among the trump family. three reporters won a pulitzer prize, mind you, for their 18-month investigation of trump's finances, which found that trump helped his parents evade taxes including, quote, instances of outright fraud. >> also new this morning, according to a report in "the new york times ," newly released court documents show the trump campaign knew allegations against dominion voting systems were baseless within weeks after the 2020 election and trump's legal team continued to peddle false allegations against dominion. the memo was prepared at the time, giuliani helped that off the wall news briefing where the legal team laid out their imaginary case for widespread voter fraud in the election. want to bring in harry litman, former u.s. attorney and legal affairs columnist for "the l.a. times". casey hunt is also with us. i want to ask you, the knowledge within the trump campaign that this was bunk, what does that mean? what is the significance of that when these lawyers then went out there and spread misinformation and really the entire trump machine was peddling lies until this day. >> yeah, so that's right. so at the level of the trump machine, it is just a whole operating mode of raising shameless lies and, of course, they were not innocent lies. not only in the sense that they knew what they were doing, but they had a really toxic effect because they have gained purchase in the country and you have to this day people who believe them ardently and are part of our toxic politics where there is not even agreement on truth or falsity. that's the trump campaign overall. rudy giuliani, sydney powell and michael dell have been sued in defamation, meaning they knew or disregard they were lying or making false statements about dominion. we now know all of it, all of it completely baseless as you say. they never did have evidence as they asserted, but we also now know the campaign had memo and chapter and verse showing everything about dominion and venezuela, antifa, all made up out of whole cloth and simply to try to convince people that he had in fact won the election. so it couldn't be more brazen. and for them, it is really significant liability in the defamation suit and one last point they are also as lawyers ethically bound not to be lying to the public about a case they're work on, so that also means their licenses are at stake. >> the big lie case was a big lie. >> yeah. and everybody knew it too. that's the other upshot and we have been talking about this, that the campaign, the trump campaign was aware that there was nothing to back this up. there were court case after court case and state after state where people who were filing lawsuits whose faces we don't know, those lawsuits, one by one, thrown out. the reality here is that we are living in a scenario where the people who are the most hard core supporters of the former president, they literally only listen to him. and they only listen to these people like sydney powell and others who, you know, as harry rightly points out, part of why we're learning more about this is because there are legal problems for people who said these things about a company that does business in voting machines and that has been materially harmed by what has happened here. and the challenge, i think, from a broader political perspective, is figuring out how to combat that type of misinformation. and it is something that the former president from the day he stepped -- frankly from the day he started campaigning, you know, he was pretty honest about this, leslie ststahl of cbs, wh we're seeing are the very real life consequences of exactly that strategy that has now played out in our politics for years and that, you know, as you have that extensive and very good conversation with bob woodward and bob costa about their new book "peril," the peril, yes, maybe it peaked on january 6th, but it's not over. we're still in the middle of this for all the reasons that we're discussing. >> the peril remains. the last two words of the book and the big lie was the big lie then and it is the big lie now, and just as many people who are peddling it know it. that's the thing. and, harry, to you, you were talking about lawyers who do things that lawyers shouldn't be allowed to do or they know better. john eastman, a law professor, john eastman wrote this memo that was given to mike pence and others and the idea was it was a blueprint to overthrow the election. the mere fact of that memo, the significance. >> yeah. so stunning, again, especially from a lawyer, an officer of the court, someone sworn to uphold the constitution. it is, again, completely indifferent to the rule of law, completely indifferent to democracy and a really shameless and from point one, with pence, the entire six-point memo is just a tissue of, you know, tearing up the constitution. these are lawyers. and i just want to underscore what casey says, they might have thought they were kind of playing games at the time and trying to be loyal to the president who lost the election, but it really has taken hold and i think has sort of affected and polluted the -- our whole political life in a way that is really different from before. it did -- the lie didn't pass with the election but hovers over us and has people, you know, antagonistic toward one another on the most basic terms. there is not even an ability to agree on, you know, today is wednesday, or today is thursday. it is really a sorry state and it traces exactly to these brazen lies. >> one more legal question to you, harry and then casey another political one for you. the former president is suing mary trump and three new york times reporters for the 2018 tax article, this was the one from 2018, does it have legal legs? >> i don't think