very, very angry after southwest cancels more than 2,000 flights over three days. tonight, passengers say some of the airlines' explanations are hard to believe. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we begin tonight with american democracy in peril as the country already looks ahead toward the 2024 race for the white house. former president trump working harder than ever to spread his big lie that the 2020 election that he lost was stolen. cnn's brian todd is joining us. he's got new details for us. brian, trump's big lie fueled that january 6th insurrection. and now the select committee in the house, their investigation is clearly intensifying. >> that investigation is at a critical stage, wolf. trump's former aides and the former president himself seem ready to do battle with the committee as trump continues to hold campaign-style rallies. >> i'm thrilled to be back. >> reporter: tonight, new concerns that former president trump, his allies and supporters continue to stoke the flames of the big lie that the last election was stolen. and are setting the stage for a worrisome period leading to the 2024 vote. trump and ha lies are in a serious showdown with the house select committee investigating the january 6th attack on the capitol. and the next few days will be critical. president biden has waived executive privilege allowing the national archives to send documents which could shed light on whether anyone in trump's white house inner circle may have been involved in the insurrection. adam schiff, a member of the committee, was asked by cbs when the committee will get those documents. >> we, should i think, get those documents soon because the sitting president has the primary say on executive privilege. but we also want to make sure these witnesses come in and testify. >> but that may not happen. of the four former trump aides subpoenaed for documents and testimony, two of them, former trump white house chief of staff mark meadows and former national security aide kash patel are said to be communicate with the committee. the third, dan scavino was finally physically served with a subpoena after several days of committee staffers trying to find him. and the fourth, former trump white house strategist steve bannon has indicated through his lawyer he'll not cooperate with the "at all, prompting leaders of the "to refer anyone who doesn't cooperate to the justice department for possible criminal contempt charges. this comes as more gop leaders seem to be falling firmly in line with trump. congressman steve scalise, the number two republican in the house, was pressed repeatedly on fox news sunday on whether he thought the 2020 election was stolen and repeatedly, rerefused to answer. >> last time, i promise. do you think the election was stolen or not? i understand you thinkirregular that need to be fixed. >> it's not just irregularities. it's states that did not follow the law set which the constitution says they're supposed to follow. >> reporter: and chuck grassley of iowa who voted to certify the 2020 election results and earlier this year slammed trump for claiming the election had been stolen stood with trump at the former president's rally in iowa this weekend and accepted trump's endorsement for his re-el re-election bid. >> if i didn't accept the endorsement of someone who has 91% of the republican voters in iowa, i wouldn't be too smart. i'm smart enough to accept that endorsement. >> reporter: trump himself at that same rally continuing to stoke the big lie. >> and actually, we won by a lot. they rigged the election and now, based on the rigged election, they're destroying our country. >> reporter: on his hbo show "real time," bill maher warned of a slow-moving trump coup. >> trump will run in 2024. he will get the republican nomination. and whatever happens, on election night, he'll announce he won. >> reporter: over the weekend, recording a video praising capitol rioter ashli babbitt on the occasion of her birthday and demanding justice for babbitt. trump and his supporters have sought to make ashli babbitt a martyr. she was shot and killed january 6th as she tried to break through a window to the speaker's lobby. investigators have concluded she appeared to threaten lawmakers and the capitol police officer who shot her has not been disciplined or charged. >> brian todd reporting for us. let's get more on this. our chief political analyst gloria borger, former ohio governor john kasich and chief legal analyst jeffrey toobin is with us as well. the author of "true crimes and misde misdemeanors: the investigation of donald trump." after the january 6th attack, republicans, including senator chuck grassley called on former president trump to take responsibility. how is it possible that less than a year later, grassley would stand by trump's side as he spouts new election conspiracy? >> wolf, craven ambition. total hypocrisy. what chuck grassley said after january 6th was even worse than what you just quoted. he accused donald trump of belittling and harassing elected officials across the country to get his way and accused the president of extreme aggressive and irresponsible behavior. and there he is accepting his endorsement because donald trump is popular