vaccinated. >> announcer: live from cnn center, this is "cnn newsroom" with robyn curnow. it is a pivotal week for joe biden's agenda. a $1 trillion infrastructure bill was supposed to come up for a vote in the coming hours. it has bipartisan support, but progressive democrats want it tied to the much larger social welfare and climate change bill that is still being negotiated. though the timing of the vote is sliding, house speaker nancy pelosi remains confident. >> let me just say we're going to pass the bill this week. i promised that we would bring a bill to the floor that was according to the language that those who wanted this brought to the floor tomorrow wrote in. we will bring the bill tomorrow for consideration. >> the bottom line of what's important is that we vote on it early this week. that's going to happen. >> i don't believe there will be a vote. >> you don't think it's going to be a vote tomorrow? >> the speaker is an incredibly good vote counter, and she knows exactly where her caucus stands. and we've been really clear on that. >> the votes aren't there? >> the votes aren't there. >> arlette saenz reports that president biden will have to overcome opposition within his own party to get both measures pa pa passed. arlette. >> reporter: president biden acknowledged negotiations over his sweeping economic agenda may take the better part of the week as he is hoping to get those two packages across the finish line. president biden spoke to reporters as he returned to the white house from camp david on sunday, and he expressed optimism that these negotiations would be fruitful. take a listen. >> i'm optimistic about this week. it's going to take the better part of the week, i think. >> reporter: house speaker nancy pelosi had initially promised to hold a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill on monday. but on sunday, democrats said that that vote likely would not happen. the house speaker said that she would not bring a bill up for a vote if the votes were not there. and progressives are still saying that they will not vote for that package unless there's agreement on the larger $3.5 trillion spending bill, which moderates have said they will not support in that size and scope. so the president has a long road ahead as he is trying to bring these negotiations together. last week the president hosted lawmakers here at the white house, so we will see whether he decides to do that in the coming days as his domestic agenda is really entering crunch time and one of the most critical stretches of his presidency this coming week. arlette saenz, cnn, the white house. >> for more on this, let's turn to jessica levinson, a professor of law at loyola law school in los angeles. lovely to have you on the show. this is a huge week. president biden is optimistic. you heard him there. what happens next? what is the critical moment? >> the critical moment is when we all look at nancy pelosi and we decide whether or not she actually is -- or we see whether or not she is actually going to bring something to a vote because i think if we've seen anything from her years as speaker, it's that she's not going to bring something to a vote until she knows it's going to pass. and if she doesn't know it's going to pass, then we're going to wait a while. so i really do think all eyes are going to be on nancy pelosi. that's in part how president biden has frankly governed, and she has a herculean task here of trying to keep this caucus together, trying to keep both sides, the progressive side saying i don't want to do anything until we go big with that $3.5 billion package, which frankly i think is a non-starter. and then the moderates saying, not so fast. we need to move more slowly. let's pass what we can. >> also let's never underestimate nancy pelosi. but that said, was tying these two bills together a mistake? >> you know, i'm going to kind of punt on that and say that will be a better question to answer -- or an easier question to answer next week. >> you don't have a crystal ball. >> it's a great question. i wish i knew the answer. and the answer, of course, is when we can look back, we'll say, that was a genius move. what incredible strategy. or we'll say, that was really the thing that caused all of this to unravel. and a lot of it is, again, going to depend -- we come back to nancy pelosi. we come back to her skills as a speaker, come back to her ability to keep this caucus together. >> obviously a lot of focus here is on the politics, on what we're seeing in terms of divisions within the democrats. but i think it's important, isn't it, just to understand what these bills are about. i mean the infrastructure bill, for example, we're still driving on roads built by fdr and his new deal and infrastructure push decades ago. there's bipartisan support for the infrastructure bill. could it be sacrificed by game-scoring by the progressives, and what's the implications of that? >> so it could be. i don't think it will be, but it's very important to keep our eyes on the prize and to keep our eyes on reality. and the reality, as you said, is that we are all living in a very, very old house in america, and the plumbing's not good, and the electricity is not great, and we need to repaint. that's what the infrastructure bill essentially acknowledges, and that's what everybody across the aisle acknowledges, which is it's our roads, it's our highways, it's our bridges, it's our rail system. it's all the basic building blocks. if the progressive democrats can, in fact, torpedo that, then i think it will show an enormous amount of strength on their part, but it will also, i think, be a problem for president biden going forward. he will, in a sense, be held