lift, not just to the families, but also for tourists, businesses who have customers near the border. >> and this is an announcement that is coming just weeks after the white house vowed to lift bans on overseas travelers and as coronavirus numbers continue to trend in a positive direction, which, of course, is down. 38 states declining or holding steady on hospitalizations. 44 states seeing cases flat line or decline. rafael romo is standing by in mexico. first to paula newton in ottawa, canada, with our top story. paula? >> brianna, you know, when the border closed between the u.s. and canada, people didn't think it would last 19 days. we're at 19 months. and this is really been taking its toll not just on businesses from washington state all the way to new york state, whether you're talking about british columbia, ontario. it is families. they have been waiting for this day and finally later today we should get some details from the biden administration, sometime in november, fully vaccinated canadians will be able to finally drive over into the united states, a few wrinkles, i have to say, one in ten canadians have either gotten astrazeneca or have mixed doses, right? they got astrazeneca and then maybe after they got pfizer. we're still awaiting a decision from the cdc to see if those canadians will be considered fully vaccinated. i'm telling you, once those wrinkles are ironed out, there is relief and rejoicing across the country. not just from canadians who want to see loved ones, but the businesses right across both of the countries, both u.s. and canada. people would go across the border to see their friends, to get a burger at their favorite restaurant. that was not a part of life during this pandemic, and there will be a lot of relief from many, many people in the months to come, even though there are still wrinkles to iron out here. >> for so many people, you know, closing the border was like drawing a line down the middle of their community and daily life. i want to go to rafael who is south of the u.s. border in mexico. tell us how this is affecting mexico and how they're looking at this, rafael. >> reporter: yeah, people with relatives on both sides of the border could not be happier today. and mexico's health department announced yesterday that 75% of the country's adult population has received at least one dose of any of the different coronavirus vaccines. the vaccination levels are as high as 95% in places like here in the capital and let's remember that three top u.s. officials including secretary of state antony blinken, attorney general merrick garland and alejandro mayorkas met with the president here in mexico city on friday. the meeting was about a new bilateral security agreement, but there were other issues discussed as well. the mexican government announced last month that more than 3.8 million people who live in 45 cities on six different states along the u.s. border had been vaccinated. and the president pushed for a reopening of the border. american border towns were pushing for reopening because they have lost millions of dollars, brianna, in the more than 18 months they haven't had any mexican shoppers spending money in their businesses. brianna, back to you. >> rafael and paula, thank you so much to both of you. we're less than two hours away from a big event for people who love science and science fiction. blue origin's "shepard" rocket seen on the launchpad will blast off with captain kirk on board. 90-year-old william shatner headed off to the edge of space for a few minutes. joining me now is professor and theoretical physics city university of new york, matteau koku. great to see you. >> great to be on. >> big moment. it is a fun moment. let's face it. >> let's face it we're going to boldly go where no hollywood movie star has ever gone before, straight up, 60 miles straight up to the very edge of our space. star trek takes place in the 23rd century. we're not there yet, but science fact is catching up to science fiction because we don't have transporters, but we do have now space tourism into outer space. >> people are going up and down in space all the time in "star trek," which is what the promise of all this really is. it isn't a technology. we were doing this 60 years ago with nasa. but the issue is it may be more accessible to people, regular people. what is the significance of that? >> we're entering an era of democratization of outer space. not just air force astronauts and test pilots going up and out of space, but one day mom and dad will also go into outer space. now, think of the history of transportation. we went from airplanes that mainly haul cargo and troops during war time, then we went to a place and time when rich people had airliners catered to their whims. now we're in stage three, where we're beginning to see the fact that one day mom and dad could go into outer space, just like the airlines also evolved from hauling cargo, hauling rich people, hauling average people. >> unless mom and dad are wicked rich, it is not mom and dad today, though. >> that's for the future. it costs almost half a million dollars for a seat to get on this -- the flight. remember, costs are going down. it did cost $10,000 to put a pound of anything, anything into orbit around the earth. that's $10,000 a pound. that's dropping by a factor of two to four because rockets are re-useable. we have billionaires competing, driving costs down. even countries like the united arab emirates in the middle east shot up all the way to mars. we're talking about a new era where costs are dropping like a rock. >> william shatner looks very fit to me. but the fact is he's 90 years old. where are you on how safe it is for a 90-year-old to be doing this? >> well, just remember that just this past weekend there was an explosion on the sun creating a giant solar flare which may have interrupted with the