in his state at the age of 88. he has decided to run for re-election. this is someone who was in the capitol that day and had to hide from the insurrectionists. this is someone who should know better. this is someone who, throughout his political career, has been on the side of whistleblowers and the other day he said that donald trump did absolutely nothing wrong in his office on january 3rd when he was trying to pressure the department of justice to fix the election. something has happened with chuck grassley, and he wants to get re-elected and knows donald trump can help him get there in iowa. >> the ranking member of the senate judiciary committee. been in the senate for so many years. you'd think he'd know better than this, but -- >> he does. >> clearly he's got political ambitions even at this stage in his career. >> a republican congresswoman liz cheney says, and i'm quoting her now, perpetuating the big lie is an attack on the core of our constitutional republic. this is an incredibly undemocratic movement, isn't it? >> let me be very specific about one threat. and this came up in steve scalise's interview with fox yesterday. one of the things that republicans are now talking about is using state legislatures to vote after the election to seek or not seek the top vote winner in that state. could be the vote for president. could be the vote for other statewide officials. but think about that. this is now becoming an official position of the republican party that republican state legislatures in states like pennsylvania, in iowa, in florida, can vote not to certify the actual results, but put their favorite candidate in. this is something that several states are considering doing, and it is shocking that it hasn't gotten more attention for the anti-democratic act that it is, but this is where we are heading, and this is what i think bill maher, you know, who may be a comedian, but he sure knew what he was talking about last night. >> it's not funny. t. >> it was very, very powerful. do you appear trump will be successful in purging any members of the gop who would stand up to him, if -- if he attempts another coup down the road? >> well, look, first of all, i like bill maher. he's been on all sides. he's been criticizing the left as much as the right. it's really been remarkable what he's been doing. i think there's one important thing to remember here. and that is, these legislators didn't do that. and i understand the push is to get them to do it. and i am concerned about it. this is one of the reasons why i was the most prominent republican to be against donald trump. to fight against donald trump and what he stood for. but i think to some degree maher, the things he had to say, he was connecting a lot of dots. and i understand what jeff toobin said but i have to also say, i still believe at the end of the day there has to be such a vast conspiracy to overturn this. you have to have the courts involved. you have to have local election officials involved. you have to have secretaries of state involved. i think it's a bridge too far. but look, it's why i've never been for trump and i don't intend to be for trump and shame on somebody like grassley. i think grassley probably has terrible advisers who are close to trump who talked this guy into this. and it's -- gloria is right about him. he's never been this way. and he's 88, searching for re-election, and it's pretty sad. >> you and i have covered grassley over these many years. it's sad to see how he's flipped in recent weeks. >> it is. and you have to say it's about his re-election but if you take a step back, what this is is about co-opting the republican establishment. that picture of chuck grassley smiling next to donald trump saying, of course it would be so smart. i'm so smart to accept this, know, endorsement. is trump co-opting people. and with grassley standing there, you can look at that and say, oh, look. he's got the support of one of the key people in the united states senate. wait a minute. that's okay. and be the what do other senators do? do they fall in line behind donald trump because they're worried? what happens next is that donald trump's agenda could become their agenda. and a lot of them don't want it because his agenda is one thing. relitigating 2020. their agenda is running against joe biden on immigration, on spending. now it's becoming the trump agenda and that can motivate democrats to get out and vote. >> with respect to governor kasich, i just think this is the republican party today. there are a few outcasts like the former governor. like liz cheney. but the entire party is falling in behind donald trump. it is not like there is some internal battle going on. they are all lining up behind this anti-democratic agenda, and i think we need to have our eyes open about this. it is everywhere in the republican party. and that's just the risk we face as we go to '22 and '24. >> go ahead, governor kasich. >> wolf, my eyes are very open about what this is all about. when there was pressure put on people in pennsylvania, in georgia, they just had an election. re-election count in arizona. nothing came of it. that isn't to say we shouldn't watch, we shouldn't keep our eyes open. of course we should. one