Senate. Lets bring in John Avlon. Lauren fox also with us. John, let me start with you. The president of course trying to put this in the context of this is good for the job market, this is good for families. As we watch the numbers, the inflation numbers, the cost of living, calling it fiscally responsible, he has a huge Sales Job to do here to the american people. He does indeed. That said, i think theres more of an appetite for Government Spending than there has been in some administrations past, republicans having lost some moral authority on that issue. But the specter of inflation is a big day. Thats something americans have taken for a long time that we controlled inflation. But it was a dominant political force for decades in america. To see that creeping up is a real Warning Sign for the White House as they put forward this massive spending bill, which they hope will transform kind of the approach of government to the citizens and vice versa. The more spending you have, the danger of inflation rears its head and thats what theyre confronting today. Lauren, we know to get this through the senate, there is that first vote that happened, thats an appliccomplishment, b its going to need every single democratic vote. Were hearing from some members of the president s party that theyre not fans of that 3. 5 trillion price tag. Thats right, victor. Right now what they have is the top line number, a framework really for what they hope to accomplish. Over this August Recess you can expect that the Committee Chairmen will work very closely with the majority Leaders Office to come up with really where they want to go with this bill. Schumer making it clear earlier that it will include all of the key pieces of the biden agenda, including like you noted prek as well as an expansion of the affordable care act, an expansion of the social safety net. That is going to be what democrats are looking forward toward. One thing to keep in mind here is that schumer has to keep his democratic caucus together. We are seeing from Kirsten Sinema and Joe Manchin that they have concerns about spending 3. 5 trillion. They voted to be able to write this piece of legislation at that number but they want it to be a lower number. Earlier, Chuck Schumer was asked about this repeatedly. Are you going to be willing to come down a little bit and he wouldnt answer the question directly, just saying that some people wanti that number to be here higher, some wanti It Lowe and they have to come together and thats the real challenge here. Over in the House Speaker Nancy pelosi has some votes she can lose but just a handful of members to work with in order to make sure she can move this through her caucus as well, victor. Lets bring in chief white House Correspondent Kaitlin Collins there. The president has several audiences now. Of course the myriad of factions of his own party, the american people. Talk about what you heard from the president and the work he has to do ahead. Well, victor, for the last several weeks and months really weve been talking about this idea of bipartisanship and those negotiations that were happening between democrats and republicans and now its turning to the more partisan effort, which is expected to only have democratic support. So the Big Question is whether or not they can keep every democrat on board. Just hours after this Budget Blue Printing was passed overnight by democrats in the senate, we already saw a statement from Senator Manchin essentially threatening to derail it by saying he did not support the 3. 5 trillion number. You saw President Biden there in a way trying to get at what those concerns were that Senator Manchin said he had in his statement. The serious concerns that he raised. One of the big Points President biden was pushing back on was saying that they believe, and democrats have argued repeatedly, this plan is going to be paid for. They dont believe its going to add trillions to the debt as the concerns that youve seen not only some moderate democrats voiced but also republicans try to take advantage of when they are saying why they do not believe this Reconciliation Bill should pass, what this Budget Blueprint is expected to turn into and democrats are going to be working on the Next several weeks. He also said a vote against this plan, this 3. 5 trillion plan that is just now at the beginning and still very much a long road to go, President Biden said is a vote against lowering Health Care vacosts, lowering prescription costs. So making the argument it is going to be really hard for any democrat to vote against this. John, how narrow is the window, is this Dollar Figure that you get votes from the progressives in the house, Alexandria Ocasiocortez specifically, whos gone after Kyrsten Sinema for saying shes not into 3. 5 trillion, thats way too high. How narrow is that window . I think its important to put this in perspective. In some ways what just passed is the most consequential piece of legislation for a new democratic administration since Lyndon Johnson. Key difference being that Lyndon Johnson ld had massive margins the senate and the house and the Biden Democrats have a narrow margin. The narrowest in the senate and a handful in the house. Which means that this reconciliation process, which will be an intraparty negotiation, this is where the Sausage Making comes in. It aint always going to be pretty but it will probably get done. The number will fluctuate. No one will get all of what they want. At the end of the Day Youll finding some common ground but there will be to be give and take. People taking maximumless positions, theres going to be give and take. That number will probably come down. If the key