good morning to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. it is monday, october 11th. i'm john berman with brianna keilar. and this is a special holiday edition of "new day". special because of this. >> do i hear number eight? >> yes. i just can't help it. it's so good. that is christian vasquez, the red sox catcher, with a walk-off two-run home run in the bock of the 13th. the red sox are not very good. they are leading the tampa bay rays 2-1 in this serious. i know this meant a lot to you, too, brianna. >> it meant so much to me because i knew you were going to be up late last night and i had to bring my "a" game today. >> i thought i would have something witty to say when we put this on at first. i'm speechless. when i see this, i can't even put a sentence together. . >> i'm happy that you have limitations. >> all i have is my limitations. i have to admit them. in addition to this phenomenal development, we have a positive development. drug maker merck has applied for emergency use authorization for its new anti viral drug that it says cuts hospitalizations and deaths in half for people with mild to moderate coronavirus >> if this bill is approved, it would be the first to fight viral infection for coronavirus. it could bring all of us a giant step closer to our prepandemic lives. how significant is this? >> reporter: this is really significant, brianna. right now, as we speak, if you called your doctor and said, guess what, i just tested positive for covid, there is not very much he or she could do. however, if this pill gets emergency use authorization from the fda, your doctor could call in a prescription. it is an anti-viral just like we have taken antibiotics. let's see what happened when merck put them in clinical trials. 762 participants in early stage covid. they were days away from having been diagnosed. they were not in the hospital. half of them got placebos. 45 were hospitalized and eight died. it is the pill that does nothing. those who got the actual drug, this anti-viral, only 28 were hospitalized, none of them died. those are pretty stunning events. the fda and the cdc will be going over these results. it is not 100% they will be approved. but the numbers look good. if it is approved finally, your doctor will have something to call in to make the phone call, saying i just got diagnosed with covid, doc. what can you do? >> it's really amazing when you look at the results there. elizabeth, this is coming amid a series of other developments in the coronavirus fight. tell us about that. >> reporter: it is. i want to show you a map, brianna. i have to tell you, when i saw this map, i felt like my blood pressure went down. it was so good to see. in this map, the few states you see in red, that's where rates of covid are going up. just five states. i have been on your show where dozens of states are going up. 19 are yellow, holding steady. 26 states are in green, and the rates are going down. while i just said my blood pressure did go down with that map, i will say when you listen to, for example, what dr. fauci said over the weekend, this is not the end. none of us should say this is amazing. it's 2019 all over again. that is not the case. we still have many, many americans dying every day from covid. we still need to be careful. if you haven't gotten vaccinated now is certainly the time. we all still need to be careful and do our part. >> i am having flash backs for allred and orange maps. this morning, stock futures edging lower after a near flat-line finish friday. the report shows that the pandemic has changed how people view their jobs. cnn's christine romans joining us us now to explain. we were here on friday when you simply said things are different now. >> yeah, they really are. covid essentially broke the jobs market. fixing it won't be quick or simple. a setback as the delta variant rages through the american economy. it is still a pandemic jobs market. 194,000 jobs added back. very strong hiring scene earlier in the summer. the economy is down 5 million jobs since the pandemic began. it would take two years to recover all the jobs lost. now, the issue is not as simple as companies aren't hiring. many report they are. they would hire even more workers, but they can't find them. the theory was the fat checks were keeping people at home. but benefits expired and more people dropped out of the labor market altogether. it is an unprecedented mix of factors. parents can't find child care. kids are back in school, but there are not enough school bus drivers to get them there. wages are rising, especially for front line workers. companies must pay more to attract workers. john, it's not all about the money. in a census survey, 5 million people said they're not working because they're taking care of their kids now. 3 million are concerned about getting or spreading coronavirus. covid has completely changed how people think about their family, their safety, their job. they are prioritizing and literally life goals are changing because of the pandemic. we're still in the thick of that. >> people have a different perspective on their lives. >> absolutely. >> -- than they 18 months ago. it's showing up in the jobs market. >> covid broke how we measure the economy, too. the collapse so big and the recovery so fierce, it's almost hard to even measure in some of these statistics. i think that will be a problem in the months ahead, too. >> that will keep you busy. thank you very much. there's chaos at airports across the country after southwest airlines canceled 1,800 flights in a span of 48 hours. the cancellations sparking speculation that southwest new employee vaccine mandate might be a factor, something the pilots union insists is not the case. pete muntean is live at reagan national airport for us. pete, give us the latest here. >> reporter: well, brianna, this is a huge operational mess for southwest. this is not like turning off a switch and turning it back on again. it is more akin to unplugging something and plugging it back on again. the federal aviation administration put out a rare statement saying they were not problems on saturday and sunday when they had the lion's share of its cancellations. 