other point i need to make before we go. bill maher didn't talk about this. he's been talking the last few weeks about the fact that if the democrats don't get their act together, and have an agenda that reflects the values of the people, that they are helping the republicans to have an overwhelming election in 2022. so, you know, this is all very interesting and -- but we have to keep our eye on it. i don't disagree with jeff, but i think america is going to be okay. >> we'll have a lot more on the democrats' agenda and what the president is doing. kaitlan collins is standing by live. we'll get to that shortly. thank you. we're also following explosive new allegations by a capitol police whistleblower of leadership failure surrounding the january 6th insurrection. cnn law enforcement correspondent whitney wild ask joining us with details. what is this whistleblower saying? >> the letter obtained by cnn and reported by politico claims that two of the top u.s. capitol police officers failed to act on january 6th as violence unfolded. the letter also says former acting chief yogananda pittman lied to congress earlier this year. the whistleblower says in this letter that a high ranking officer with 31 years at capitol police. this person came forward because pittman and sean gallagher played a role in disciplining officers for actions on january 6th, but this whistleblower feels they were never personally held fully accountable. some of the allegations mirrored conclusions of other reports but this letter takes aim at pittman and gallagher and accuses congress of failing to investigate their missteps, wolf. >> one major issue raised is the allegation that assistant chief pittman hasn't been honest about how the threat, the intelligence was shared. >> that's right. specifically the whistleblower is taking issue with what she told senate investigators when she was acting chief. she's now assistant chief. was acting chief for several months after the insurrection. according to a senate report, pittman said the department had intelligence that showed as early as december 31st, people were commenting on a blog about confronting lawmakers about bringing weapons to the rally. she said that information was shared with command staff. the whistleblower says that is not true. here's a quote from the letter. never shared it with the rest of the department, particularly those commanders with real operational experience. if provided, this information would have changed the paradigm of that day. a spokesman denied to politico that pittman lied to congress. >> what else, whitney, did this whistleblower say? >> another significant allegation is once the fighting broke out, neither pittman nor gallagher took significant action. the whistleblower claims to have been in the command center for some time on january 6th and said 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 source defended these two officials saying they were focused on protecting lawmakers and reminded us that in the end, not one member of congress was hurt. overall, the capitol police executive team told cnn a lot has changed since january 6th and many of the problems outlined in that letter have been 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lives. let's discuss with dr. ashish jha, the dean of brown university school of public health. thank you so much for joining us. all these major covid metrics here in the u.s. seem to be heading in the right direction. are you optimistic that things really are getting better, that we won't see another major surge as the weather gets colder? >> wolf, thanks for having me back. i think we are clearly seeing declining metrics and thank goodness. i think it's driven in large part by the horrible surge that we saw across the south really turn around. there's still parts of the country that concern me as we get into the winter months. certainly the upper midwest, great plains states have low vaccination rates. i think those are troubling. here in new england, i'm hoping we'll do okay because we have much higher vaccination rates but nobody is completely out of the woods yet. we still have more work to do. >> vaccinations here in the u.s., they are on the rise but that's primarily being driven by people getting their booster doses, not necessarily their first or second dose. are you worried, dr. jha, that the americans who need a shot the most -- the unvaccinated -- still aren't getting them? >> yeah, look, first and foremost i'm pleased to see people getting boosters. especially vulnerable need them. but you're right, wolf, that what is absolutely essential if we'll put this pandemic behind us is getting more people their first shot. there are about 70 million americans who are eligible who have not gotten it. that number is rising too slowly. i'm hoping mandates, as they kick in, will drive those numbers. that's going to be critical to watch. >> let me get your thoughts also on this new covid treatment pill from merck which has just submitted to the fda authorization, emergency use authorization they are seeking. what's your message to unvaccinated americans who would rather simply take this new pill than go out and get the shot. >> first of all, let's be honest. the pill is