so. what he's really trying to say is that the new york times helped mary trump break her agreement with him. i think the agreement itself might be void for public policy, but in any event, you're not going to be able to get the first amendment folks for that. all the time you have the press basically getting people to push on their obligations and there is really good reason. in fact, now we know this as we otherwise wouldn't. so i think it is a nonstarter, meant to harass mary trump and have a news flash. >> i'm being told i have to let you go, harry. thank you, harry. casey, i do have one other question to you, which just emerged overnight. >> sure. >> which is that george w. bush, the former president of the united states we have learned is going to hold a fund-raiser for liz cheney. now, a bush holding a fund-raiser for a cheney, you know, four or five years ago, people would be like, that's nothing. now former president donald trump are endorsing people who run against cheney. wants to get liz cheney out of her seat. we have this direct bush v. trump battle going on here. >> right. and cheney's response to the former president supporting one of her opponents has been to say, bring it on. but this shows you that, you know, they know they're in for a fight here. cheney has done very, very well on fund-raising since she stepped out in the wake of january 6th, voted to impeach the former president. the challenge for her, of course, is how much of that is national, from the sizable constituency that she has, that now seems to include more democrats than i imagine liz cheney ever thought would think highly of her, but the reality it is going to be wyoming primary voters that will decide what happens here. and this clash between george w. bush and former president trump, it is one that bush was very cautious about engaging with, throughout the trump presidency, and that's why it is so noteworthy he's willing to take this on here. now, you know, my question is, i have two questions, one, will he ever campaign for her at a rally where we're going to get sound bites and pictures of him doing it because that would be another significant step, but, two, does cheney think him doing something like that would actually be helpful. clearly i thought it was -- we talked extensively about the address that the former president gave on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. it was so touching. it was also a direct rebuke to the former president of the united states. and i think it is one that resonated with a lot of people in the center of the country. but the reality is, again, republican primary voters, incredibly loyal to donald trump and a lot of them don't like george w. bush very much. in a lot of ways former president trump getting elected winning the republican primary was a direct rebuke to bush and the policies and the way that he and the part frankly of the republican party that he comes from. i think there is a little bit of that at play as well. certainly some high human drama there for these sigcions of the republican party. >> i was bush when he campaigned in wyoming in 2000, introducing his vice president nominee dick cheney, picked by dick chueney. casey hunt, thank you so much. >> thanks, john. nice to see you. house speaker nancy pelosi under pressure as progressive members of the democratic party announce they will not vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill without a vote on the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package aimed at enacting the president's economic agenda. here's what the speaker said when asked whether a vote was still on course for monday. >> we're going to get our work done our reconciliation bill as we have always said. >> by monday? >> that's the plan. that's the plan. >> -- vote against this with half of the caucus. if it is not passed by congress by then -- >> you know what, we'll all cross these bridges when we come to them. this is called the legislative process. >> joining us now to discuss this legislative process, house progressive caucus chair democratic congresswoman manila jayapal. we're seeing divisions in the caucus. is there any wiggle room on this pledge not to vote for the bipartisan bill unless you see a vote on the larger bill the democrats only are championing? >> branianna, thanks so much fo having me on. i think of it as we're seeing the tremendous unity around the president's agenda. that's what the progressive caucus is about, is making sure that we deliver the entirety of the president's agenda to his desk for his signature, so that we can make sure women are able to get back in the workforce, so we can make sure we can have healthcare and housing. those are the things fighting climate change that are in the reconciliation bill, they're the things that the president came and outlined to us in his bill build back better agenda when he spoke to congress. this is the democratic kennedy. anyone that doesn't want to vote for the build back better plan is halting the promises that we made to voters when they elected us. the -- for the progressive caucus, the most important thing is we deliver the whole thing. and so when the deal was made coming out of the senate, that the bipartisan infrastructure bill would pass, the deal was also made that the reconciliation bill would pass at the same time. we are just holding to that promise and saying that we will not be able to vote for the bipartisan bill until we have the reconciliation bill passed. i think you heard the speaker say, we're all working very hard to get the reconciliation bill done, we hope that can happen. but obviously we need the senate to do its part as well because this is going to be one preconference bill as they say. so we're not going to do