she didn't want to say she wanted to go abroad. >> reporter: but we still want to know where the wife and son were. the family said they were living with her parents nearby. >> it's locked from the outside. unless they're gone for the day or gone permanently -- >> we asked the chinese government in the wife is currently in a camp. they have not gotten back to us. there was a second set of children we wanted to track down. their parents are in italy. >> my children thought we had abandoned them, that we don't care about them. >> reporter: after having five children and getting pregnant with a 60s, the authorities wanted to force the mother to have an abortion and throw the father in jail. >> translator: the policies were too sprict. it was impossible to take all of our children with us. so we left our homeland and children in december separate. >> the older children now ages between 12 and 16 were left behind with their grandparents. they hope it would be temporary until they could obtain more visas, but they went four years without contacting their children and they got word family members were getting rounded up and sent to camps. determined to meet up with family, they choreographed their escape from half a world away. their parents had finally secured visa approvals from italy for their children. in june 2020, a arafat managed talk with his kids. on their own they traveled more than 3,000 miles, farther ore than going from l.a. to new york, recovering hidden passports, eventually flying into shanghai. when the children arrived here in shining high, they were excited and happy. they never thought they would marek it this far. but their repeated attempts to obtain visas failed. hotels turned them away because they were uighur. all along they dropped pins to let arafat know they were okay. the last ping dropped a few blockses from the hotel. >> do you know who these children are? >> arafat and canada watched. then silence. minutes to hours to days to weeks. >> and then i tell like my aunts, they might be detained. they started crying. they can knot believe it. >> after several phone calls he learned that police had tracked them down. china's surveillance network zeroing in on the four children. arafat later found out they had been sent back and thrown into an orphanage. in rome the parents heard the devastating news of their children's detention as they begged for help outside of italy's foreign affairs office. the italian government refused to comment to cnn on what happened. china has refused to comment on the two families' cases. having found louisa for her father, we hoped to find the other children to bring their parents some comfort. we headed out before sun rooesz heading to the orphanage where they were sent. that's the eldest. as we drove, we watched as one car after another trailed us. after making a pass by the orphanage, we headed to one of the kids' schools. we asked to see the kids. eventually app local official showed up. >> that was more than two hours ago, but they have yet to let us talk to the children. >> reporter: we later made contact through video chat. >> do you want to be with them? do you miss them? >> translator: i do, he says. he kept looking directly off camera. he was answering with someone told him to answer. >> can you tell us about your y journey? when asked about the journey, he deflected like the other children. it could impact those they love. after about eight minutes, we ended the call. >> they're literally right over there but can't see them. >> reporter: we later learned the children were interrogated about our conversation. late last month they risked sending out a photo message to their parents. the four of them held up a sign in chinese saying, dad, mom, we miss you, a rare glimpse of an uncensored truth. it seems the number of likely security agents trailing us increased, adding pressure to our search. before leaving, we reconnected with the man hungry for more information on his wife and kids and desperate to see his little girl. we watched him, as he watched her. >> it's my daughter. that's my mother. >> do you know this man? is he your father? your dad? >> that's my daughter. haven't seen them in four years. >> reporter: it's part relief seeing that she's okay, even proud she still wants to be a doctor. >> what would you want to say to him if you could talk to him? but to see her break down sending her love to her father, no dad, no matter how strong, can hide that agony for long. >> poor thing. what kind of country does this to people, to innocent people? she definitely misses me, too. >> oh, my god, david, what gut-frenching -- what a gut-wrenching story and what stunning reporting you did so that the rest of the world can see this. i mean, it's just -- it is staggering what's happening there. so what happened to the children? do you know what happened to the children that you tried to make contact with and did after you left? >> gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, and i appreciate your words. it's a massive team behind this. a lot of journalists here working on this story for weeks. the children went through hours of interrogation. this is according to their family. they were presented even with our reporting that went out late last week on cnn.com. we did a dig tat write on this. that was put in front of them. the photo they sent to their mom and dad, dad, mom, we miss you, that was put in front of them. they were questioned as to why would you say this to your mom and dad. several of the children were subjected to this. that's the four applicant children. the young girl you saw there whose dad lives in australia, we haven't been in touch with her directly, but she was featured just this week in state media propaganda. she was put out in a video broadcast that showed her at a seemingly happy setting with her grandparents asking her dad to come back in to the country from australia. and it was clearly an effort to show that her life is great, according to chinese state media. that she has no issues. but you saw it there. she broke down. this