good. i'm happy. we haven't seen the full data but it does seem to reduce hospitalizations by 50%. that's great. vaccines prevent infection and prevent and reduce hospitalizations probably by 95-plus percent. so it's a whole different ball of wax, as it were. the vaccines are really the path out of the pandemic. for breakthrough infections, people whose immune systems don't hold up, the pill is an important tool. it's not a substitute for the vaccine. >> almost all of the people who are hospitalized or god forbid who die are unvaccinated americans. the fda advisers are meeting this week, dr. jha, to consider booster doses for moderna and johnson & johnson, as well as potentially mixing and matching different vaccines. do you think americans will be allowed to take a different vaccine booster than the one they originally received? >> we'll see what the data is that the fda reviews. a lot of good immuno logic reasons. but we haven't seen the data. we want to be driven by data here. we'll know a lot more by the end of the week and i'm hopeful the data will show that it's a pretty reasonable approach. >> i hope you're right indeed, dr. jha. next hour, we'll get more on all the late-breaking covid news with dr. anthony fauci. he's standing by to join us live here in "the situation room." up next -- new signs of the growing political cost as president biden's agenda remains stalled and democratic moderates and progressives simply can't iron out their differences. as i observe investors balance risk and reward, i see one element securing portfolios, time after time. gold. your strategic advantage. 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. if you're 55 and up, t- mobile has plans built just for you. whether you need a single line or lines 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yeah, wolf, they've realized there's a lot riding on the line right now. the way congress solved that debt ceiling problem last week is temporary and only delays it by a few months. now it's coming up against deadlines for government funding but also those deadlines for the president's domestic agenda and getting that passed. that is going to continue to be the white house's primary focus as democrats have still not reconciled their differences over this. and that is still going to be a challenge going into this week for the white house and for the president which is what is going to be -- what it's going to take to get senator bernie sanders, senator joe manchin, senator kyrsten sinema all on the same page when it comes to passing the president's domestic agenda. that's going to be a critical period for that in addition to those other two challenges that they are now going to be juggling. essentially all at the same time, wolf. and so that is really going to be the focus of the white house because this, of course, they are worried that if they do not get that passed it could have long-term political implications for the democratic party in addition to, of course, the president's agenda or his legacy. but it's also having short-term implications. when you look at his poll numbers because president biden came into office and enjoyed an initial burst of public support. now you look at the numbers. the cnn poll of polls which is a combination of all the major polls you see the president's approval rating is at 45%. in a quinnipiac poll last week it was around 38%. when you talk to white house officials they say those are numbers that will take care of themselves as they are working out differences within the democratic party. it does count on working out those differences within the democratic party and that's a big challenge that's facing this white house, of course, in the week ahead. it's going to be a very critical period for his presidency. >> critical moment right now. no doubt about that. kaitlan, thank you. i want to go to capitol hill. our congressional correspondent jessica dean is joining us. there's a key vote tomorrow on the debt ceiling but for the rest of the president's agenda there are still major divisions within the president's own democratic party. give us the latest. >> let's start with that debt ceiling vote. the house is coming back from its recess. that is expected to vote and get us into december. but in the meantime, they're going to have to figure out how they proceed forward after december. the democrats sill don't -- still refusing to take the path republicans want them to take and republicans saying they'll not help them and we are leaving this compromise that they came to to extend it with them even more entrenched than where they began. so that is going to kick that can down the road until december but you can bet that's going to become a bigger and bigger issue. this as democrats are trying to zero in to get president biden's legislative agenda over the finish line. and they are trying hard with the bipartisan infrastructure bill. house speaker nancy pelosi is hoping to get that voted on by october 31st. that's already passed the senate. once the house gets that through it can go to the president a desk. the question is can she get the votes? and what's hanging that up? it's the second part of the president's agenda. it's that economic package, that massive