separate bills in the house and the senate. we need everyone to agree. >> everyone hasn't agreed. you know that in the senate. you know had iwhen it comes to moderates in the house, there is a concern about how big the second bill is. two bills. one has bipartisan support. the other one does not. it is a bill that democrats are pushing. it is $3 trillion. are areyou to the point, you're stressing unity, but there is disunity in the caucus. i wonder if once you come to that moment will you issue an ultimatum that it is either two bills or it is no bills, that progressives are either going to say, hey, get on board with both of these, or we are not on board with the smaller bipartisan bill? >> we have done that already. and in fact we did it three months ago. we have been saying that consistently that we will vote for the bipartisan bill even though many of our members do not like what is in the bipartisan bill. but we have to get the reconciliation bill done at the same time. we have got to be able to say to the american people that we are not going to wait on child care, we're not going to wait on paid leave, not going to wait on healthcare. it isn't enough just to do this much smaller roads and bridges bill, we have got to get the other pieces done as well that are so urgent. so we have already told the speaker that over half of our caucus has said that they would not be able to vote for one bill without the other. and so we are doing everything we can to get the work done before this deadline, which i just want to say was imposed by conservative democrats who wanted to see the bipartisan bill come up first and so they put this deadline on of september 27th. that is -- we said at the time that deadline was made, that that's great, but if we don't have the reconciliation bill we will not be able to vote for the infrastructure bill. at the end of the day, our commitment is both bills to the president. >> you're saying you're willing to take nothing because it may come to that? >> well, i'm actually saying that other people are willing to crash the entire democratic agenda by refusing to come together on the reconciliation bill, which was the promise that was made. so i want to be very clear, we are the only people in the room right now that have said we want both bills done. there are other people in the democratic party who are saying we only want the infrastructure bill and maybe or maybe not we'll get to the other bill. we are saying let's stick to the deal that was made, both bills so that we can deliver real results. >> look, we know that was part of the agreement, but in washington promises are made and promises are broken. what do you say to moderates who say, look, we're the ones who gave you the house majority and this is too tough of a pill for us to swallow. >> well, you know what's really interesting, i didn't contest the description of moderate, but so many of the front liners and the most vulnerable districts are perfectly fine with everything that is in the bill and in fact they have been real champions on this, and they call themselves moderates and they say, make sure that if you go on tv, you tell people that actually the vast majority of moderates are on board with this. there are a couple of people, i don't know if you call them moderate, if you want to vote against paid leave or child care, to me, that is not a moderate position. so there are very few people who don't want this whole thing done. but, yes, they are holding it up right now. >> but your margin is so slim that you need those people. and without them nothing gets done. they need you certainly. >> that's right. >> so you're willing to take nothing. >> no, they would be willing to take nothing. >> you would both -- they would be willing to take -- they would be willing to take something, which is the bipartisan bill. you would be willing to take nothing other than both. >> the reality, brianna, is that we are willing to deliver the entirety of the president's agenda to his desk. >> why is it all or nothing? >> well, because if we don't do the rest of the package now, we will not have child care, we will not have paid leave, we will not have any of those things. you know how washington works. we are now at the end of the year. very little gets done at the end of the year, and nothing will get done next year. so if there is no -- the speaker says it best, the children have the leverage. let's keep the leverage with the children because at the end of the day, we have got to deliver something that is going to make people feel differently about their lives. and we have been very clear about this, nobody should be surprised, it has been 3 1/2 months since we put out this position, we didn't want the bills to be split into two in first place, for exactly this reason. we wanted to make sure that we're delivering the roads and bridges, the child care, the paid leave, the healthcare, the free community college, the fighting climate change, the things that are urgent, necessary, and can be done, by the way, with zero dollars because everything is paid for through taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations. that is the beauty of this. there is plenty of money in order to invest in these transformational policies that lift people's lives up and that's what we're going to fight for. >> i want to ask you, because -- about something separate, which is the iron dome, which is the missile defense system that israel uses, joint effort between israel and the u.s. and last night when the house voted on a bill to avert a government shutdown and to suspend the debt ceiling, there was actually initially going to be an iron dome -- the payment essentially it keep it going. in that bill it was stripped because this was