1,100 by southwest on sunday. 30 periods of time of its total schedule for the day. we have seen 320 cancellations for today. so this is not over just yet. you know, this real ripple effect is described by southwest in a memo to its employees. it says people and planes were on it of position over the weekend. that actually left some flight crews without hotel rooms. the bottom line here is that thousands of passengers were stranded because of this, and they're not happy about it. >> pete, obviously that's a big -- >> i suspect southwest isn't being totally honest with us. >> couldn't leave last night really because we didn't know what was going to happen. >> looking through and there's nothing, nothing, nothing through the next few days. . >> one more factor. the airline is a lot smaller than it was than before the pandemic. the airline describes that to employees. and it says because of its trimmed fall schedule, there are more people being packed into fewer airplanes. one more important note, southwest airlines pilots say this was not on them. there are rumors flying around that they may have walked off a job protesting the airlines recently announced vaccine mandate. they say there were no official or unofficial job actions over the weekend. they are really blaming this on mismanagement by southwest. >> a lot of people stranded, pete. let's hope they get it wrapped up quick. a whistle-blower on the capitol riot. details next. new details about a u.s. navy engineer who has been arrested. he's accused of trying to sell america's nuclear secrets. and dave chappelle being targeted for a controversial comedy special we're going to discuss. this is "new day". bogeys on your six, limu. they need customized car insurance from liberty mutual so they only pay for what they need. woooooooooooooo... we are not getting you a helicopter. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ it's sleep number's fall sale on the sleep number 360 smart bed. it helps keep you effortlessly comfortable by sensing your movements and automatically responding to both of you. and, it's temperature balancing to help you stay comfortable all night. it even tracks your circadian rhythm, so you know when you're at your best. in other words, it's the most energy-building, wellness-boosting, parent-powering, proven quality night's sleep we've ever made. don't miss our weekend special. save up to $800 on sleep number 360 smart beds. plus, 0% interest for 36 months & free premium delivery when you add a base. ends monday. the stage is set for a showdown between the january 6th committee and former trump aides who failed to comply with subpoenas for documents. the committee was finally able to serve dan scavino after initially being unable to locate him. lawmakers say former chief of staff mark meadows and kash patel have been engaging with the committee, engaging, unclear exactly what that means. on friday, donald trump said he did not want the documents released. he sent a formal level requesting they not be turned over. but the actual president of the united states, joe biden, is not asserting executive privilege. in other words, he is allowing the documents to be released, or wants to. this sets up a legal showdown between the current and former president over executive privilege. new this morning, a former high-ranking official for the u.s. capitol police is leveling serious allegations at two top leadership members accusing them of inaction on the day of the riot. whitney wild is joining us now. look, i know you have been working on this story for some time now. what have you found? >> reporter: well, the 16-page whistle-blower complaint is extremely detailed. and today we're going to share the details of that letter, a 16-year letter obtained by cnn, first errored by politico claiming two of the top police officials failed to act as violence unfolded and former acting chief pittman lied in some testimony to congress. the with whistle-blower said they are high ranking, served 31 years with the department, and was motivated by the assistant chief, pittman and gallagher's role but were never themselves fully accountable in the whistle-blower's eyes. some of the allegations from the senate judiciary report, the inspector general reports. but this letter addressed to congressional leadership takes tim aim here at uscp leadership and accuses congress of failing to investigate the failures thoroughly. the whistle-blower allegation that assistant chief pittman, who some may remember was acting chief for several months after the insurrection, has not been honest with congress about how threat intelligence was shared. for example, the senate report says a december 21st report accused a map of the capitol campus on a blog. they were promoting confronting members of congress and carrying firearms during the protest. a significant report. according to the senate review, pittman said that was shared with only command staff. the whistle-blower says that is not true. here's a quote from the whistle-blower letter that was never shared -- never shared it with the rest of the department, particularly commanders with real operational experience. if provided, this