hospi hostage by that wing of the caucus. >> and of course galvanize republicans ahead the midterms. let's talk, then, about the other bill. i mean, again, sweeping, huge impact for the nation. social safety net, climate change as well. from your perspective, what stands out about this? wishful thinking? >> i'm sorry. so this is what president biden ran on, right? he said elect me to office, and i will do these things. we are going to revolutionize child care. we're going to create a much stronger safety net. i'm going to put climate change as one of my top priorities. and all of this will mean spending, and he was honest about that. we have a democrat in the white house. the house is controlled by democrats. the senate by the slimmest of majorities is controlled by democrats, and i don't think voters in the midterms are going to be particularly forgiving if given all of those things, president biden was not able to seal the deal, was not able to come through on this, arguably one of his biggest campaign promises. his promise really was, elect me, and i'm going to heal the soul of this country, and i'm going to change this country by doing a lot of things in this big package. if he can't do this, i think it's a huge blow going into the midterms. >> a big deal being made about the timing this week. even mr. biden was saying, you know, listen, it's going to take the better part of this week. so we're all going to be keeping an eye on the clock. when does the coach turn into a pumpkin? how much time as he got? >> well, i think this is a little bit of a self-imposed deadline. so there are some deadlines where obviously if you think about things like the debt ceiling, a separate issue, if you think about infrastructure, if you think about our ability to pay bills, pay for these programs, yes, we have real deadlines. but we've heard him say, we've heard nancy pelosi say this week, this week, this week. he can't -- he can't pull this along for too -- we can't go too much longer until it looks like a failure either way. >> jessica levin son, really appreciate you joining us. always great to get your analysis. thanks so much. have a great week. >> you too. so republican senator tim scott is blaming the democrats for these failed negotiations on police reform, on a police reform bill. there were nationwide protests and calls for greater accountability in policing after the murder of george floyd in minneapolis last year. scott said democrats walked away from negotiations after attempting to defund the police. >> we have about a billion dollars in grant money that goes to police. when you start saying in order to receive those dollars, you must do a, b, and c, and if you don't do a, b, and c, you literally lose eligibility for the two major pots of money, the burn grants and the cop grants, when you tell local law enforcement agencies that you are ineligible for money, that's defunding the police. there's no way to spin that. >> again, it's unfortunate. you remember on this saga, we got the head of the flp, the director of flp, iacp. these are some of the biggest unions and law enforcement agencies to go with us on a lot of common sense reforms. those folks don't want to defund the police. this is a bill that would have had millions of dollars for police departments. pfizer is ready to ask the fda to authorize use of its covid vaccine in children ages 5 to 11. now, pfizer's ceo says his company will be submitting data within days, not weeks. the fda will then review the data and if they authorize it, vaccine advisers at the cdc will decide whether it should be recommended for younger children. >> if they approve it, we will be ready with our manufacturing to provide this new formulation of the vaccine because the vaccine that the kids will receive, which is 5 to 11, it is a different formulation. it is almost -- not almost. it's one-third of the dose that we are giving to the rest of the population. >> of course as more americans get vaccinated, the country will move closer to herd immunity. but according to the cdc, only a little more than 55% of the total u.s. population is now fully vaccinated. the cdc says adequate rates of vaccination could help prevent the rise of new covid mutations. here's more from the former fda commissioner. >> i think on the back end of this, you're not going to see the same level of extreme death and disease that we're experiencing right now after this delta wave courses through the country. the reality is everyone in the country or most people are going to end up with immunity from coronavirus. some people are going to choose to acquire it through vaccination. some people are unfortunately going to acquire their immunity through no choice by getting infected. this delta infection isn't going to spare many people because it's so contagious. so people who choose to go unvaccinated, they're going to be very vulnerable to getting infected through this delta wave. so on the back end of this, if we're add 90% levels of community across the population, which is probably where we'll be -- we're probably at 80% right now -- you're not going to see the same level of death and disease because most people will be protected with some level of immunity. new york governor kathy hochul is preparing to address potential medical staff shortages due to the state's health care vaccination mandate. the deadline for health care workers to get vaccinated with at least one covid shot is monday. the governor is considering a potential state of emergency, which would allow the government to deploy medically trained national guard members as needed. last week, cdc director rochelle walensky broke with her own advisers at the cdc and recommended boosters for