something the democrats could not see eye to eye on. moderates are saying this is irresponsible. they're saying this is just a way to do something that is anti-israel, and that it doesn't make sense because it is a system that protects civilians from incoming rockets. what do you say to that? >> the entire conversation around the debt limit and the continuing resolution was about those two things. when you have a very narrow margin in the house, and somebody tries to slip something in, literally six hours before the bill is to be drawn without telling any of the caucus -- >> isn't that what you're doing to the senate? isn't that what the house is doing to the senate? >> what? >> inserting things that may make this difficult, right, inserting, for instance, disaster relief. >> no, i'm talking about us as a democratic party, we knew we were not going to get republican votes on this for the cr and the debt limit. that's unfortunate because it has always been a bipartisan thing to raise the debt limit, and all of a sudden even after republicans have created so much debt in our country with the gop tax scam, they are unwilling to raise the debt limit. let's see what happens in the senate. this bill was always supposed to be a cr and the debt limit and all of us in the democratic caucus worked to get people to a yes on it because we knew we likely wouldn't have republicans. at the very last minute, unfortunately somebody in our leadership made the decision to put this iron dome funding in, literally six hours before the bill was going to be released. and that just isn't the way things work around here. there was no discussion about it. no, you know, discussion about whether we would lose votes as a result of putting that in, and it was completely different from what everyone in the caucus was expecting to vote for. but, listen, i'm not focused on that, we all voted for the cr, all voted for the debt limit and that's the important thing. we got everybody there. >> before i let you go, i do just want to revisit this issue of these two bills, and the fact that progressives, yourself included, you're saying all or nothing on this. and i hear what you're saying, you're saying moderates would be willing to take nothing there, but the reality is that if the progressive caucus continues with the hard line here, there could be nothing, right? there could be nothing, there could be no bipartisan infrastructure bill, you say the children have the leverage. also, you know, in that bipartisan bill, you're talking about something that affects everyone, including children. are you willing to risk that? >> we are willing to vote for both bills. we look forward to voting for both bills. we look forward to sending them to the president's desk. this is the president's agenda. it is the democratic agenda. and anyone standing in the way of the reconciliation bill is standing in the way of delivering on the democratic agenda. that's what we look forward to, voting for both bills. i hope it happens on monday. i hope it happens very, very soon. but the reality is we're going to vote for both bills, not just one. >> and if moderates do not agree to that, it is nothing. >> all i'm going to say, brianna, that's up to them. what they do is up to them. >> that's the fact, if moderates don't come around to your point of view, of voting on the larger $3 trillion bill, then it is nothing. >> brianna, if moderates don't stick to the deal that was made to actually enact the democratic agenda, then that will be a problem. not just, by the way, in terms of right now, but in terms of what we go back and tell voters in a year, when they say to us where is the child care you promised, why did you say and get us to vote for you when you can't deliver on free community college, when you can't deliver on paid leave, all of these things, on climate change, as fires and floods are ravaging the country. are we going to step up and do something? or are we going to lower the scope of our ambition simply because a couple of people, let me be very clear, not the vast majority of the democratic party, but a couple of people are saying that they're not going to do what the president has asked us to do, what he came to congress to ask us to do over seven months ago. so we are in the fight, we're working very hard to get it done and we have actually given tremendous concessions all along the way and now the deal has suddenly been changed on us. and so, no, that is not appropriate, we are going to continue to fight for people to get what we promised. >> you say a couple of people, or maybe this is certainly a minority of the democratic caucus, but you need them. you need them to have the majority -- >> and they need us. >> and they need you. >> and they need us, that's right. >> as you're aware, they're the ones on the chopping block, right? you're not. they're the ones on the chopping block come this election. >> that's -- that's not true. and that's what i've been trying to say. the vast majority of people who are in front line districts want both bills. so if you look at the list of people who are in the toughest districts, i promise you, the vast majority of them are with us. and not all of those people that are, you know, want only one bill to go forward right now are in vulnerable districts. some of them are in democratic districts. so the reality of this is that at the end of the day, we want both bills and we're ready to work on both bills and we want to deliver both bills to the president. this is the president's agenda. anyone that stands in getting the reconciliation bill through is standing in the way of what the president proposed. this is not just some -- a small group of progressives that want something that nobody else wants. these are