constituencies can be satisfied, this bill will go forward and is massive and satisfies a lot of concerns to constituencies on the center left and far left of the democratic party. In large part this is the start of the conversation, not the end of it. The question is where are the moderates, wheres their ceiling, and wheres the floor for the progressives. Lauren fox there on capitol hill, Kaitlin Collins at the White House, John Avlon stay with us. Lets go to New York now. Any minute the States Lieutenant Governor and Soontobe Governor Kathy Hochul will hold a news press. Hochul officially takes over in two weeks and will be New Yorks first female governor. Cnns Brynn Gingras is live in albany. First, what are we expecting to hear from the Lieutenant Governor . Reporter yeah, this is really a chance, victor, for her to sort of reintroduce herself to everyone. Sure, shes been Lieutenant Governor by Cuomos Side for a long time, but as we know cuomo did things on sort of his own terms and she is from buffalo, which shes certainly well known from that area. But she really isnt such a wellknown politician necessarily by everyone in the state, certainly not across the country, which everyone is certainly paying attention to this News Conference since it is happening just the day after cuomo resigned. So this is a way for us to meet her, for her to make a stance about what she expects to do within the Next 14 days before she transitions. And i think it is starting right now so lets go to it. It sounds like theres an audio problem. What a great start. Can you hear me now . It sounds like a commercial. Can you hear me now . All right, all right. Good afternoon and thank you for being here. I spoke with Governor Cuomo Yesterday and he pledged his full support for a smooth transition. I thanked him for service to our state. Regarding his decision to step down, i believe it is appropriate and in the best interests of the state of New York. While it was not expected, it is a day for which i am prepared. Ive already spoken with Senate Majority Leader cousins, speaker carl hastie, labor, business, faith leaders, other State Elected Officials as well as our tristate governors. I look forward to working with each and every one of them and all of you to build on the progress that weve already started. Over the Next two weeks, i will continue meetings with current and potential Cabinet Officials. Ill build out my senior staff. And ill do what ive always done. I will travel the state to meet New Yorkers, to listen to them, to assure them that ive got their backs. And i will take their concerns and bring them back to our State Capitol and work with our partners at every level of government to come to solutions. People will soon learn that my style is to listen first, then take decisive action. So in 13 days, i will officially become the 57th governor of the state of New York. Shortly thereafter, i look forward to delivering an address to all New Yorkers to lay out my vision for the great state of New York. But make no mistake, our work has already begun. I know this year and a half has been so challenging for families and businesses across our state. Sometimes it doesnt feel like its getting any easier. The Delta Variant is still raging and its going to take all of us to defeat it. Our children are heading back to school soon. A lot of anxiety for the moms and dads i speak to and the teachers as well. Its going to take all of us working together to keep our children safe, our teachers safe, and anyone who works at a school safe. Small businesses are just starting to bounce back into an uncertain world. We need to reassure them that they will be okay. And our workers are once again debating whether they should even go back to their jobs, go back to their offices, go back to their factories, is it safe enough. But i know New Yorkers. They are hard wired to persevere and to prevail. And the promise i make to all New Yorkers right here and right now, i will fight like hell for you every single day, like ive always done and always will. Thank you very much. I look forward to your questions. Ill be starting the questions by asking Jerry Zeremski from the buffalo news. Hometown favorite, sorry. Lieutenant governor, i want to ask you about this 14day transition period. Did the governor explain to you why he wanted to wait that long before leaving office . And how do you feel about having to wait that long to take the reins . Its not what i asked for. However, im looking to a smooth transition, which he promised. He spoke to me about wanting to make sure that the transition to continuity is important, that i have an opportunity to meet the Cabinet Officials and other people as well. So they viewed it as necessary. Im prepared to take office as any Lieutenant Governor is from the very first hour youre sworn in as Lieutenant Governor. However, i will take advantage of that time to continue to engage with the people of the state of New York. I have a vision, but im going to continue to develop that. At the end of the 14 days, i look forward to coming back to a venue like this and to make sure that we are ready to deal with all the challenges that we face. Morgan mckay from spectrum. If cuomo has any criminal charges, would you consider pardoning him . I will tell you right now im talking about my vision for the state of New York. Its far too early to have those conversations. I would ask Jose Velasquez from the city. A couple of years ago while you were serving in office you had come out against Drivers Licenses for undocumented immigrants. In the last couple of years you have changed your mind. Can you explain to me what the transition has been and also what the last few