flight in just two hours time. realize that solar flares are a problem. one day we're going to have not just weather reports but space weather reports telling us about the flares from the sun that could disrupt satellite communications, cause havoc with the internet. fortunately we have dodged a bullet. >> professor, it is always a pleasure to talk to you. we love your enthusiasm and what we're going to see is just kind of cool. and there has been a lot of focus on "star trek." i know you're a fan, but i don't think there has been enough focus on his truly great show "t.j. hooker." we'll speak to one of his co-stars from "t.j. hooker" in a few minutes. >> it is such a good show. i did watch reruns. so guilty here. just in to cnn, some new evidence this morning that a significant number of republicans in congress would be prepared to support donald trump if he were to launch another bid for the white house. this coming after a growing number of gop lawmakers are publicly defending the former president's role in the january 6th capitol riot. joining us now to discuss, cnn capitol hill reporter melanie zanona and congressman and presidential candidate joe walsh. you've talked to a lot of republicans, very interesting what they have been telling you, very alarming. >> yeah, whatever reservations the gop may have had about donald trump appear to have completely evaporated from public view. we surveyed a very large swath of the republican conference yesterday, and there was wide agreement around republicans that not only would they support donald trump, if he chose to run in 2024, but that he would be the automatic favorite to win the party nomination. even swing district republicans like jeff van drew of new jersey were saying that they would cheer him on for a 2024 run and downplaying his role on january 6th, even as donald trump continues to spread the same election lines that led to the insurrection on january 6th. look, i don't think it is surprising to hear this from republicans, trump's grip on the gop has been well documented this year, even after the insurrection. we are seeing the gop establishment increasingly bring trump back into the fold and rehabilitate his image as he weigh his political future. >> what is the significance of a van drew who he -- like he told you, he would support him and also he doesn't blame him for the insurrection. he says people are responsible for their own actions. what is the significance of someone luike a van drew who flipped? >> he's a vulnerable republican in a district. he's not expecting reservations. this isn't just the fringe anymore. it is not just the jim jordans, this is the gop establishment. chuck grassley, the most senior senate republican on stage over the weekend in iowa rallying with trump. you have trump headlining two upcoming fund-raisers for the nrcc and nrsc, the house and senate campaign arms coming up in the next few weeks. it shows you that even the establishment republican now is bringing him back, welcoming him with open arms and tightly hugging him. >> what do you think, joe? >> this isn't a comeback. it is interesting -- it is a great story. this is no comeback, though. this has been his party since he came down that escalator, certainly since he got the nomination. it's been pathetic for five or six years. it's been pathetic post an insurrection that it is still his party. but it is his party. you're right, i think of chuck grassley, 88-year-old chuck grassley, he's been in d.c. since, like, 1874. he's running for another term. he doesn't need trump to win re-election. but yet there he is, on his knees last weekend, bowing to donald trump. steve scalise who i served with in congress cannot acknowledge the truth that the election wasn't stolen. none of this is a surprise. it is donald trump's party, and it always has been. >> chuck grassley thinks chuck grassley needs donald trump, though. he almost said as much standing right in front of the president at his rally in iowa where he said, 91% of republicans here support trump. but you think he doesn't need trump? because the way trump looked at it, you're either for him or against him, right? >> there is no middle ground. you can't straddle a donald trump fence. it has got to be full devotion. i don't think grassley needed to do that. he is such a -- an institution in iowa. but the story is he felt like he had to. he felt like he had to kiss the ring. he's not a fringe character in the party. this is trump's party. and it always has been that way. there was like an afternoon after january 6th we thought things might change. >> an afternoon. >> an afternoon. and then that was it. >> yeah. one afternoon. so you tweeted yesterday and i wanted to have you follow up on this a little bit, you were talking about a day when you were campaigning in iowa in 2020, and you asked 40 trump rally goers whether trump had ever told a lie. what did they say to you and why do you go back to that moment? >> it was the most depressing moment of my mission impossible primary challenge to trump. 40 people in line at a trump rally in des moines. and i went down, i went one by one down the line and skied them all the simple question. has donald trump ever told a lie? i didn't ask does he lie, is he dishonest? has he ever told a lie? 40 straight people said no. and most of them, brianna, were adamant about it. it was the most depressing day of that experience. i think about it often now, 750,000 americans are dead because of lies trump and fox news spread. we had an insurrection, an attack on our government because of lies that were spread. and it just strikes me almost every week, brianna, that the entire base of my former political party no longer deals in truth. >> they're very wrapped up in the untrue. it is undeniable. joe, thank you, mel, great reporting. appreciate it. up next, the big basketball star benched because he won't get a covid shot. >> every parent's worst nightmare, a child snatched by a stranger on the street. and the new white house push to break the supply bottleneck. transportation secretary pete buttigieg joins us live. ♪ 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. ordinary tissues burn when theo blows. so dad bought puffs plus lotion, and rescued his nose. with up to 50% more lotion puffs bring soothing softness and relief. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. we are the next. the next generation of visionaries. rule breakers. game changers. and world beaters. we certainly aren't here to do what's been done before. and neither are we. at palo alto networks, we are ready to secure our digital future. we innovate to outpace cyberthreats. so you can make the next day safer than the one before. we've got next. [humming] ♪ i'm paying them no mind ♪ ♪ hands to the sky, all mine and pardon when i shine ♪ ♪ hands to the sky, all mine ♪ ♪ woah, woah no ceiling woah woah good feeling woah woah ♪ ♪ i might send it up ♪ ♪ ♪ brooklyn nets star kyrie irving won't see any playing time at home or away as long as he refuses to get vaccinated against covid-19. the nets general manager shawn marks released this statement saying, kyrie made a personal choice and we respect his individual right to choose. currently the choice restricts his ability to be a full time member of the team and we will not permit any member of our team to participate with part time availability. joining us now is carrie champion, former espn anchor and host of the new podcast "naked with carrie champion." thank you so much for being with us. you know, what is your reaction here to this decision by the brooklyn nets? >> well, i think they're in a pretty tough situation like a lot of these teams are. but they have to make an example and let it be with kyrie. i have to give you background on this. back in 2019, this version of the brooklyn nets would not exist. he was the lead recruiter if you will bringing on kevin durant, bringing on other players and said let's do this, let's go after some sort of championship. and here he is finding himself in a situation where reporting is being said that he's not so much an anti-vaxxer, he just feels as if he's being forced to do something he shouldn't do and he wants to be quote/unquote a leader if you will. i joked about this the other day on social media, he wanted to start some sort of movement, i don't know what movement this is, but he really truly believes he's speaking up for those who don't have a voice. so now the league finds itself without one of its stars, because he has to play or he can't play rather and now he's looking around wanting to do more. what i think is unfortunate, though, is that his message or whatever message he believes he's choosing is being co-opted. there are people saying, well, he should not be forced. on the right side. i believe in him. donald trump jr. tweeting at him. and that is not even what this is about. and i have said this on many occasion about these athletes who choose not to talk about getting a vaccine, their message could be totally separate from what a political message could be. but it is being co-opted and they need to understand that they are really making a choice that speaks volumes about where we are in society today. >> carrie, i wonder, you know, whatever, if he and those around him are saying he doesn't want to be co-opted by the right, by those who are against this vaccine, that language that people close to him told the athletic, right, this is just something where he's not anti-vaxx, but he's upset with people losing their jobs to mandates, the perceived control of society and people's livelihood, that is the fig leaf that people often on the right, you know, use when it comes to being against this vaccine. why does he realize that, do you think? and why is he ready to kill his career on this hill? >> you know, that's such a great question. i was in a group chat the other day with some other people who covered kyrie as well. and i, you know, he's the guy, i don't know if you remember when he went to go as a brooklyn net play the celtics in practice, he was burning sage on the court. just before he went out there. he is a different type of guy. he's a different dude. he thinks dfrifferently. i take all of that into consideration and i truly think he doesn't believe how his message is being co-opted by the right. i think he truly believes he's doing something, and it is unfortunate because i have said over and over again, these players, well they talk about -- they want to speak up for someone or they want to do more research, i just feel as if they sound like they don't know what they're talking about, i don't want to say that in a dismissive way, but there is so much on the line here. and i do believe kyrie will give up his career. just to prove a point. he's that kind of guy. he will give up his career to prove a point. hopefully it doesn't come to that. i did hear that he could go to practice on sunday. but at the end of the day, kyrie will make a decision unlike any other. his career, if you look back on its history, says he does what he likes, when he feels. >> yeah. we will see. we'll see if this is the hill he kills his career on. cari, great to see you. >> you too, brianna. coming up, a soldier runs face first into a concrete block? bizarre stunts staged to impress north korea's dictator. and don lemon will try that next. he is here live, ready for basic training. 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. 