all transformative things where people will wake up in the morning and say, america finally has paid leave. america finally has universal child care. and pre-k and community college and can invest in people getting back in the workforce. so that it is truly an equitable recovery out of these tremendous crises that we have been in. >> and some of these moderates, you know, they would say to you, you're saying, hey, this is popular, this is a winning strategy in their district, you know they're going to tell you with all due respect, congresswoman, i know my district, i know my district better than you do. so my question to you is if, and, look, you're saying -- we can talk about whether it is moderates or progressives who are willing to take nothing, but the fact is democrats may get nothing here. and that may mean -- that may mean you end up with nothing in your hand and you're in the minority in the house. is that something that you can stomach? >> well, you're going to a place that i'm not at. we are saying let's get this done. look there are plenty of people in the progressive caucus who do not like the bipartisan infrastructure bill. it was not negotiated with us. we didn't have a say in it. we were not a part of that process at all. it was sent down and people expected to just have it be taken. the reality is when you have a narrow margin, we all have to remember we're playing on the same team. and so what i have said to our caucus and what they have all agreed to, despite not liking the bipartisan bill, given the chance, they would vote no on it, they not only think it is too small that -- but they think it really has some bad provisions in it that go counter to fighting climate change. but, if we get the reconciliation bill with the majority of the president's priorities, then every single member of the progressive caucus will vote for the bipartisan deal. and that is the way that this has to happen. i understand that there are some people that don't like some parts of the reconciliation bill, but, you know what, we just got to be big men and women, big boys and girls, and got to understand that we are a team, and this agenda is the entirety of the president's agenda that we intend to deliver to him. >> you said some democrats are standing in the way, you also said some of the democrats are not moderate. of these democrats that you see standing in the way, is the speaker one of them? >> the speaker has been terrific. we have been working very closely with the speaker. the speaker wants to get this whole thing done. she's working to get this whole thing done. i had a very good meeting with her yesterday. she has known and, again, this hasn't been a surprise. you know, she has known for months that this is where we are as progressive caucus, but also frankly there are a lot of people not within the progressive caucus who are in the same place as us. and so when we talk about what this bill is about, i just want people to understand that almost every single one of these priorities we have actually worked with those people that are in the most vulnerable districts, what you would call moderates, they have been some of our best friends, people like susan wild and cindy axne and conor lamb, these are all people who want to deliver on the entirety of the democratic agenda and these are people who are in very tough districts, but they understand that if we don't deliver on these things as well as this much smaller infrastructure bill, then we will lose and we probably will deserve to lose because we haven't been able to deliver on the things that we promised to our base. and so, you know, it has been a great pleasure to work across the caucus with some of the people in the most vulnerable districts who really do chafe sometimes when they hear it being described as moderates don't want the bill, because they're with us and as i said, it is just a very small number of people that are still holding out. >> congresswoman, thank you so much for being so generous with your time at this very consequential moment for the biden agenda. we really appreciate you. congresswoman pramila jayapal. >> thank you, brianna. >> you covered capitol hill for years and i've covered capitol hill and stuff going on in washington for years and you feel like you've seen every story before, you know how it is going to play out, i have no idea. i have no idea how this is going to get resolved. i've never quite seen this type of impasse before. and i am curious to see if joe biden, the president of the united states, of the white house today, can somehow thread this needle. at this moment, i'm not saying it can't happen or it won't happen, i just don't see how it happens. >> i think there are a lot of people in the house who say democrats too who are -- i've spoken with them, democrats who are resigned to this possibility that they lose the house of representatives, you know, so that some of these folks in opposition to this bill, it is for not. i think that's how some democrats feel, this is the shot they have, maybe to get through both of these, try to put pressure on the senate, to move al along, maybe jam joe manchin there, but it is so interesting to see how unbudging the progressives are, really both sides. >> if you think you're going to lose the house, which is a perfectly reasonable expectation, historically based, wouldn't you want to get everything passed that you can? wouldn't you then want to try to get as much done as you can as quickly as you can, not draw stuff out. >> i think that's what we, in a way, what she's saying, you may lose your seat anyway, what are you going to do with it while you have it. the gabby petito case now a criminal investigation. where is her fiance, why wasn't he under surveillance before he disappeared? 