months have been for you as youve been preparing for this role . With respect to the green light law, which is now the law of the state of the land, something that early on in my career as a County Clerk i had taken a position that has now evolved and that evolution coincides with the evolution of many people. Many people in the state of New York. Im proud of that law. If you want to read an oped that i wrote on it, many people in our State Senate would argue that that was a Turning Point when they read that and saw the position i had taken in support of that law, that our immigrants need that. They need to be able to get to their jobs and parents need to take their kids to doctors appointments. Im proud of supporting that law. You can ask anyone my position on that at this time. The last few months, Lieutenant Governors continue the work regardless of whats going on around them. Im proud that ive been able to maintain the same schedule to meet with elected leaders. My schedule has been robust and im ready. I want people to know that im ready for this. Its not something we expected or asked for, but i am fully prepared to assume the responsibilities as the 57th governor of the state of New York. Michael formally from news day. Have you talked to President Biden at this point and do you have any different view of how to handle covid in new York State . I understand the president was looking to reach me but i was on a plane early this morning so i cannot confirm that. I have not spoken. I did have a chance to speak to Senator Schumer yesterday, senator gillibrand, Hillary Clinton and countless others. My position will be to at this point recognize that there is one governor for the state of New York at one time and Governor Cuomo will continue to be the governor for the Next 13 days. That does not mean that im not fully engaged with the Health Care partners, the current commissioner, and weve been getting regular briefings up to the minute. Im well aware of the circumstances in our state are frightening for people. Well continue to review closely what the cdc puts forth, but ill be proud to and looking forward to sharing my vision how we address this in the matter of a couple of weeks. Dennis slattery from newsday. Im sorry, daily news, im sorry. Thats a big mistake to make. Sorry there. Dennis in the room . Okay. Hearing None Cant hear you. Dennis slattery, is he in the room . Dennis. [ inaudible ] it has been about 24 hours. Im meeting with all the Cabinet Officials in the Next few days and ill be making those decisions shortly and ill be happy to announce them in two weeks. Also we are looking for Dan Clark from pbs now. In the report, the a. G. s report, several members of the Governors Staff were implicated in trying to discredit the women that accused him of sexual harassment. Are you planning on keeping any of them around . No one has named who was named as anything doing anything unethical in the report will remain in my administration. Chris hervasis from Channel 4 in buffalo. The Word Taoxic has been used to describe the Work Environment in the executive chamber. So to follow up on whats been asked, do you agree or take issue with that term describing it and to what extent given that fact do you see the need to have turnover . Oh, there will be turnover. There will be turnover. That is the description from many witnesses in the attorney generals report. I think its very clear that the governor and i have not been close, physically or otherwise in terms of much time. And so ive been traveling the state and do not spend much time in his presence or in the presence of many in the State Capitol. But that is whats being reported. Im going to stand right here. At the end of my term, whenever it ends, No One will ever describe my administration as a toxic Work Environment. Karen dewitt from new York State public radio. As you know, the Vaccination Rate in the state, do you think we should get more people vaccinated . Is there any Chance Youd declare a public State Of Emergency or have public Mask Mandates. Let me answer that two days. One right now for the Next 13 days the current governor will make decisions with respect to that. Im going to use this time to evaluate and i will tell you that all auoptions are on the table and ill be looking very closely at the trends in consultation with our Health Care professionals as well as the cdc. I want people to know that currently the administration does not possess the executive powers that it had last year at the time when i was very engaged with dealing with the covid response. And the authorities held by the administration were much more expansive than they are at this time. That being said, we are going to monitor this closely and i can assure everyone that well be looking at all options, but also i believe that the key to get through this has been before our eyes for months. Its as simple as more people getting vaccinated. We have a high rate of at least people getting their first dose at this time in the state of New York, its almost 77 . Approaching 70 of people getting both doses. Thats good news. But there is a lot of concern about children between ages 12 and 17 as well as well see what happens with respect to any decisions by the cdc or the fda to allow younger children to be able to be vaccinated. I think the answer is very simple. More people being vaccinated is our key out of this. Im going to be working with the communities where the rates are higher, the infection and Vaccination Rates are lower, and come up with a very strategic approach to target this and make sure we overcome the hesitation and worries, but also to make it more widely available. But that will be something ill