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who doesn't want to talk about what some people call cancel culture? david chappelle said he was loving being canceled following backlash to anti-lgbtq comments in his latest comedy special. you hear some on the right lamenting that raiders coach jon gruden is out of a job after resigning from homophobic, racist and misogynistic emails. a guest lecture was canceled after comments surfaced and congressman dan crenshaw is writing a children's book on cancel culture called "fame, blame and the wrath of shame." i want to bring in don lemon, the host of "don lemon tonight" and author of "this is the fire: what i say to my friends about racism ." i will disclaim i have an issue with this entire discussion. i think sometimes we cast the net too broad and it can be clumsy. jon gruden, we're throwing this into the issue of cancel culture. what does that say, i want to live in a time where you can write -- with no consequences. what happened to those days when you could write emails like that, to get canceled over racist, homophobic and misogynistic things? >> you kids can't do anything racist anymore. that's the point, exactly. as you were scrolling through the list of all those things, okay, fine, but we have to remember, in gruden's case, i don't mean this pun not intended, it is not so black and white. there is nuance to everything. each case has to be looked at and judged on its individual me merits. i don't see why jon gruden is being lumped into a cancel culture category. you shouldn't go back and try it cancel people for accusations, there is due process. this isn't an accusation. they weren't even looking for jon gruden. they were investigating the washington football team and came across these emails and said, whoa! look at this! this guy is a leader of the nfl. he is a team manager. he's a head coach of a team. >> with black players and a gay player. >> is this acceptable in the workplace, somebody who should be setting an example for the league, somebody who hires people and makes decisions about people's future? is this what we want? it is not acceptable. jon gruden is not cancel culture. this is not an accusation. this is something that they found, there is obvious evidence of it and if it was not true, do you think he would have resigned? he probably would have said, this is not true, i did not write those emails, and therefore i'm not going anywhere. he self-canceled. he canceled himself. he said, i'm out. so let's not put jon gruden in that category and let's not for conservatives and people saying this is cancel culture, conservatives, you can't do anything, you can't say anything anymore, are you fighting to make racism okay, to make sexism okay, to make homophobia okay? >> accountability, it seems like, a lot of the examples of it that we have seen, you're seeing powerful people, who, look, it's true, when people have power and they have influence, they do have something that they can abuse and some clearly choose to abuse it and they're being called out on it. jon stewart said something i thought was really fascinating. he said this in an interview with david remnick about this phenomenon. >> it is not you can't say, it's that when you say it, look, the internet has democratized criticism. we criticize, we postulate, we opine, we make jokes and now other people are having their say. and that's not cancel culture. that's relentlessness. we live in relentless culture. and the system of the internet, and all those other things are incentivized to find the pressure points of that, and exacerbate. >> i thought that was a really interesting way to think about it. i wonder what you think and what parts of that you think are good and what parts are bad. >> i would like to see the full context of it. i can sort of garner what he's saying, but i would like to see the full context. he's saying, you know, you are incentivizing people to go after people or saying incentivize more voices to be heard. we live in a time now where there are other voices being heard, not just the powerful, not just the people who are -- who are wealthy, the people who hold cachet in society. everyone has a voice now because of the internet, because of social media in large part. is that necessarily good? not always. but, again, i think everyone should be judged on individual merit. there is due process. but, i do think that there is a divide in the country, especially culturally, depending when you were born, a cultural divide, there is an age divide, even in my own family there are women who have disagreements about the me too movement. the older women think that the younger women should standing up for themselves in the moment and saying -- and talking about accusations or behavior in the moment instead of waiting to talk about it. and my mother is, you know, surviving business for decades and decades and decades. and went through some of the things that young women are going through now. and she said in the moment, i said quite frankly, get your hand off of my butt or whatever and let's go over this proposal and moved on and she continued to excel in business and to become, you know, a leader in her field. that doesn't mean it was right. but that's what she lived through. and so the younger folks in my family and nieces, that's -- well, ma, grandma, that's not acceptable behavior. she's, like, i know it is not acceptable behavior but one must stand up for themselves and you can't go back and do all these things. that's part of the issue here, that people become upset about because they think differently because they grew up in different times. >> do you think it is possible they're both right? i thought about this, in a way when it comes to me too, i want -- i personally -- i want women -- and i want young women to be able to stand up for themselves, i also think that a lot of this behavior is abhorrent and that, you know, you can kind of build both of those muscles so that we know as women we don't have to tolerate certain things for instance, i think all of this can apply not just to women. but both of these things can be true and maybe it is actually very important that they are true. >> i think, look, i'm not drawing a judgment on it. i'm telling you what is happening in my family and what i see happening, even beyond my family. and i think you're right. both can be true. i think that sometimes we look -- we look at what is happening today or look at what has happened in the past through a lens, through the lens of today. 