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>> yeah, and, you know, a lot of these questions are slowly being answered, you know, with the autopsy coming out and confirmation of gabby's remains. there is fewer and fewer scenarios where brian is innocent. and the fact that he remains on the run is proving the fact that, you know, his innocence isn't really there. it is really falling apart. why he wasn't surveilled as much, i think it really has to deal with law enforcement's inability because of how many states that these crimes have crossed, right? her body was found in wyoming. this likely is where the murder occurred. but he's down in florida. and so right now it really is trying to get the right evidence to make sure that the charges that they're going to bring against brian stick and i think that's why he's still a person of interest at this point. once they get him, those charges will change. >> there is this question why didn't florida law enforcement, why weren't they movre aggressie about this. this is a missing person, potentially a murder case at a point before we realized there was her body discovered. how do we know, callahan, that brian laundrie is definitely in this nature reserve? how do authorities, law enforcement know for sure that he didn't flee elsewhere? >> well, they're taking a second look at that. and they're not exactly sure that he hasn't fled elsewhere. there has been some evidence that has popped up, you know, we have seen an incredible amount of these internet sleuths and armchair detectives digging up tons of additional information, some of that pointing to places outside of florida where he may be. law enforcement is urging that that wildlife preserve as we speak, that was the last place that we know him to be. they did an initial search, but, of course, you know, they can pull out more resources, dogs, helicopters, you know, of the sort and many more volunteers as well, other agencies. and so, you know, hindsight is always 2020. i think without a body and without much information in those early stages, law enforcement didn't have much to go on to order surveillance on brian laundrie. that has quickly changed and all eyes are on him now. >> they certainly are. the story continues. callahan walsh, thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. so delta airlines has announced a new plan to get more of its employees vaccinated. starting on november 1st, employees who choose to remain unvaccinated will see a $200 surcharge on their delta-based healthcare plan every month. joining us now is dr. henry ting, the chief health officer for delta airlines. thank you so much for being with us. since you announced this plan, what's happened to your vaccination rate. has it increased vaccinations? >> john, thank you very much. it is a pleasure to be here with you this morning. yes, let's not forget the -- lose sight of how we got here. since the beginning of the pandemic, delta airlines has strived to put our people, our employees and customers first. so with the availability of vaccines back in early march, we made vaccines available at all of our locations, 13 different locations, so that our employees can easily themselves go and their friends and families to get vaccinated. and that got us to about 70% vaccination rate by june. this next thing we implemented was a financial incentive, a lottery, where we gave away over a million dollars in cash prizes, to our employees who are vaccinated, and that got us to about a 74% vaccination rate. we realized that this last group of 26% of employees who are yet to be vaccinated were quite different than the first 55,000. and we strived to meet them where they are and move them with us. so with the announcement of the $200 monthly surcharge, effective november 1st, we have really seen significant engagement and connection with our employees. many more questions and people have gotten off the fence. so in the last three weeks since the announcement, our vaccination rates have gone from 74% to 82%. that's nearly a third of -- >> how many unvaccinated employees do you have? >> so before the surcharge, we had 26% of our employees who were unvaccinated. that's 20,000 people. >> that's a lot of people. >> since the announcement, a full -- yeah. since the announcement, a full third have opted to get the vaccine. moving our total vaccination rate from 74% to 82%. it is growing every single day, john. >> so the 18,000 people delta employees still unvaccinated? >> 13,000, john. >> 13,000. why not require it? why should i, as a passenger, feel safer flying on delta where you don't require your employees to be vaccinated, where as united does? 10,000 employees, that's a lot of delta employees who aren't vaccinated. >> yeah. that's a great question, john. and i can tell you that we know how to keep our employees and our customers safe. since the beginning of the pandemic, many of our employees continue to work. they never could work remotely. since june of 2021, we opened our campuses where 100% of our workforce is now back on campus. so with our measures for masking and testing and continuing to advocate and educate on vaccinations, we had practically no spread of infection at the workplace. and no outbreaks. and with regards to airports and airplanes for passengers, we know how to keep that safe as well. and you heard about the air exchanges and air filtration and the masking mandate on the plane, but we with colleagues at the mayo clinic and emory recently published a study of 10,000 passengers flying from the u.s. to europe. during the height of the pandemic, from december to do february, where case rates were very, very high. we were able to show there is with a single test, 27 hours preflight, that