economic package, the build back better act. as kaitlan was referring to, they don't have a top line number per that. started at $3.5 trillion. joe manchin wanted 1.5 and they are trying to go back and forth over what that number is. and that's impacting what is in the bill. wolf, i've talked to a number of lawmakers in the last several days. a number of senators who have their various projects they want in there. things like the child tax credit. things like paid family leave. expanding medicare benefits and medicatid to states that haven' expanded that yet. a lot of items they want to get in this bill and the number is like three shrink from where it began. now they have to get to the point of what gets in and how and, wolf, they have to get this all done in a short amount of time. it's a heavy lift. >> they don't have much time left. jessica, thank you. the president's stalled agenda here in washington is creating strong headwinds for the democrat in the virginia governors race. former governor terry mcauliffe is trying for another term but polls show he's in a tight race with the republican businessman youngkin. early voting is under way and election day is three weeks from tomorrow. let's bring in political director david chalian. the race isn't just critical in virginia. it has enormous ratifications for the democratic party. >> this is the first big test before voters about the biden agenda, the political landscape in the country and you know if terry mcauliffe loses this race in a state that has been trending more democratic in recent years, that's going to send real alarm bells inside the democratic party heading into next year's midterm elections. this should be a winnable race but the stalled agenda in washington is clearly of concern to mcauliffe in virginia. >> the whole notion, the whole notion of coronavirus clearly as a major political impact on the race in virginia and elsewhere as well. but how is it specifically playing out in virginia? >> we see it playing out in the two different approaches the candidates have. so mcauliffe, you may recall, gavin newsom in california leaned into vaccine mandates and mask mandates and that worked. those are very popular. they're popular in virginia as well. you see mcauliffe leaning into that. youngkin for his part is saying, i got vaccinated. all virginians should get vaccinated but he won't go so far as to call for a mandate. mcauliffe sees that as a potential opening in a state like virginia. >> we have a clip from terry mcauliffe. let me play it. >> sure. >> frustrated with your own party. are they dragging you down? >> it's not dragging me down. i worry about the people of virginia. >> your race. >> i want to -- >> they are making it harder for you? >> hard or not, people understand what i am doing, my plans, my 20 big plans to take virginia to the next level. they'll vote for me but there is frustration, you know, all over the country. we just want action. >> he suggested a few days earlier that biden was sort of a burden in his bid to win this election but he seemed to try to walk that back a bit yesterday. >> what you saw was, it was on a zoom and he thought it wasn't public but he was talking with campaign supporters. he noted biden is unpopular in virginia, his numbers are upside down. biden's numbers are upside down nationally as well. more disapprove of biden than approve of him right now. what you saw was a candidate soft shoe. he didn't want to repeat the words and take on his president, you're unpopular, but he does consistently note he's facing real headwinds. and not having the deliverables to go back and say to democrats, this is what biden and the democrats have done in congress is posing a challenge at this moment for terry mcauliffe. >> is the republican candidate youngkin running sort of on trump's playbook? >> i don't think he'd describe it that way. mcauliffe wants to try and portray youngkin as a trump carbon copy. youngkin has to walk a fine line here as to all republicans in purple or blue states because it is a trump dominated republican party, and they need to do nothing to alienate that trump-supporting base and yet they need to expand beyond that. youngkin has said he wants to be for trumpers, never trumpers and moderate democrats. but in the primary, youkkin talked about an election integrity and called into question even recently called for an audit of the 2020 election. that gives mcauliffe a huge opening to attach him to trump and the big lie. for youngkin's part he's trying to focus on issues he thinks has appeals in the middle like this issue about parents being very concerned about what's happening in their kids' schools. mcauliffe in a recent debate said parents shouldn't be involved in the curriculum in schools. and of course, he's been under the gun for that in the last couple of weeks. youngkin has seized on that and sees that as a conversation of that can keep the trump base engaged but also broaden to get some of those independents and moderates. >> the virginia contest will have national ramifications. >> no doubt. >> david chalian helping us. just ahead -- what happened during the first u.s. talks with taliban officials since the afghanistan withdrawal. and we're also standing by to