2021 lens and things were just not that way then. again, we cannot let that be an excuse for bad behavior. we cannot let that be an excuse for sexism or racism or homophobia or for any other issue that affects or discriminates against people. you cannot let that be an issue and a catch all for people who don't want to be criticized and don't want to be held to account. >> you talked about this in great depth, and i think with great feeling on your show, but dave chappelle, in the netflix special where he makes comments about transgender people. what is your view? >> i think you should listen to the handoff because we do a good job of talking about that this -- in this episode this week. so you asked me quickly, i'll go as quickly as i can. look, i know this is not very popular for people, especially someone who is a member of the lgbtq community. quite honestly when i heard it, dave -- i didn't think it was funny. i don't mean that to, like, as a criticism against dave. i thought it was very powerful and quite frankly genius social commentary. but as far as laugh out loud, it is something else. that's not to say it was good or bad, i didn't find it to be a comedy special, like -- i thought it was very powerful social commentary. i'm not triggered by it, i'm not easily triggered. i understand there are young people who are -- who have concerns about their identity, whether it be coming out, coming out day was two days ago and i talked about that. but i think coming out or being trans, what have you, there are people who face life and death consequences because of that. and most of the people who face problems when it comes to being a transgender person or people of color, transgender women of color, getting beaten or killed or harmed or what have you or killing themselves, so i don't think dave should be canceled. i think dave opened up a very important conversation. i don't think that his netflix special should be removed. but i -- i don't think people should be restricted from criticizing dave. that's what the whole point is. you're canceling people's criticism. so dave can put it out there, he's a big boy. take the criticism. and discuss it, don't run away from it, and then move on. but don't cancel him or whatever. look, many people thought it was a -- he was -- he's -- you know, he opened up a floodgate and it is great because he's stopping people from being canceled. if you believe that, then great. other people think, hey, listen, he's -- what he said was terrible and transphobic, what have you, okay, fine. but let's talk about it. don't cancel him. don't cancel the people criticizing him. i don't know what is happening at netflix, they shouldn't be canceling or firing employees who speak out about it. there are people who are allies who have concerns about it and they should be heard as well. look, give each other some leeway when it comes to this particular issue and other issues as it relates to the lgbtq plus community. but let's be careful about what we do and what we say and let's be open to each other about listening and having constructive conversations and not just yelling at each other and saying you're this, you're that, you're that. there is room to grow and room to learn. >> don, i can't wait to hear what the handoff, what more you have to say about it on the handoff. we love you, don. we love having you on the mornings with us. >> i love you. i'm just upset about one thing. and i'm sure you are upset about more because i didn't go fast. john asked me to. you're not here. i had to hang out with john berman. >> i know. >> he's pretty fun, though. he's a pretty fun guy, john. >> yeah. >> you can catch don's show tonight at 10:00 op.m. eastern. coming up, a soldier runs face first, yeah, that's a concrete block. we're going to tell you why. >> john wanted me to do that. >> i wanted you to do it. a child snatched from the street. 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 it's my 4:05 the-show-must-go-on migraine medicine. it's ubrelvy. for anytime, anywhere migraine strikes, without worrying if it's too late, or where i am. one dose can quickly stop my migraine in its tracks within two hours. unlike older medicines, ubrelvy is a pill that directly blocks cgrp protein, believed to be a cause of migraine. do not take with 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thinner. ask your doctor about eliquis. 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. time now for five things to know for your "new day." the u.s. plans to reopen its border for fully vaccinated travelers from can diana mexico starting early next month. this is the first time this will happen since the beginning of the pandemic. it could provide an economic boost for shopping and gambling along border towns. the supreme court hears oral arguments this morning on whether to reinstate the death penalty for convicted boston marathon bomber dzhokhar tsarnaev. they threw out his death sentence saying the trial judge made a mistake by excluding evidence. brazen kidnapping attempt in new york city caught on camera, a man is seen snatching a 3-year-old girl off the street as her grandmother gives chase. the suspect dropped the girl and fled the scene before being arrested. and california set to become the first state to ban gas powered lawn equipment starting next july. the california air resources board says just one hour of using a gas propelled leaf blower gives off the same air pollution as a car driving 1100 miles. bizarre video from north korea shows soldiers performing high flying martial arts