the risk of someone affected infectious getting on the plane was 5 in 10,000. and with the safety protocols on board including masking, the risk of actual transmission or spread of infection was 5 in 10 million. that was first pilot of international travel that allowed passengers with a single test to travel to italy and the netherlands without the need of a quarantine and during the surge in december and january, john. >> i appreciate you being with us. thank you very much. >> thank you, john. breaking news at the border, homeland security is releasing some haitian migrants into the united states, despite repeated claims they would immediately be expelled from the u.s. cnn is live at the border ahead. and scary, but true, why a lot of americans today actually believe in ghosts. not just my 3-year-old. i became a sofi member because i needed to consolidate my credit card debt. i needed just one simple way to pay it all off. it was an easy decision to apply with sofi loans, just based on the interest rate and how much i would be saving. there was only one that stood out and one that actually made sense and that was sofi personal loans. it felt so freeing. i felt like i was finally out of this neverending trap of interest and payments and debt. ♪ in business, setbacks change everything. so get comcast business internet and add securityedge. it helps keep your network safe by scanning for threats every 10 minutes. and unlike some cybersecurity options, this helps protect every connected device. yours, your employees' and even your customers'. so you can stay ahead. get started with a great offer and ask how you can add comcast business securityedge. plus for a limited time, ask how to get a $500 prepaid card when you upgrade. call today. the heavens have spoken. and harry enten has a new podcast. he joins us now. harry enten is here. you got a podcast, finally! i've been asking for this. >> look at this. there is me, you know, me and me right here. i got a new podcast. it is margins of error. it is a break from the headlines. so if you're tired of all the sad news, this one is going to be a fun journey with learning along the way. my mom may even make an appearance on there, that should be fun. and the first episode, john, the first episode is on this. it is on ghosts. do you believe in ghosts? look at that. now 46% of americans believe in ghosts. that's up four fold from the end of the 1970s. >> i don't know whether to be excited about this or terrified by that. >> i don't know which you should be. but i should just say what's going to be fun about this podcast is we're going to explore why these trends are occurring, right? so it might be the fact that, you know, look, only 56% of americans now believe in the god as described by the bible. there is 33% of americans who believe in other higher power spiritual force. people may not be believing in god as much, but they want to believe in something. >> i don't believe in beatles, i just believe in me. what other trends are you seeing and what might explain this rise of people who believe in ghosts? >> people who are lonely are more likely to believe in ghosts. fewer than five close friends, 60% of americans say they have fewer than five close friends. that's nearly double where we were in 1990 when it was just at 35%. but, you know, the thing i think is so fun, it could also be that ghost busters came out in the mid-80s, ghost hunting shows have been very big in the last 40 years, starting really around 2000, so i think it is a cultural phenomenon, it is a religious phenomenon. but this is what we're going to be doing on the podcast, we're going to be exploring all these and help explain trends that we're seeing in real time. >> who are you going to call, harry? >> i'm going to call the ghost busters. >> harry enten, thank you very much. harry will be covering -- the rule for dating, daylight saving time, no s there, separate beds, phone anxiety and his uncle neil sedaka. that is for real. you can get margins of error on any podcast app of your choice. >> i worked really hard. please, give it a little go. >> we have harry now. don lemon joins us live next. >> harry, i'm calling you. emergency planning for kids. we can't predict when an emergency will happen. so that's why it's important to make a plan with your parents. here are a few tips to stay safe. know how to get in touch with your family. write down phone numbers for your parents, siblings and neighbors. pick a place to meet your family if you are not together and can't go home. remind your parents to pack an emergency supply kit. making a plan might feel like homework, but it will help you and your family stay safe during an emergency. all this week in a special series that we're calling champions for change, we're spotlighting everyday people who don't make the headlines, but they still smash barriers and they lift humanity up. this morning, it is don lemon's champion and his team of synchronized swimmers. don had a chance to hit the pool with coach oliver fute as they make waves for the young and old. >> you're going to help me teach them. coach fute inspires me to get back in touch with what i love. which is swimming and teaching people how to swim. water is my happy place. if i didn't have it, i would probably not be very healthy mentally and emotionally. tell me about harlem honey bears. >> it is a synchronized swim team. >> for seniors. >> for seniors. in 1975, there were only women on the team. and they said they would call themselves honeys. but then after a few years the men decided they wanted to join the team, and they decided they wanted to be the bears. so now we got the honey and bears. we do synchronized swimming and competitive swimming. some are on walkers, some have