speak with dr. anthony fauci about this week's crucial meetings on expanding booster shots here in the u.s. ke mustacs high fives and high dives. or 3-on-3s... 2-on-2s... and 1-on-1s. we see how these moments make us smile so, we make it 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inspiration anew. viking. exploring the world in comfort. - [announcer] at southern new hampshire university, we never stop celebrating our students. from day one to graduation to your dream job, that's why we're keeping your tuition low for the 10th year in a row. - [student] the affordability and the quality of education, it can be enough to change your life. - [announcer] as a nonprofit university, we believe in making college more affordable for everyone. - southern new hampshire university, it was just amazing experience. - [announcer] find your degree at snhu.edu. the best things america makes are the things america makes out here. the history she writes in her clear blue skies. the legends she births on home town fields. and the future she promises. when we made grand wagoneer, proudly assembled in america, we knew no object would ever rank with the best things in this country. but we believed we could make something worthy of their spirit. we're following truly soaring tensions between china and taiwan. want to go to our will ripley who is joining us from taiwan. will, this confrontation poses potentially a huge threat of drawing in the united states, doesn't it? >> absolutely. this island is potential flash point for what their president calls a fight between authoritarian china and democratic taiwan ally with the united states. ♪ taiwan's growing arsenal on full display at this weekend's national day parade to defend against a growing threat from china. 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 former president's hard-line stance against china, one of the few trump-era policies embraced by president joe biden. defending taiwan's democracy against authoritarian china has rare bipartisan support. some worry washington politics 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, then you arguably put them in a more vulnerable position. you arguably again irritate china. >> reporter: taiwan's president says the island is on the front lines of a much bigger battle. >> free and democratic countries have been alerted to the expansion of authoritarianism and taiwan is on the forefront of the defense line of fellow democracies. >> reporter: china sent a record 150 war planes near taiwan in just five days this month. biden's balancing act calming cross straight tensions, defending democracy and preventing a conflict that could cost american lives. >> i have spoken with xi about taiwan. >> i think taiwan really presents a challenge to any american presidential administration because you you are trying to balance competing interests. >> reporter: four kinds of domestically produced missiles rolling through the capital in front of taiwan's presidential palace. an ominous sign of escalating regional tensions. every chinese leader since mao has vowed to take control of taiwan. analysts say president xi jinping may be the first with a military mighty enough to do it. even as he calls for peaceful reunification. >> translator: whoever wins taiwan wins the world. >> reporter: china is locked in territorial disputes across the indo-pacific region. taiwan, beijing's biggest unresomped issue, and some say biden's biggest test. for the first time in more than 70 years, some analysts say that people's liberation army is posing perhaps the most significant challenge yet to u.s. military supremacy in the indo-pacific region and you are seeing not just a chinese military build-up but australia being deployed with nuclear submarines in the coming years. you also have japan deploying missiles to its outlying islands just 100 miles from taiwan. it's clear, wolf, that all of the allies of the u.s. in this region as they conduct naval exercises and keep in a state of readiness are watching closely to see what happens with cross-strait relations. >> this is really, really a critical moment. we'll sadly be hearing a lot more about this in the coming weeks and months. we'll stay in close touch with you, will. thank you, will ripley, reporting live from taiwan. other important international news. for the first time since the chaotic u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan, senior officials from the united states and the taliban actually held direct face-to-face talks over the weekend in doha, qatar. cnn's clarissa ward is monitoring all the late-breaking developments from pakistan for us. so what more are you learning, clarissa? >> well, according to the state department, the talks were candid. they did say, however, that the taliban will be judged, wolf, not by their words or not only by their words, but by their actions. and that's the key thing. some of the main issues, of course, they were discussing were the evacuation of the remaining americans inside afghanistan, estimated to be in the dozens. difficult to get an exact number. the taliban did release a statement via one of their leaders saying they would facilitate the movement of americans. they also underscored the need for