is a little girl who, when we encountered her, wants her family together. didn't say she wants to leave the country but certainly wants mom and dad to be reunited. in that state media report, john and alisyn, they gave us a clue as to what happened to her mom. we could not find her. it seems she has been charged with a crime, inciting ethnic hatred and violence is what they've labeled that as. that according to state media. inciting ethnic hatred. it's not clear what her location is or where she is. >> question from the father that he asked in your piece, and this is amazing, david. what kind of country would do this? the answer is china. the answer is china. and we know it. the world knows it. and because of you and the team, we can now see it at a level that wasn't seen before. we know china is trying to keep the world and certainly people in china from seeing it. so how do you expect china to respond? >> they're angry about this. and one of the things we've seen is they point out flaws in other countries, particularly western countries. look at the u.s. look at canada, the uk, australia. all these countries pointing at human rights issues here within china. look within your own borders. you have your own issues. it was interesting to see secretary blinken last week in alaska address this. what i would say in a humble way, the u.s. has a lot of issues, but we're acknowledging them. we're transparent. we're open, and we hope that that transparency and openness will lead to a more perfect union. a strict contrast between how the chinese in his opinion, are handling things. this is also setting the stage for what will be a very interesting olympics, to be height honest. it's supposed to be here in beijing in 2022. already calls for a boycott. based on human rights concerns and allegations of the widespread abuse. but then it also could be a platform for many athletes of western countries to use that to push for human rights and really a recognition of what people are going through. >> so, david, before the olympics, is there pressure now building on china about this? >> you know where it's coming from? it's the business world. you look here at the second largest economy in the world. eventually it will overtake the u.s., analysts predict. so money is a big factor in a lot of things. and that could be a factor in changing the course of how things are playing out. there's no guarantee, of course, but one example is h&m, a few months ago, actually decided to stop using xinjiang related cotton from the forced labor of uighurs. it has led to a boycott of several h&m products here, but then also this week nike put on their website saying that they, too, are looking into making sure that they don't have products that are coming from xinjiang and ties to forced labor in particular. it's becoming an awareness factor within the corporate world. perhaps that would generate a positive outcome. john and alisyn? >> we should also mention, david, you're in beijing reporting for us. and at this very moment as we speak, china is censoring this report. so that the people there cannot -- >> that's right. they're not seeing this conversation domestically. >> doesn't mean it's not happening. we know what's happening again thanks to you and your team. >> thanks to you guys. back here, all eyes on president biden today as he holds his first news conference in just a few hours. as mass shootings and the crisis at the border are gripping america's attention, how will he address those? he defending cham. g. hargrave thomas, point guard. bryce matthias, forward. kim kietz, investor. oh, i invested in invesco qqq. a fund that invests in the innovations of the nasdaq-100. like next gen 3d rendering software. you don't have to be an advanced graphics architect to help realize a more vibrant future. become an agent of innovation with invesco qqq. a capsule a day become an agent of innovation wvisibly fades the dark spots away. new neutrogena® rapid tone repair 20 percent pure vitamin c. a serum so powerful dark spots don't stand a chance. see what i mean? neutrogena® ♪ mom and dad left costa rica, 1971. dad was a bus driver at the chicago transit authority. mom expressed herself through her food. that was her passion. and on august 20th, 1990, they opened lrazu. last year business was great. and then the pandemic hit. we had to reset. the city had said that pick up and delivery was still viable. that kept us afloat. in the summer, we were so excited to have our customers back on our patio. safely of course. and keeping our diners informed was so important. last year was so hard, but the support from our customers, it honestly kept us going. serving the community, serving the neighborhood. this is the dream that mom wanted. ♪ there are many issues that people can bring up with president biden, including his new push for gun reform. immigration legislation. >> biden is appointing vice president kamala harris to lead efforts to stem the flow of migrants from central america. >> it's a huge problem. this is not going to be solved overnight. >> investigators continue to collect evidence and search for a possible motive. >> as many continue to say there's a national outcry for congress to act. >> how many more have to die? how many more officers have to face down mad men with a gun? >> this is "new day" with alisyn camerota and john berman. >> welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. this is "new day." president biden will hold his first formal white house press conference this afternoon. when this was scheduled, the white house no doubt wanted it to be about vaccinations. the huge relief bill. but as all presidents know or at least all presidents learn, they don't get to schedule the world. mass shootings, the surge at the border, north korea firing off missiles, serious challenges the president will be pressed on today. >> and the suspected murderer in the boulder grocery store massacre appears in court today to face ten first-degree murder charges. investigators are combing through his social media and interviewing his friends and