americans who live and work in high-risk settings. on sunday, she defended her decision. take a listen. >> where there was some real scientific discussion and a scientific close call was for those people who are at high risk by virtue of where they live or where they work. because of that close call and because of all the evidence we reviewed both at the fda and at the cdc, i felt it was appropriate for those people to also be eligible for boosters. >> you're watching cnn. still ahead, the first official results from a landmark election in germany and what it means for the future of europe's largest economy. we have that key story. plus this. a volcano in the canary islands has been erupting for more than a week now. why officials say it will continue until christmas. g adves and their suv is always there with them. so when their windshield got a chip, they wanted it fixed fast. they drove to safelite autoglass for a guaranteed, same-day, in-shop repair. we repaired the chip before it could crack. and with their insurance, it was no cost to them. >> woman: really? >> tech: that's service you can trust, when you need it most. ♪ pop rock music ♪ >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ national university has been focused on the future of higher education for over 50 years. we believe the future is accessible, so we offer four-week classes, online options, and over 75 career-focused programs. and we believe the future is affordable, so we offer 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(vo) at t-mobile for business, unconventional thinking means we see things differently, so you can focus on what matters most. whether it's ensuring food arrives as fresh as when it departs. being first on the scene, when every second counts. or teaching biology without a lab. we are the leader in 5g. #1 in customer satisfaction. and a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all. without trade-offs. unconventional thinking. it's better for business. welcome back. so we are getting our first look at the early results from the landmark election in germany. take a look at the numbers. here they are. they show the left-leaning social democrats winning the most seats, eeking out a narrow lead over the conservative bloc. it marks something of a sea change for the sdp, which has played second fiddle to mrs. merkel's party during recent years. olaf scholz, the social democratic party's candidate, addressed reporters on saturday. >> translator: this is going to be a long election evening, that's for sure. but it's also certain a lot of voters have ticked off in favor of the sdp because they wanted a change, and they wanted the next chancellor named olaf scholz. >> but the cdu's candidate, the party's designated successor to angela merkel, says he's not ready to throw in the towel. here he is addressing supporters on sunday evening. >> translator: we cannot be content with this result. the outcome of the election is still quite unclear. it's going to be a long night. for a first time, i assume there will be a federal government with most likely three coalition candidates. we from the cdu, we have been obtaining a very clear mandate from our voters. a vote for the cdu is a vote against a left government. now it's all about one thing, to forge a stable coalition for a strong and modern germany. >> building a new ruling coalition is likely to require members of both parties, of other parties as well like the greens and the fdp. leaders say they hope to have a new government in place by christmas. till that happens, mrs. merkel will remain in power. i want to talk about this with european affairs commentator dominick thomas. he joins us from berlin. it's fascinating because it's a new era for europe, and i do want to talk about that in just a moment. but as we pass these numbers, mrs. merkel's party has taken a hit. is that because voters have voted against her and her legacy? >> it's a great question. if you put it in a longer historical context, you can see that back in 2005 when angela merkel first became chancellor, her party and the coalition with the spd, had about 70% of the parliamentary seats. that dropped in 2017 to them barely being able to achieve a coalition. and you've seen further erosion in this election. they didn't just not win or come out ahead. they've scored their worst score in the history of this parity. back to your question, this means about 76% of the german people did not vote for the cdu. so, yes, there's the departure of angela merkel. but i think there's also the fact that they failed to find a successor and that there's been a rise in these other political parties that i think better reflect the pulse of where the german people are today and where their priorities are, and it is a vote to move away from cdu leadership, to put them back into opposition and to pave a way for a new kind of germany with a new focus on new issues. >> and that's certainly the case, and it's not just about the politics or even the social shifts that we're seeing, but also about even creating this government. you're going to see the kind of coalition, messy coalition politics that perhaps you see in scandinavia, for example. there's so much change coming for germany. >> there is. you point to scandinavia but it's been the story. we saw it the french elections -- >> across europe. >> yeah, exactly, across europe. and the netherlands and these historically long coalition talks. it also increases a greater fragility. with that, i think you also get that enhanced focus on domestic issues as these kind of fractured parties endeavor to appeal to a much broader electorate rather than focus on, say, foreign policy. so in this particular case, it's