would have changed the paradigm of that day. >> that is a pretty stunning revelation. what else did the whistle-blower say? . >> it is extremely detailed. another significant allegation is both pittman and gallagher failed to properly act when the fighting broke out. another quote from the letter, they didn't try to provide direction or try to help from the command center. the whistle-blower claims to have been in the command center for some time on january 6th and said, another quote, what i observed was them mostly sitting there blankly looking at the tv screens showing realtime footage of the officers and officials fighting for the congress. a law enforcement official, a law enforcement source defended these two officials saying they did not fail to act but instead were focused on protecting lawmakers. no harm to any member of congress, which they have stressed was one of their main goals, if not the main goal that day. a spokesman disputed to politico that pittman lied to congress. overall, the u.s. capitol police executive team said in regards to this letter, a lot has changed since january 6th. the statement goes on to say, many of the problems outlined in the letter have been addressed under new police chief tom manger. a navy engineer behind bars accused of trying to sell america's nuclear secrets. plus, george clooney speaking out in a brand new interview. what he says about the biden administration's struggles and his own political aspirations. your skin isn't just skin, it's a beautiful reflection of everything you've been through. that's why dove renews your skin's ceramides and strengthens it against dryness for softer, smoother skin you can lovingly embrace. renew the love for your skin with dove body wash. ♪ ♪ welcome to allstate. where everything just seems to go your way. ♪ ♪ you're in good hands with allstate. click or call for a lower auto rate today. ♪ ♪ there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark. but with our new multi-cloud experience, you have the flexibility you need to unveil them to the world. ♪ ♪ ♪ love is a roller coaster. to each their own love. the vera wang love collection. designed for zales the diamond store. all right. this is quite a story. a year-long undercover fbi operation has led to the arrest of a u.s. navy nuclear engineer and his wife for attempting to sell nuclear submarine information to a foreign country in exchange for cryptocurrency. this engineer, former navy, i should say, was allegedly trying to sell some of america's most restricted sub technology. david sanger. as i said, david, this is quite a story. who is this guy? who is this couple? what were they trying to sell and to whom? >> there it really is a wild story, john. the engineer's name is jonathan toebbe. he and his wife on their own were to provide information on virginia class submarines. this is the set of secrets that the united states agreed finally to go share with australia about a month ago, the thing that sent the french government up the wall because they had a deal with australia. it's considered to be among the great secrets of the united states because this is the neck tolling that allows the submarines to run basically limitless distances and very quietly. what the indictment doesn't say, though, is who he tried to sell it to. but as you read between the lines, it seems like it was a friendly country. it doesn't seem like he was trying to sell it to the russians or chinese. >> how did they get caught? >> well, i want was a mix of some very sophisticated methods used by mr. toebbe and his wife and some really sloppy ones. so in their communications back and forth to this foreign government, and it looks like the foreign government immediately handed the package of frgz over to a legal affairs officer at a u.s. embassy someplace. they communicated with what they thought was the foreign government. it turned out they were communicating with an undercover fbi agent. they had elaborate systems to get money through cryptocurrencies. they were trying to make sure they did dead drops in parks. my favorite fact in this entire one, if you believe the allegations, john, they took a usb card, a chip, and buried it inside a peanut butter sandwich and dropped it off at a park in west virginia. this is one of the ways they did the transfers. there were three separate dead drops. it turns out they were communicating with the undercover agency. >> they thought they were doing these elaborate spy novel dead drops, and it was the fbi setting them up the whole time. >> well, setting up after they had made the initial offer to the federal government. the mystery here is, who was this? and there are all kinds of theories around. there are a number of governments that use submarine technology. used to be when this started in the 50s, it was the united states and britain. but now of course israel, south korea, turkey. many other nations have submarine technology. and you could imagine why he would have thought they would have been interested in the best nuclear naval reactors. as we looked at his military record, it turns out he spent more than a year as a naval reservist inside the office of the chief of naval operations. that's the top navy officer for all of the navy. so it will be interesting to see whether or not he learned things there as well or whether this was just nuclear engineering. . >> quite a story. david sanger, thank you so much for this. . >> 24thank you, john. dave chappelle is responding to backlash over his new comedy special. plus, kim kardashian west roasting her own family, but one joke doesn't sit well with her critics. ready for subway's eat fresh refresh™? that's the new and improved italian b.m.t.