canes. but what they enjoy most is once they get in the water, they feel free. i've been the coach since 1995. a little better than 25 years. >> wow. >> my oldest swimmer now is 99 years old. >> mr. fute, he's the best coach in the world. he has a lot of patience. because anyone who deals with seniors -- >> you got to get out the way. you're taking too long. >> do you have a reputation? >> yes. i have a reputation of being too hard. but it is all in love. >> taking too long. it is too much conversation. >> some of my seniors sometimes say, well, coach, you know, we're 80 years old. i said, you are as old as you feel. because one of the words that i never want to hear on my team is i can't. one of the things i like about the team is they motivate one another. >> now and for the next generation, the harlem honeys and bears teach children and teens water safety skills through their youth learn to swim program. >> on three. one, two, three. >> it is important for all kids to learn how to swim. why is it so important for black kids to learn how to swim? >> black kids drown twice as much. they don't have the opportunity. >> they didn't want the races mixing. they fill the pool either with concrete or dirt where i grew up because they didn't want people mixing. and that's one reason why a lot of black kids didn't learn how to swim in the '50s and '60s. >> right. because only thing they were able to do was play in the fire hydrants, you know. and then sometimes they would sneak into the pools late at night and that's how all kids started drowning. >> whenever i hear people can't swim, it makes me sad. it also infuriates me because i know somewhere along the way that they didn't have someone like coach fute who took them under their wing to teach them how to swim. and i immediately want to get in the pool with them and teach them. probably around 13 years old i became a lifeguard. i helped my sisters who are older than me to swim. i helped them become better swimmers. i taught my nieces to swim in the backyard pool. get in. and both of my great nephews. >> all these things i do for my seniors and as well for the youth teams are things that were taught for me and i enjoy giving back the things that i've learned. >> can you imagine doing anything else? >> i can't imagine doing anything else or being anywhere else than with my seniors. i just love them. i just love them. those are my people. those are my peeps as you may say, yeah. >> don lemon is with us now to talk about his champion for change. that is such a beautiful, beautiful story. and it is just amazing what he is doing for the young and for the old. >> for everybody. it is important for everyone to learn how to swim. lots of people all of different ethnicities who don't know how to swim. but black kids especially and black people twice as likely to drown than any other ethnicity. and that's because of historical things, and, you know, many people didn't have swimming pools in their backyard. we were lucky enough to do that. i'm glad i got to learn how to swim when i was coming along, my sisters came along, we couldn't afford it, i helped my sisters andny my nieces and my great n fuse. water is my happy place. it is shocking when i learn that people can't swim. >> i could see it in your face during that entire piece. just how much joy it was bringing you personally. >> it is amazing. and when kids, they're afraid, right, you know, they have kids, they cling to you, i don't want to go in, then once they start to get it, their faces light up. swimming changed my life. when i became a lifeguard, i feel look i became a man and i became an adult and i had a sense of autonomy about me. if i could master that olympic size pool at southern university and coach high tower, thank you very much for everything, and the high diving board and the high, you know, lifeguard chair you would sit there and have authority over the pool -- >> you have pictures? i want to see don on the chair with the -- >> for sure. >> the speedo. >> i didn't say the speedo. >> i want the speedo. >> what is the name of this show from the '80s. >> "baywatch." >> yeah. >> i'm told. >> running along the pool. why are you wearing a swim sure the? i d i didn't want to show all the sexiness. >> coach fute, he seems like a -- he's tough. he was saying to them, too much conversation, is that when you were in the pool? >> yes, he wasn't saying it to me. but you must be disciplined when you're learning how to swim and you're responsible for people's lives. people can drown like that. it is important for him to keep tabs on people, keep them in line and watch everyone. when you're teaching people to swim, the last part is getting in the pool with them. you want to be able to stand over them and to be able to watch to make sure that people are okay. you don't want to be in the pool, because you don't have a good view. >> cnn synchronized swimming team. let's do it. >> i'm totally in. what do we call it? >> god help us. that's what we call it. >> lord have mercy. >> thank you very much. it was a wonderful story. great to share these inspirational stories all week. and tune in saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern for "champions for change", the one hour special. cnn's coverage continues right now. very good wednesday morning to you. i'm jim sciutto. nice to be next to you. >> nice to do this whole thing in person. i'm erica hill. negotiator in chief, hours from now president biden set to speak with house speaker nancy pelosi and senate majority leader chuck schumer as well as other key democrats. all of this of course as economic agenda faces an uncertain future with a major divide with members of his own party. right now liberal and moderate democrats in a fierce standoff, bin'