interesting to see that the spd and their two perspective coalition partners, the centrist fdp and then the greens are the only three in this election to have actually gained seats whereas the others have lost seats. and they didn't just gain seats. it looks like they're going to gain about 100, which is a really substantial kind of shift in change. and i think it really makes that conversation the only sort of salient coalition talk moving forward. and i don't think the cdu can really be part of that and that they cannot expect, after 16 years and this appalling performance, to continue to play a role moving forward over the next four years. >> yeah, it's certainly an end on so many levels here. i want to go back to that original europe question. so you're talking here about a fragmentation of german politics in line with patterns we've seen in europe and elsewhere, it must be said. so what does that then mean for europe because in many ways germany and mrs. merkel herself, so east german, so steady, so rock solid, has sort of held up europe in many ways. what does it mean now that germany might be a little bit more loosey-goosey politically? >> yes. that's a great point. what's so fascinating is without any discussion of the far-right afd, but if you look at the main parties, it's not as if they are anti-european union. they just have differences on the levels of integration, fiscal policy and so on. when it comes to the question of climate, they all agree it's important. it's just about kind of degrees. so we have to qualify the level of change. but in many ways, the story of merkel is the story of the first 20 years of the 21st century. we have to keep repeating this. when she first became chancellor, george w. bush was the president of the united states and tony blair was the uk prime minister. and she's seen and worked with nine of them during that period. and that 21st century story, particularly when it came to europe, was about the european central bank. it was about the european currency. it was about the so-called migrants crisis. it was about populism and the far right. and in many ways, we've moved on from those questions. there are other issues and concerns, and i think that that therefore puts pressure on this new government, whatever its formation is going to be, to start dealing with a whole range of domestic issues in germany which one could argue have been put to the wayside as they focused on kind of international policy, stability, and so on. >> like what? give us an example. what have germans voted on? >> well, they've voted obviously on the whole question of greenhouse emissions and so on, and germany, you could argue, is behind on that. and that's a priority to varying degrees, an absolute priority for the greens, an important issue for the fdp, but not as urgent, and certainly one for the spd. when it comes to infrastructure, it's actually extraordinary that a country like german that is so industrially developed is so poor in the digital environment, connectivity, internet, and so on. it has a real problem in terms of labor, training skilled workers, moving into the areas of artificial intelligence and actually recruiting people for their companies. that's another issue that's extraordinarily important. but also schools need attention. the public transport infrastructure grid needs attention. there are a whole range of issues which the german people weighed in on in these different political parties, in these different agendas that they went about supporting and that we see in this spread, in this proliferation of smaller parties scoring in the teens and low 20s. >> much has been made and certainly it's going to be a huge part of her legacy about mrs. merkel allowing in a million refugees, mostly from syria a few years back and the sort of political implications of that. was that an issue particularly around immigration and integration and also because we've seen an increase and a rise of the far right. how much currency did they get? >> so very little this time around compared to 2017. in 2017, you had, you know, not only did they emerge as the second most important party in the former east, but the third most important party in germany. today they're the fifth party. they dropped. what's interesting is that in the east, of course, many of the issues around, say, immigration, identity, islam also end up focusing around questions of unemployment. but let's not forget they also did well in the west at the time, when you could argue that income disparity was not the issue, that racism and xenophobia were. this time around they've dropped. my greatest concern going forward is i don't see a path for the cdu going into power this time around. i don't think that their track record, their performance allows for that. the question is as they essentially politically implode, as they rethink their identity, it is clear that many elements in the cdu are going to want to move towards capturing or recapturing some of the electorate that went to the afd. and even though the issue right now has been moved to the back burner, it is likely that it will be given a new kind of oxygen if that becomes the focus of the cdu/csu. we've seen this happen in britain with brexit. we've seen this happened with the french where the french right and the french far right are increasingly closer, and so many of their ideas and agendas have been mainstreamed. so i think that's something we need to be looking out for. >> yeah. where we've seen the narrowing of the narratives. thanks so much, dominick thomas, in berlin. fascinating talking to you. this really is a real change on so many levels. appreciate it. >> thank you, robyn. i want to show you this. look at this