®, with new artisan italian bread, new black forest ham, and new mv- you gotta refresh to be fresh! hold up, false start on the spokesperson. save big. order through the app. ♪ we strip in the community garden. i've been stripping here for years. i strip before take-off. breathe right strips open your nose for relief you can feel right away, helping you take in air more easily, wherever you are. ♪ your new pharmacy is here. to make sure you don't run out of meds here. and with amazon prime, get refills and free two-day shipping. who knew it could be this easy? your new pharmacy is amazon pharmacy. i've always dreamed of seeing the world. but i'm not chasing my dream anymore. i made a financial plan to live it every day. ♪ ♪ find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com i know a thing or two about cars. and, sometimes, buying them can make you tight in the chest. but with carvana, i can finally breathe easy, buying my car 100% online without any tense negotiation. smells like the internet. shop now at carvana.com. when i'm not racing, i'm personalizing, just like how carvana lets you personalize your financing. you can customize your down payment and monthly payment in a matter of minutes for some truly dazzling results. financing has never felt so fabulous. discover card i just got my cashback match is this for real? yup! we match all the cash back new card members earn at the end of their first year automatically woo! i got my mo-ney! it's hard to contain yourself isn't it? uh- huh! well let it go! woooo! get a dollar for dollar match at the end of your first year. only from discover. i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. finally yasso! a ridiculously creamy, crunchy, chocolatey dipped ice cream experience with 25% less calories because it's made with greek yogurt. so, thanks for everything ice cream, but we'll take it from here. yasso audfinally yasso!ious a ridiculously creamy, crunchy, chocolatey dipped ice cream experience with 25% less calories because it's made with greek yogurt. so, thanks for everything ice cream, but we'll take it from here. yasso audaciously delicious after my car accident, but we'll take it from here. i wondered what my case was worth. yasso audaciously delicious so i called the barnes firm. when that car hit my motorcycle, insurance wasn't fair. so i called the barnes firm. it was the best call i could've made. atat t bararnefirmrm, our r inry a attneysys wk hahard i could've made. atat t bararnefirmrm, to get you the best result possible. call us now and find out what your case could be worth. you u mit bebe sprisised ♪ the barnes firm injury attorneys ♪ ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ dave chappelle said he doesn't care if he's canceled. he said he doesn't care about what he says. >> cancel j.k. rowling. she wrote all the harry potter books by herself. she sold so many books the bible worries about her. and they canceled her because she said in an interview, this is not exactly what she said. ef effectually said gender is a fact. terf is what they called her. i'm team terf. i agree. i agree, man. gender is a fact. >> joining us now is discuss this journalist and the host of the podcast tell this. mara, great to see you. i watched the closer knowing we had this discussion. what did you think of it? >> i texted a lot of people this weekend because i wanted a real sense how people were responding to it. his brilliance has always been in this really insightful razor-sharp commentary, that is hilarious. in this it felt to me he missed the mark and here's why. he spent a lot of time on trans women specifically more than just the lgbt community at large. he set up black rights versus lgbt right. you're team black or team trans. my big issue is it completely ignores the existence of black trans people. doesn't black lives matter mean black trans women matter. it ignores the presence of intersectionality. it was like watching someone perform brain surgery with an axe. the approach was a little bit clumsy. . >> how are you making sense of the fact that this is comedy, right? part of dave chappelle's thing was to make everyone uncomfortable. he compared being trans to blackface. >> yeah. >> which was a kpaer son i found very, you know, clumsy at best. and obviously very offensive at worst. >> hoarse the thing about dave chappelle. that's his brand, right? he wants to make us squirm. we want to squirm. that's part of what we sign up for when we listen to him. so i think that is exactly part of his intention. he's kind of doubling down on previous controversy. and the other thing that's interesting to know about dave chappelle, he embraces all of this controversy. he cannot be canceled. dave chappelle is under uncancellable. he already proved he is ready to walk away from $50 million. he showed fame, money and public opinion mean nothing to him. a lot of people feel comedy should be the safe space where you can push boundaries, offend, and address social commentary in that way. the question is, is it funny to ridicule the most marginalized people in society. i would say no. a lot of people did find this very funny. >> he seems to be saying there's real life and then comedy. twitter isn't real life. comedy isn't real life. but a lot of people may differ on that. mara, i want to ask you about kim kardashian west. let's look at her opening monologue. >> my father was and still is such an influence and inspiration to me. auto et because of him that i met my first black person. want to take a stab in the dark as who it was? i know it's sort of weird to remember the first place you met your first black person. >> let's talk about