be looking forward to addressing in a couple of weeks. Joe specter from gannett. Do you feel the Impeachment Investigation should continue by the Assembly And Judiciary committee . You said earlier that you and the governor didnt have a particularly close relationship. Were you aware of any of the allegations put forth in the a. G. s report . I was not aware of any of the allegations whatsoever in the report. The report stands on its own. Ive been in this business long enough to know that is not the purview of the new York State governor to dictate to the State Assembly or the Judiciary Committee on what actions they should take with respect to anything, particularly impeachment. Bill mahoney from New York politico. Do you have a Lieutenant Governor to succeed yourself in the coming weeks . Do you have any thoughts on who that might be . Certainly a lot of people have reached out to me. Its going to be im really excited about working with the Next Lieutenant Governor who will be named within the Next few weeks. Currently were considering a number of individuals. The fortunate thing for me is that ive spent so much time in seven years getting to know many elected officials and Community Leaders personally, at a friendly level. I understand who they are. It will be someone thats no stranger to me but also someone who will carry on the vision of my administration, which is to continue the strongly progressive policies to take this state forward to get us out of covid as soon as possible and to rebuild back this great state of New York. Were going to take questions on zoom now. Operator, can you upload those questions for us . I have one. Ill go ahead. Lieutenant governor, a lot of people look at you as a part of the Cuomo Administration because you are part of the Cuomo Administration. How will you restore the trust in the Executive Office being that you are a part of the Cuomo Administration . First of all, many people have supported the policies of the Cuomo Administration. There is a strong legacy of accomplishment. I was out there fighting in the streets to raise the minimum wage. I was out there fighting for paid family leave. Ive been the champion of policies to eradicate the specter of Heroin And Opioid abuse, something that has touched my family personally. Child care issues, ive been out there making the announcements of affordable housing, clean energy, economic development. So that will continue. Those policies will continue and even be more enhanced. But with respect to the particular environment and the reputation of the current administration, i think its pretty clear that and its no secret that we have not been close and ive not been associated with that. So i know the job, ive fought for the same policies, thats why im more prepared than anyone could possibly be in this position. Will you release the Nursing Home data in the Election Coverup . Will you release it. My administration will be fully transparent when i am governor. Im not governor yet. [ Overlapping Speakers ] please wait. Is there a theres not any virtuals . Im sorry to the virtual world out there. Yes, we do have a question for you, governor. Your Next question does come from Andrew Donovan of wsyr of syracuse. Lieutenant governor, can you hear me . Yes. Who am i speaking to . This is Andrew Donovan from News Channel 9 in syracuse. Home of my alma mater, Syracuse University. I was going to say youre not shy to remind people youre a Syracuse University alum, so im wondering what your message is to the people of syracuse. A couple of things, the State Fair starts in a matter of days and i think people are worried about its Capacity And Mask wearing and Vaccination Status with that big event approaching. Also, the outgoing administration said its Health Department would not be giving guidance to School Districts about mask wearing when school starts in a few weeks. Im wondering if you can address both of those covidrelated concerns and if youll see the State Fair for yourself as governor. Ive never missed a State Fair. It is one of the joys of being a New Yorker, going to the new York State fair. Ill go either as Lieutenant Governor, which is what ill be while the State Fair starts, or as governor. I understand the concerns. However, i just want to reminding everyone that im not responsible for the policies with respect to that at this time. Im still Lieutenant Governor. Theres one governor at a time in the state of New York. I look forward to returning to syracuse. Its a place i know well. Its where i cut my teeth in activism and i look forward to returning to the State Fair and eating all the great food. The Erie County fair Starts Today and so ill be at that fair as soon as i findi my way o western New York. Do you think theres i think were on zoom right now. Excuse me one minute. Governor, your Next question comes from Tara Rosenbloom of news 12. Tara, please unmute your microphone. Go ahead and unmute your microphone. Am i unmuted now . Yes, you are, tara. Okay, Lieutenant Governor, thanks 2for taking the question. This is in regards to who the Next Lieutenant Governor will be. Do you plan on announcing your pick within the Next two weeks . I expect i will. And do you expect that the person you will select will be someone from downstate . We are hearing a few names being tossed around. I love upstate, i love downstate, i love the whole state and there are so many qualified individuals. But im kind of wanting diversity but the process is still in its early stages. Thats all we have time for, folks. [ Overlapping Speakers ] thats the introduction of the Next governor of the state of New York, current Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. Some prepared remarks there, some questions from the press as the Old Cliche goes. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Lets bring in now m. J. Lee and John Av Lolon is back with us. First impression, john. I think he walked in being brisk, decisive, trying to distance herself from Andrew Cuomo saying i didnt spend that much time with him, we werent that close. But associating herself closely with the policies of his administration which have been largely effective and popular. So shes going to clean house of cuomo loyalists but continue a lot of the policies. We havent seen a governor from the western part of the state of New York in a long time, in decades, its a more conservative part of the state. But you see shes trying to set a new tone, but shes got quite a rampup to do because she has not been part of daytoday governoring. Taking that first question from the buffalo news. M. J. , she was very clear, she didnt wait for anyone to say it, that i was not close to the governor. We know that she was not in his Inner Circle and she didnt know anything about the allegations while he was in office. Right. It was clear that if she had one overarching political goal, it was to make sure that people know that she is not an extension of Governor Cuomo, the outgoing governor. That while her title might be Lieutenant Governor, as john pointed out, she said a number of times, not even prompted, that she does not have a close relationship with the governor and that she is going to be a very different administration. She even brought up in sort of a pointed way my administration is never going to be accused of having a hostile Work Environment. She also said that she was not aware of some of these allegations that have come forward about the governor. So in so many ways trying to signal to people that i am a different person and i am going to be a very different kind of governor when that takes place. Theres also the promise she made of full transparency which is applicable, especially to the Nursing Home deaths and the investigation thats continuing in albany. Of course something that people across the state and the country are so curious about. Right. And those investigations, as you said, are ongoing. For the time being i think there are people across the state who are curious and who feel like they deserve answers when it comes to these important issues like the Nursing Home related deaths during covid. There are other Things Week investigated as well as it pertains to the current governor, right . Was there personal financial gain . The use of state resources. So all of those things i think when hochul is speaking from the podium like that, she is very much aware there is going to be the question of accountability and so its good for her politically to just straight up say on day one, speaking as the incoming governor, to say i am going to promise full transparency. John. And then follow through on it. Shes going to need to fast track these investigations with full transparency. She set a couple of clear markers and shes going to have to meet those. One of them is going to be getting answers about the Nursing Home deaths and that investigation going forward. Shes going to have to create a clear contrast with the personnel and personality of Andrew Cuomo while showing Continuity And Competence with some of the policies that have worked well for the people of New York and made him until recently a relatively popular governor. And some of that popularity came during the early days of the pandemic when the entire country was watching those new conferences. She got a lot of questions about how shell handle the pandemic as well. Theres no Learning Curve when it comes to handling the pandemic. Shes coming into office with a growing crisis but a strong record to build on. Shell have to meet and exceed that. Theres also the closer scrutiny of her record. The first time that she was, im assuming, in that full Press Corps there answering questions even about the green light law. You know, this is a different level of scrutiny that shell have to face, of course. Thats right. I think this is why we saw her pressed so many times, that she is prepared. Not only did she talk about her own Record And Everything that she has been doing, but speaking to important stakeholders across the state, but also traveling and meeting with different folks. She really wanted to press that this is somebody who is going to be ready on day one. That yes, she was Lieutenant Governor but the job of governing the entire state, that is something she is ready for. John is absolutely right, when it comes to covid, i mean there is no bigger sort of Crisis And Problem that she is going to have to tackle. I think thats why she brought that on unprompted as well in her prepared remarks. Shes got to. That is the number one test for any executive right now and she knows that. This is an area where Andrew Cuomo had a 70 Approval Rating just a year ago. Reminds you a week can be a long time in politics. But shell have to pick up that mantle. You mentioned the green light law. She first came to prominence as an erie County Clerk opposing Drivers License for undocumented immigrants. She said she changed her position. That is now the Law Of The Land but its an indication that some of our instincts and Background Mine more conservative than many downstate democrats are accustomed to. She wants the message that shes ready to resonate so clear that she said she didnt want the 14 days, its not what i asked for but shell make sure to use this time to make sure she is prepared when she does take the oath. Californias governor is issuing a new order to help protect children in schools as covid cases there continue to rapidly spread. 