dramatic video of a church collapse in the canary islands. the building was on the island of la palma where a volcano has been erupting for more than a week now. the lava engulfed the church, causing it to crumble to the ground. hundreds of homes and businesses have been destroyed since this volcano first erupted. certainly dramatic pictures. >> officials warn that the volcano in la palma is getting more dangerous, and experts lava explosions will last another three months. i want to show you live pictures now. goodness, look at these images. nearly 7,000 people have been evacuated. this is what they're living near. residents, though, are in limbo as flights remain canceled for a second straight day. drones flying near the volcano, which got us these images, show that the cone has broken, which essentially means opening a new explosive vent. these are images we will continue to monitor as i said. still to come on cnn, family and friends in the u.s. honored the life of 22-year-old gabby petito on sunday as the search for her fiance continues. plus montana's governor has words of comfort for the victims of the amtrak train derailment as federal investigators look at what caused the deadly incident. we have the details on that as well. >> tech: every customer has their own safelite story. this couple was on a camping trip... ...when their windshield got a chip. they drove to safelite for a same-day repair. and with their insurance, it was no cost to them. >> woman: really? 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(announcer) visible. unlimited data as low as $25 a month. or bring a friend and you both get a month for $5. wireless that gets better with friends. family and friends of gabby petito gathered today to celebrate her life and her sense of adventure. a public memorial service was held on long island, new york. it was one week ago that gabby's remains were found in national forest in wyoming. her heartbroken father spoke at today's memorial. >> the entire planet knows this woman's name now, and she's inspired a lot of women and a lot of men to do what's best for them first. put yourself first and do it now while you have the time. i couldn't be more proud as a father. >> police and the fbi are still searching for gabby petito's fiance, brian laundrie. alison kosik was outside the memorial in holbrook, new york, and filed this report. alison. >> reporter: this kind of outpouring that we saw for 22-year-old gabby petito's memorial service really speaks to how much her story resonates not just in this long island community but across the country and around the world. this was a five-hour memorial service, and during the time that the service was going on, there was even a line that snaked around the building. people waiting over an hour to get in and pay their respects, and many people didn't even know gabby personally. but they wanted to come in and give their regards. gabby's father gave a eulogy, and so did her stepfather. i did speak with her great aunt, who talked about the heartbreak. >> this is so heartbreaking, what happened to her, and we love her, and we know she's at peace right now. she was a beautiful, beautiful soul. you could see it. why do you think all of this is happening? she was a beautiful soul. she was a beautiful person. >> reporter: inside the memorial were pictures of gabby that lined the walls, including flowers. sunflowers as well. we're told that sunflowers were were her favorite. we learned from the funeral director that people came from as far as texas and california, flying in, and they didn't even know gabby. alison kosik, cnn. u.s. transportation investigators are on the scene of a deadly train derailment in rural montana just south of the u.s./canada border. they are looking for what caused eight cars of the amtrak passenger train to derail, killing three people, hospitalizing seven others. montana's governor called it a heartbreaking event and said all passengers had been accounted for. the railway released a statement on behalf of its ceo saying, quote, we have no words that can adequately express our sorrow for those who lost a loved one or who were hurt in this horrible event. they are in our thoughts and prayers. natasha chen has more on the disaster. >> reporter: officials say at least three people have been killed with more injured as rescue crews work to help passengers of these overturned train cars. the am track embeyer builder 727 had taken off from chicago headed towards seattle. a trip amtrak says on its website that allows passengers to experience the rugged splendor of the american west, including major portions of the lewis and clark trail. at around 4:00 p.m. mountain time on saturday near joplin, montana, the idyllic scene turned to tragedy. >> it was probably 10 or 15 seconds of rocking back and forth and tons of noise. and then we came to a stop. >> reporter: megan vandervest was taking a nap in one of the front sleeper cars that did not derail. amtrak said there were approximately 141 passengers and 16 crew members. the train had two locomotives and ten cars in total, eight of which derailed. >> i would describe the experience as kind of like extreme turbulence on an airplane, but like louder. and there was kind of a lot of smoke smell. >> reporter: she said there was silence in her car and that passengers evacuated within ten minutes. it wasn't until she got outside that she realized the extent of the problem. she says while the front cars weren't affected, she could see one a couple of cars behind that had derailed and sat between two tracks. then -- >> the one behind that one had, like, completely tipped over and fallen over. that was kind of the most shocking part. like immediate