humanitarian aid. for the taliban, this is the big focus of those talks, trying to get some of that aid unfrozen, trying to get some of that funding back again which is so desperately needed. the u.s. also brought up the topic of afghan allies of the u.s. trying to facilitate their departure. no response from the taliban on that one, but i will say, wolf, having spent two weeks inside afghanistan, not a day went by when i did not get approached by afghans who worked with the americans, some of whom have already been approved for their special immigration visa and who have yet not been able to leave the country. so remains to be seen if there will be any resolution, wolf, on that issue. >> things are critically important. clarissa, we'll stay in close touch with you. coming up -- passengers stranded at airports across the united states after southwest cancels thousands of flights. so what's behind this airline meltdown? because staying healthy isn't always easy. but quality sleep is scientifically proven to help improve your overall health and wellness. and it couldn't be easier! the sleep number 360 smart bed helps you fall asleep faster by gently warming your feet. and it helps keep you asleep by sensing your movement and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. the sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now. ♪ 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. this... is the planning effect. this is how it feels to have a dedicated fidelity advisor looking at your full financial picture. this is what it's like to have a comprehensive wealth plan with tax-smart 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way at carvana. just in to cnn. southwest airlines now says the wave of more than 2,000 flight ca cancellations is the result of quote, weather and other external constraints, not employee concerns over covid vaccine mandates. we have the latest from reagan national airport. >> reporter: southwest airlines is only starting to emerge from a weekend of widespread delays, stranding thousands of passengers nationwide. the carrier canceled 800 flight on saturday, 1100 on sunday and another 360 flights on monday. >> there's no explanation for this problem so i suspect southwest isn't being totally honest. >> we've been worried about it for the past 24 hours. couldn't even sleep because we didn't know what was going to happen. >> started looking through and there's nothing, nothing, nothing for the next few days. just really anxious to get home now. >> reporter: anthony scott was stranded in baltimore. the airline blamed compounding problems first caused by air traffic control and weather issues dating back to friday. >> that's a hard story to believe. >> reporter: in a memo, southwest apologized to employees saying an unexpected number of delays led to a staffing shortage with workers and planes out of position. the airline acknowledged in some cases, flight crews were left without hotel rooms. >> i think meltdown is a good work. >> reporter: captain casey murray heads the union representing southwest pilots, which said the airline has become brittle and subject to massive failures under the slightest pressure. data shows southwest has 7,000 fewer workers than before the pandemic. >> we want to see southwest not continue to make the same failures that we've seen for a few years now, but especially over the summer and this past weekend. >> reporter: southwest insists it has an aggressive hiring plan, but that is not enough for the passengers who reported hours long hold times trying to get through to customer service. anthony scott says he was a long time customer but has now left with a southwest credit to use. >> i'm not sure that i would. you know, this is a very frustrating experience. >> reporter: southwest airlines just issued a new statement. it says it extends a tremendous apology to its customers. it is also underscoring those problems were not the result of employee protests over its new vaccine mandate. wolf. >> pete, thank you very much. coming up, how former president trump is putting american democracy increasingly in peril as he steps up to spread his big lie about a stolen election. people with moderate to severe psoriasis, or psoriatic arthritis, are rethinking the choices they make like the splash they create the way they exaggerate the surprises they initiate. otezla. it's a choice you can make. otezla is not an injection or a cream it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint 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as cases, hospitalizations and deaths here in the united states decline. and an intriguing new spy saga. the feds are accusing a us navy engineer and his wife of attempting to sell us navy secrets in get this, a peanut butter sandwich. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer and you're in "the situation room." we begin this hour with the ongoing threat to american democracy posed by former president donald trump as the january 6th investigation intensifies and republicans set to stage for the next elections. our senior legal affairs correspondent is putting it all together for us. paula, there are chilling new developments

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