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For the first time since june, the u. S. Is back up to averaging more than a half million new vaccinations a day, thats good news, but the surge of coronavirus is showing no signs of slowing down. The sevenday average of daily new cases is now above 116,000. More than 73,000 people are in hospitals with covid. Look at this. All this red. 99 of us, 99 of us in this country live in counties that the cdc says are experiencing substantial or high transmission. And thats prompted California Governor Gavin newsom to take on the issue of Vaccine Mandates in ways that no other state has. Minutes ago he announced that teachers and other School Staff must be vaccinated or submit to regular covid testing. We think this is the right thing to do and we think this is a sustainable way to keeping our schools open and to address the number one anxiety that parents like myself have. I have four young children. And that is knowing that the schools are doing everything in their power to keep our kids safe, to keep our kids healthy. Nick watt is in los angeles. Lets start with this new mandate in california. Reporter yeah, well, victor, as you mentioned just in the past few minutes, california becoming the first state in the nation to mandate that staff and teachers must be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. We have just heard from the california teachers association. They are supportive of this. Now, the governor was also asked will he extend this to mandate that kids are also vaccinated. He said, well, we will consider all options sometime in the future. That is not on the table for now. Now, Governor Newsom says the whole reason for this is to try to keep schools open. And as you might expect, governors in texas and florida are taking a very different tack. More floridians are in the hospital with covid19 right now than ever before. And a Health Official tells cnn, 200 ventilators have been sent to the state from the federal stockpile. The governor claims ignorance. I would honestly doubt that thats true, but ill look because we have a lot of stuff that we stockpiled over the last year and a half. Reporter and he still doesnt want masks mandated in schools. Experts who studied spread among nearly A Million staff and students in North Carolina schools say this. Theres been consistency in the data that masks can be effective in helping to prevent spread of covid19. Schools that dont have Mask Mandates should be held accountable when they put children at risk, which they clearly are doing. Reporter 1yearold carter caught covid after attending Day Care in missouri. Theres no smaller feeling than watching someone who Cant Speak for themselves go through that and you not be able to help. Reporter in baton rouge, louisiana, there are more kids with covid in the icu now than ever before. In all of june, they say 22 kids. In just the first week of august, 63. We are not doing a great job in keeping our kids safe. We need to do better. Reporter with masks and shots. Skid rows Sebastian Bach among the tiny fraction of the vaccinated to catch covid. His message. Why i say thank god for the vaccine is because its been a very mild case. I dont understand politicizing medicine. It doesnt make sense to me. So i would my advice to the fans would be get the vaccine. Reporter delta, american and Southwest Airlines just announced they will not require their staff be vaccinated. Airlines, which have always sort of led on safety, deciding that thats no longer a priority really strikes me as an odd decision. Reporter in the u. S. There are plenty of shots to go around. Most other countries like india, far less fortunate. Hesitancy, if youll forgive me, is a very polite understated word to describe Self Indulgence and bad behavior in my opinion. Reporter 175 experts just wrote to President Biden urging an uptick in manufacturing vaccines for export. Deltas spread in the developing word, they say, is an omen that highlights the risk of newer emerging variants, some of which may turn out to be resistant to current vaccines. The cdc puts out what it calls an ensemble forecast, what things will look like in the Next few weeks. That forecast right now suggests that hospitalizations and deaths are going to rise over the Next four weeks. But forecasts can be wrong, forecasts have been wrong, so lets hope that this one is wrong. Victor. Nick watt there in california for us. Nick, thanks very much. Lets go to louisiana where officials say the state is going through a fourth covid surge. Of all states, louisiana ranks in the top five for the most new cases reported tuesday, with more than 6,000 new infections and its ranked 47th of 50 for the percentage of its population thats fully vaccinated. In shreveport, a Nurses Plea for vaccine goes viral. The state Health Department tweeted out a clip of fleecia crofts video. People are younger and sicker and we are intubating and losing people that are my age and younger. People with kids that are my Kids Age that are never going to see their kids graduate. I cant explain the feeling of defeat when you do everything, you pour everything into a patient and its not enough. And then to know that they could have gotten vaccinated and it could have made a difference. Felicia croft joins me now. I thank you for spending a few minutes with me. Youve worked in the Covid Unit for the entire pandemic, as you said in that video. And over a year and a Half Youve seen climb after climb. This is the fourth surge. How bad is it there now . Your worst days youre saying are happening in august. So the thing that makes these days so hard is that, you