shock when we got off because we didn't know anything that significant had happened. >> reporter: photos from her and other passengers show several cars on their side. she said there were also passengers in front sleeper cars who were worried about their loved ones riding in other parts of the train. >> the mood was very, like, disconnected. i think a lot of people were just trying to process what happened. not really understanding, especially the people who were in cars that had tipped over. you know, they were kind of coming out of it, not even knowing what to think or how to process what just happened to them really. >> reporter: natasha chen, cnn, los angeles. coming up, a return to harsh and ruthless punishment dashes hope of change within the taliban. what it means for afghanistan and other extremist groups. that story just ahead. plus we'll look at where the russian mercenaries will be headed to mali as the prime minister says the west african country has reached a breaking point. #1 in customer satisfaction. and a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all. trelegy for copd. ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze drifting on by you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ it's a new dawn... ♪ if you've been taking copd sitting down, it's time to make a stand. start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of 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have you on the show, sir. was there any doubt that the taliban would change, be it 2.0, softer version? they tried to say they would change, but really was it likely? >> the taliban ideology has not significantly changed from the period of 1996 to 2001, the international community, the regional countries continue to watch taliban, whether they will return back to beheadings, amputations, and stonings, lootings. the old way they conducted business. >> they executed people that they said were criminals and hung their bodies in public squares. that sounds familiar and certainly an awful blast from the past for many afghans. >> yes, absolutely. the people in afghanistan are suffering from a fear psychosis, whether they will return back to the earlier period where taliban conducted unspeakable atrocities and also destruction of cultural s sites, including attacks against the museums, the archives, and of course containing the women to their homes, depriving them of education and depriving women going to work. so that is why taliban continues to be very closely monitored, and what is important is for the international community to pakistan and qatar, the two governments very close to them, to work with the taliban to ensure that they're transformed. if not, certainly there can be another cause of action. >> what happens next and in terms of afghanistan as a breeding ground, as a petri dish for terrorism? you know, isis, al qaeda. do they then take root again as well? >> there are 40 terrorist organizations, al qaeda-centric groups, groups that are influenced by al qaeda ideology that have welcomed the return of taliban. it is a question of time that al qaeda will once again grow in afghanistan. there is a fight between the islamic state and the taliban at this point because there's rivalry between al qaeda and the islamic state. but certainly afghanistan has now become very important safe haven for al qaeda. >> what can be did unto stop that? >> the international community should create an intelligence alliance from the uae to japan, work with china, work with russia, work with neighboring countries to ensure that afghanistan is not used as a staging pad to mount attacks against other countries. the united states, although has withdrawn, should take an initiative in this matter. the u.s. policy now is mounting operations over the horizon, but i believe it is very important for the u.s. to once again work with allies and with friends and with other countries in the region to ensure that taliban does not return back to what it was. >> thank you very much for your analysis. so russia's foreign minister says mali plans to hire private russian mercenaries to assist with security. mali's prime minister says the african country is at a breaking point. he spoke at the u.n. of the need for a new security strategy, citing rampant terrorism and criminal violence. let's go to straight to johannesburg. david mckenzie is following this story. this is a huge deal. tell us what we know about this. >> reporter: well, it is a big deal, robyn. good morning. it was just confirmation really of rumors swirling for some weeks and months now that the malian government was looking to contract the notorious paramilitary mercenary group, the wagner group, to come into that country and in their mind secure that region in the north that continues to have very severe security issues and a great deal of impact to the civilian population. here's sergey lavrov, the foreign minister, trying to wash his hands of direct connections. take a listen. >> translator: mali has approached russian private military companies. we have nothing to do with that. this is an activity which has been carried out on a legitimate basis. >> reporter: now, there has been extensive reporting, including from cnn, showing close ties of the wagner group to the kremlin. so of course people take that with a pinch of salt. but you have this very direct criticism from the malian prime minister squarely at the french robyn, saying that the security situation is untenable, that they feel the french are abandoning them in their fight in the saw hill region. though it must be said the french have themselves saved that government several times, particularly since 2012. and the sense that the french government is