this. i actually thought in total she was pretty funny on the show. yeah. >> but i hated this joke. i hated this joke. what did you think approximate about it? >> i never thought the day would come that i would say i didn't find dave chappelle funny but i did find kim kardashian west funny. the target of the joke was o.j. i did think the joke was funny. she is alluding to o.j.'s guilt. her father was responsible for the acquittal. and the entire trial is the genesis of her fame. so it is this really interesting cultural thing she addressed head-on. i love how self-depricating she was. ratings were up 23%. that's what happens when you bring "360" million followers to the show. yeah. that's a lot. look, she made a lot of fun of herself. and of her sisters. she does a mean kourtney kardashian. thank you so much, mara. great to see you this morning. >> thanks, brianna. good to see you. a black paraplegic man pulled violently from his car in ohio. we'll have the story next. and switching parties to run against the state's republican governor. she will join us live to tell us why. ied turbocharger, suspension and fuel injection. translation: certified goosebumps. certified from headlamp to tailpipe. that's certified headad turn. and it's all backeded by our unlimited mileage warranty. that means unlimited peace of mind. mercedes-benz certified pre-owned. translation: the mercedes of your dreams is closer than you think. we strip in the community garden. i've been stripping here for years. i strip before take-off. breathe right strips open your nose for relief you can feel right away, helping you take in air more easily, wherever you are. when you hear, cough cough sneeze sneeze. [ sneezing ] it's time for, plop plop fizz fizz. alka seltzer plus cold relief. dissolves quickly. instantly ready to start working. so you can bounce back fast with alka-seltzer plus. ♪ i see trees of green ♪ ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom ♪ ♪ for me and you ♪ ♪ and i think to myself ♪ ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ a rich life is about more than just money. that's why at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, you're an owner so you can build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. in ohio, a black paraplegic man has filed a complaint with the naacp against the dayton police department over an encounter captured an officer's body camera. police pulled over 39-year-old clifford owensbibi his hair and arms after he refused their help getting out of the car. cnn's laura jarrett jones us. >> another disturbing traffic stop. this one late last night in ohio after they claim he left a house for drug dealing. the officers stopped his car. authorities have now released roughly 12 minutes of body cam footage that captures this encounter. the audio is difficult to hear at times. take a look at this. >> . >> not going to happen because he can't move his legs. the officer explains he can't be in the car when a narcotics canine officer inspects the vehicle. they called a supervisor to the scene. . >> i'm going to assist you. . >> no, you're not. no, you're not. you're not going to touch me. >> things are already getting tense. then they escalate. >> you come down the street. the police just pulled me of. they're trying to make me get out the car. all right. and then, as you see here, the officers pull owensby out of the car. >> somebody help! is somebody recording this? i'm paraplegic. somebody please help me. . >> worth noting here, as you hear him screaming as all of this is happening, a 3-year-old child was actually in the car at the time. the police report shows he was charged with resisting arrest. the department said they retrieved a bag with $22,000 of cash. he said that's his savings. he points out there were no drugs found in the car. he wasn't charged with any drug-related offenses. >> this is it. this is how i go out. just like every other black man i watch go out on tv. and this is my turn. the way they had treated me during that traffic stop, i only feel like i was an actor in a movie out of roots i was taught growing up about racists and slaves. i think this type of stuff probably happens all the time. i'm just thankful. if they were willing to do all that stuff while cameras were rolling, i can only imagine what happened if no cameras were rolling. >> he is saying it is profiling, unlawful arrest, illegal search and seizure, failure to read rights before taking him to jail. >> that is very difficult to watch and raises a lot of questions. laura jarrett, thank you very much. she was a life long republican until now. oklahoma's jill hoffphaoeufter is changing partners in next year's tpaoub that toral election. a big reason for her switch, his governing. she has accused him of failing to listen to public health experts and hoffphaoeufter is joining us now. oklahoma's state superintendent of public instruction. thank you so much for being with us. >> oh, thank you. and many oklahomans waking up to storm damage. but very good to be with you. >> definitely a tough day for some onning okayns there. i do want to ask you, why did you switch parties? what was the final straw? >> well, ultimately, governor stitt hijacked the republican party. there have been incredible amounts of extremism, divisive partnership and ineffective leadership. >> i know masks were a big issue for you. as top education official, you have been advocating that there shouldn't be rules against mask mandates. how big a factor was his covid response? >> it would not have signed a line to mitigate covid outbreaks in their community. as we start a school year, now the third school year where children are facing disruption due to the pandemic. and it could have been avoided. 