know, before in the beginning, it was mostly elderly population. People that had chronic conditions, been sick for a long time. People that had been able to see their families grow. Dads that had walked their daughters down the aisle. You know, that had lived lives of love, full lives. But this wave, this group of people that were seeing havent done those things. They havent had the chance to get their daughter ready for prom or to teach their son how to drive a car, to be there with their daughter when she delivers her first child. You know, that is what has made this so much harder. And were seeing a lot more patients that are you know, people that i may have graduated with. Im only 34. And i have a lot more things that i want to do with my kids and with my family. That is what has made this just so rough. So what are your conversations with these people who are your age who have so much life ahead of them . Are they vaccinated, unvaccinated, and what are you talking about with them . I am vaccinated, you know, and weve seen some that are vaccinated and mostly more that arent. You know, sometimes people ask me what made me decide to get the vaccine. As a nurse, as a mom, as a church member. And i did a lot of research, because like a lot of people that i know and a lot of people that may be watching this, i didnt trust the vaccine at first. I felt like how does it take so long for us to develop treatment and all of a sudden we have this vaccine like magically. Whats the deal . Something doesnt seem right. So i did my own research and i talked with doctors. Weve got some amazing infectious disease doctors at our hospital. This is their specialty. I talked to them, i talked to local doctors that ive known for a long time and i trust, you know, with my family, why wouldnt i trust them with myself. The more i researched, the more i saw that this is not new technology. You know, im a firm christian and i believe that god is never taken off guard. The more i prayed about it and researched and really sought him and sought peace about it, the more i saw that he laid the foundation for this treatment long ago. When i was, you know, 3 years old, they started doing research for what were using now to help people. And i felt peace about it and i got my shot and i hope that makes some of the people that are my age feel the same way. You mentioned your family. I understand you have a 14yearold daughter, macy. I do. And she came to you with a request for her friends parents who are in the hospital with covid. Tell me about that. So she came into my room one night. She said, mom, i need to talk to you. So we shut the Bathroom Door so it was just us. She said, mom, my friend called me and she just asked us to pray. She kind of told me what was going on. I had not been back to work yet so i didnt know anything about what was going on. But we prayed for them. That brought a whole new level to this for me because its spilling out of my workplace and into my home. My kids are hurting for their friends, for people that they love. And that really plot a whole new perspective to this. Felicia croft, i thank you for not just your time but the work youre doing. I can only imagine how difficult it is to climb these peaks again as there are surges for the fourth time in louisiana, and there is a vaccine that can prevent a lot of the suffering were seeing. Again, thank you. Thank you. So a significant Court Ruling Today just opened the door for democrats in their long fight to get access to donald trumps Tax Records. Well talk about that in a moment. Oh are you using liberty Mutuals Coverage Customizer tool . So you only pay for what you need. Sorry . Limu, youre an animal only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Rock the boat dont rock the boat, Baby Rock the boat dont tip the boat over here we go. Dont rock the boat, Baby Rock the boat see disneys jungle cruise. Its time to rock the boat, america. Gong Rings this is joe. Combative Yelling he used to have bad breath. Now, he uses a capful of therabreath fresh breath oral rinse to keep his breath smelling great, all day long. Combative Yelling therabreath, its a better mouthwash. At walmart, target and other fine stores. A major Court Ruling is opening the door for democrats. The federal judge in washington says that House Lawmakers can now access some of former president trumps tax returns an records. So break down what does this ruling mean . Right. What the judges ruling here is that the house democrats can get some of the records that are belonging to the former president and the judge narrows it in some key ways. However, the big picture here is trump didnt want the records getting turned over and some will be being turned over. As it relates to the Trump D. C. Hotel, thats a property thats leased from the federal government. So the judge here is saying that the democrats have a right to the records that relate to that hotel, that Lease Arrangement from the former president , that relate to the company and the hotel. Now, another area that the oversight is looking at is the issue of emoluments. The judge is saying you can have the records from 2017 to 2018 because thats the period that trump was in office. Could they subpoena any offices relating to the broad section of companies because theyre made up of dozens of companies from 2011 to 2018, you cant have access to the records that precede his time in office. So we expect there will be an appeal from the trump attorneys, of course. Right. We have reached out to the trumps attorneys for except and i think theyre just getting the ruling but their pattern of practice is to appeal the cases. This went up to the Supreme Court once already, so i dont