going to be withdrawing troops in the coming months and moving to a multilateral force, that certainly has provided an impetus to hire potentially wagner mercenaries, which has obviously geopolitical implications. robyn. >> it most certainly does. how does mali's own -- you talked about this. how does mali's own government instability, as you said, the french have bailed them out a number of times in recent year. so isn't their criticism of france somewhat ironic? >> reporter: it is totally ironic because the mali -- well, there's been two coups in recent months in mali. the military's in control. it was a previous period of instability in 2012 which led to much of the country to be taken over by an insurgency and then by groups linked to al qaeda and isis. this band of instability stretching from mali, burkina faso, chad, and other parts of the saw hill is a massive read a headache for that region not only because of the terrible terror inflicted on civilians there, of course, but the broader implications. france currently has several thousand troops as part of an operation. they are based in neighboring chad. but heavily involved in the border region and specifically in mali. i think the french government has felt given the recent coups and the domestic pushback in france about this operation, that it's time to ease out of this conflict and move towards a european union force. interestingly, the top u.s. commander for the african command was in that region, not in mali specifically in recent days. so there's a shuffle of the deck happening, and western powers certainly will be deeply uncomfortable with the wagner group moving into mali. they've had influence and operations in mozambique, in central african republic, in libya, and their track record is mixed at best and certainly a way for the kremlin to get entrenched in these regions. robyn. >> that was going to be my next question. what does this mean practically on the ground? is there going to be an expansion, i suppose, of russian influence in africa like we saw during the cold war? and then what is the overlap with these mercenaries and their operations with, say, the french or even the americans in the region? >> reporter: it's very complicated and quite messy, and you currently have a big u.n. force as well operating in that region. one of the deadliest in terms of impact on those blue-helmet soldiers over the past few years. the bigger issue here is that this entrenched instability in the sawhel region doesn't appear to get better. you've had countries in a way look at a simplistic metaphor but fall like dominoes to this instability. increasingly burkina faso, which was a more stable country, is seeing this. the big fear is not only these countries in the sawhel face this issue, but that it bleeds over into the gulf of guinea states like ivory coast, even ghana and other countries that haven't seen this kind of insecurity. but it's a big mess, and the wagner group coming in with advisers could just make it even messier. >> david mckenzie, thanks so much. always good to speak with you. coming up on cnn, it was a dominant performance for team usa on the links. hear what they had to say after winning golf's ryder cup. ters m. whether it's ensuring food arrives as fresh as when it departs. being first on the scene, when every second counts. or teaching biology without a lab. we are the leader in 5g. #1 in customer satisfaction. and a partner who includes 5g in every plan, so you get it all. without trade-offs. unconventional thinking. it's better for business. this is mike. mike blew his entire life savings on a permanent perm shampoo 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party is just getting started. >> this is possibly way better than any other tournament that i've ever won in my entire life. just the group of people, the collective game of golf. it's so much better than just a singular tournament. it's about people coming together and doing something special for the game of golf. >> this is amazing. to be a part of this group of amazing talented players and personalities has been a lot of fun. i'm happy for captain stricks and happy to be a part of this team. >> a lot of people players have grown up with eve other. it's a special group of players. it was fun to be a part of it all week, especially here in wisconsin. >> i've lost another one, and it's painful. >> how much it hurts and how much you despise it and how much you can't wait for it to come around in two years' time to win it back. >> so for team europe, there is much to reflect upon, and that is putting it mildly ahead of the next ryder cup in rome two years from now. for team usa, it is indeed time to celebrate. it's the first time in almost four decade as they can celebrate back-to-back riyder cp triumphs, patrick snell, cnn. >> thanks for that. a history-making moment on sunday as the baltimore ravens set an nfl record with, wait for it, a 66-yard game-winning field goal. you've got to take a look at this. >> on its way. it bounces off the crossbar, and it's good! >> oh my goodness! >> oh my -- did that just happen, greg? >> boom, that was amazing. baltimore had been trailing bay point with only three seconds left in the game. when tucker kicked the field goal, he beat the previous record by two yards. thank you so much for watching. i'm robyn curnow. i'm going hand you over to my colleague rosemary church. she picks things up from here. more cnn of course continues after the break. enjoy. >> tech: every customer has their own safelite story. this couple loves camping adventures and their suv is always there with them. so when their windshield got a chip, they 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