10,000 oklahoma lives have been lost due to the pandemic and the mismanagement by our governor with his toothless health policy. what oklahoma wants is a leader who will represent all of oklahoma. and i can do that and have done that. and we have much work to do relating to our children's education and access to affordable and quality health care. >> so it's a big step to switch parties. how did you come to that? how did you feel about making that decision? >> well, you know, incident was one of great reflection over many months. and i can no longer identify with kevin stitt's republican party. it is narrow and excluding the majority of oklahomans who care about values like common sense, working together, respecting one another. and i can lead where governor stitt has been unable to. . >> what do you think about the future of the republican party? what does that hold? >> well, i'm focusing on working in the democratic party to represent all oklahomans. that means across party lines as well as we know that this decision for me is because i care about oklahomans and it tran sends party affiliation. people don't fit neatly into a tidy category. they will vote for the leader who can lead them forward. and kevin can't do that. >> joy, thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you. just ahead, william shatner will join us for an interview just before his big trip to space this week. and donald trump hinting at another run for the would you say. bill maher believes he is in the middle of a slow-motion coup. ♪ ♪ love is a roller coaster. to each their own love. the vera wang love collection. designed for zales the diamond store. ♪ ♪ there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark. but with our new multi-cloud experience, you have the flexibility you need to unveil them to the world. ♪ cough cough sneeze sneeze... [ sneezing ] needs, plop plop fizz fizz. alka seltzer plus cold relief. dissolves quickly. instantly ready to start working. so you can bounce back fast with alka-seltzer plus. now available for fast sinus relief. as someone who resembles someone else... i appreciate that liberty mutual knows everyone's unique. that's why they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. oh, yeah. that's the spot. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ overnight, china lashed out at taiwan's president for a speech celebrating the island's national day. taiwan's leader said she will not bow to beijing after china flew a record number of planes into their defense zone. will ripley live in taipei with the latest developments. this is just one more step in what has been an incredibly intense few weeks. >> reporter: and the united states is really front and center in all of this, john. at that parade, we saw really huge numbers of american weapons. f-16s flying overhead. patriot missiles. they started to increase during the trump years. china of course not happy about that at all. and also watching carefully because if they perceive taiwan is getting too close to the u.s., could that cause them to try something like they did in hong kong? taiwan's growing arsenal on full display at the national day parade to defend against a growing threat, this small island is spending big on weapons. many made in the usa. f-16 fighters, patriot missiles, $5 billion in u.s. weapons sold to taiwan last year. taiwan arms sales skyrocketed during the trump years. the hard-line stance against china, embraced by president joe biden. defending against an authoritarian china has rare support. some worry it may be provoking beijing, even pushing taiwan and the u.s. into dangerous territory. >> if you do take steps to look like you are aggressively defending taiwan, you put them in a difficult position and irritate china. . >> they are on the front lines of a much bigger battle. >> democratic countries have been alerted to the expansion of authoritarianism and taiwan is on the forefront of the defense line of fellow democracies. . >> china sent a record 150 warplanes near taiwan in just five days this month. the balancing act, calming tensions, defending democracy, and preventing a conflict that could cause american lives. >> i have spoken with xi about taiwan. >> i think it presents a challenge to any american presidential administration because you are trying to balance competing interests. >> this is an extraordinary site. four kinds of missiles rolling through the capital in front of the presidential palace. >> translator: we are able to control and make sure it does not have the motivation to do so. >> reporter: every chinese leader since now vowed to take control of taiwan. analysts say president xi jinping might be the first with a military mighty enough to do it, even as he calls for peaceful. >> translator: whoever wins taiwan wins the world. >> reporter: they are locked in disputes across the endopacific region. china has never ruled out taking back this island by force if had necessary. the peoples liberation army beginning to pose a in the south china sea. certainly there's a lot of military movement that indicates tensions are high in this region. taiwan and the united states getting closer and puts them of being, in his words, loved to death >> people have been watching this for decades talking in terms of when, not if. will ripley, we appreciate you being there. thank you very much. and "new day" continues right now. hello, i'm brianna keilar with john berman on this "new day". breaking news. it's been called a game changer. what merck is revealing about its new pill to fight coronavirus. chaos at the airport as southwest e cancels 2,000 flights,