imagine theyll be backing down right now. Thank you. Three major Airlines Wont require vaccines for their employees. I will talk to the ceo, Next. 92 saw visibly firmer skin in just 4 weeks. Neutrogena® for people with skin. You founded your Kayak Company because you love the ocean not spreadsheets. You need to hire. I need indeed. Indeed you do. Indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. Visit indeed. Com Hire Amtrak announced today that all workers must be fully vaccinated by November 1st and new hires must show proof starting in october. Those who do not comply must produce proof or have weekly negative results. Southwest, delta, American Airlines are just encouraging the workers to get their shots and lets bring in the ceo of united airlines, scott kirby. He attended a meeting with President Biden and others on ways to get more americans vaccinated. Youre out front as i said. American, delta, southwest, have not done this yet. How far or how long until you expect they will have to . Well, rather than talk about this specifically, i was really encouraged at the meeting with the president today. Im also encouraged to see more companies, more organizations, the pentagon, requiring vaccinations and i think not just in aviation, but this is going to be you know, a few weeks from now, this is something thats widespread across the country because its a basic safety issue. The facts are that youre about 300 times as likely to die of covid if youre unvaccinated than if youre vaccinated and given that, i think that this is just inevitable that safety is going to win the day and this is largely going to become a requirement at most places of employment. I know this is not why you did it likely, but does it give you a Business Advantage that the u. S. Employees of united are vaccinated when people are choosing which airline to fly . Yeah, its certainly not why we did this. The reason we did this is again i know a year from now, if there are people who are unhappy about me for doing this, there are some people who are alive who otherwise wouldnt have been because we required the vaccine. And i dont know if it will help us or hurt us in the short term, but in the long term, again, i think most companies are going to follow eventually and i hope its not a competitive advantage for us because its far more important for safety that everyone get vaccinated. Thats the real answer. Not just for united airlines, not for the employees of united but for our society and for the world. We have a solution to this problem. We just need to make sure that we all get vaccinated. Yes. You said in a year, there might be some who are unhappy with you. The flight Attendants Union said four out of five Flight Attendants are vaccinated. Are you getting pushback from those who are unvaccinated who work for the company . Well, certainly, there are some strongly held views, as you know, on Vaccine Requirements, and i have heard from some of those people, but i expected actually to hear disproportionately from those, and im encouraged that my in mailbox is running 101 in favor of those, employees are thanking us for doing it and some are emotional because theyre often from Family Members who lost people to covid and hearing from those means a lot to me. As were going through this. But i have been pleasantly surprised so far. Certainly some negative, but pleasantly surprised at how much positive and really excitement there is that i didnt fully appreciate before we made this announcement. So lets talk about the meeting that you were a part of with the president and other ceos today. Did the was there a discussion of Vaccine Requirements for your customers, for the flying public and then mandating that for the industry . No, this was really, you know, i was honored to be invited to participate with President Biden and he gave us half an hour and really it was impressive to me. He was listening, he was asking us questions, what have you learned, whats your experience, why did you do this . And you could tell he was and he said, he was trying to think through how do we convince people, how do we get the whole country to do the right thing and get to vaccination, and so really the conversation was focused about on that and him encouraging us and asking us to do everything we could with fellow ceos or anyone we were in contact with, to encourage others to do the same thing. So it wasnt a part of the conversation in the meeting but what do you think about the idea, our national Security Analyst Julia Cotham said there should be a Vaccination Requirement to fly in this country, as an incentive to encourage more people to do that. Do you support that . I think theres a Vaccine Requirement broadly for customers, passengers. Its a government question, but i suspect that it probably wont happen domestically. Mostly because its just it would be logistically hard to get implemented. We would need a Government Passport which some countries have done, where we have a centralized system to be able to check if someone was vaccinated, much like a passport works today. I think the logistics makes it hard, but the flip side is as more and more companies require vaccinations i think well get up to the high 80, 90 Vaccination Rate and that will have covid behave much like the flu does. All right. Scott kirby, thank you for your time. Thank you. Start of a new hour, good to be with you. Im victor blackwell. California became the first state in the country to mandate vaccines for teachers. If they dont get their shot, they must submit to regular testing instead. Sources tell cnn most districts and unions have been supportive of this Health Order and its the latest move to keep school