kicks and smashing blocks with their heads while performing for kim jong-un. it was part of a defense exhibition this week showcasing nuclear armed country's weapons. >> i don't even know what to say about that. but it is interesting. those are five things to know for your "new day." we'll have more on these stories all day on cnn and cnn.com and don't forget to download the podcast every morning, go to cnn.com/fivethings. as we mentioned, the borders are set to open up again to vaccinated travelers. vaccinated travelers. this is coming as the biden administration will address the supply chain bottleneck that we're seeing across the country. and joining us now to discuss more of this is the transportation secretary pete buttigieg. secretary, thank you for being with us. >> good morning. thank you for having me on. >> talk to us about this decision to ease restrictions on fully vaccinated travelers. to be clear, this is folks coming over the border crossings, the land borders from mexico and canada. how did the administration make this decision and why now? >> it always has been guided by safety and public health. and it is important news for our country, for our economy. we're talking about land ports of entry with two of our key trading partners. it helps to safely open up north america. and it is going to be important for the supply chains that we're here to talk about at the white house today. as well as for americans on so many different fronts. meanwhile, of course, we had the announcement about international air travel and working to make it possible for that to open in new ways, again, for vaccinated travelers. throughout this has been guided by the needs for public health and public safety. we want to get to that fully reopened state as quickly as we responsibly can. built but it is going to be guided by what's right to beat the pandemic. >> holiday expectation management as we lacook at the supply chain issues, how bad is it going to get for americans, specifically leading here into the december holidays, where people are relying on getting goods, on getting presents? >> i think there is always two kinds of christmas shoppers. the ones who have all their lists completed by halloween and then people like me who show up at the mall on christmas eve, if you're in that latter bucket, obviously there is going to be more challenges. but we are also working right now with the private sector players who own and operate most of u.s. supply chains to find ways to ease the bottlenecks that are impacting everything from consumer goods to construction goods in this country. this is a largely private sector system and a global one at that. but there are a lot of steps that we can take as an administration, as an honest broker. that's what the president directed us to do and that's part of why we're gathering right here at the white house with leaders from the ports of l.a. and long beach, labor leaders and the private sector companies that, you know, the fedexes, u.p.s.s, walmarts, others that play on that role. >> so you're doing this 90 days, this is what the administration is doing to address the supply chain issues. when you do the math on that, that takes us into january. so that is after, of course, december, after the holidays. should americans be prepared, should they know they're not going to get their packages, they're not going to get their goods in time for christmas if they're not doing it right now? >> well, let me be clear, there is more through put than there has ever been. we are processing right now as a country record levels of containers and other goods coming into our ports already. the issue is that the -- there is even more demand than the supply chain can support. remember, we are relying on supply chains that were built generations ago. it is one of the reasons why this entire year we have been talking about and working on infrastructure and are eager to see congress to act to get this infrastructure deal. it includes $17 billion for our ports, which is a level of support, federal support for ports that we never have seen before. that's a long-term concern there are short-term steps we can take too, like expanding the hours at our biggest ports and working with terminal operators, with truckers to get that flow of goods. think about it, you see the pictures of the ships waiting at anchor, waiting outside of the ports, that means the ships are already there. so it is everything after that that we have to work to unclog. it is they're not being spaces for the ships at the berths, the containers being backed up and that goes through a supply chain, through the rails, the trucks, again, all the way to the store shelf. >> yeah, the ripple effects are wide and we're learning they're very expensive as well. i do want to ask you about the agenda item, of course, of the social safety net bill, the infrastructure bill. i want to ask you about southwest, we saw these disruptions here in recent days and i just wonder how concerning is it to you that the cascading effect of just a few hours of weather and air traffic issues caused this many cancellations? >> this is another example of a resilience issue. we have seen how the supply chains have not always been nimble enough to keep up with the movement of goods and we're finding that in this case you have an airline that did not have the right planes and people in the right places when there was this impact, mainly from weather issues that took place in florida. now, that -- in this case, that impacted that one airline, but we continue to want to see steps taken to make it possible, often the limiting factor has to do with labor as well as equipment, and we need to make sure that we have more nimble and flexible set of capabilities. and that feeds back to our broader systems, which, again, i know i keep repeating it, but it is why we have got to invest in our infrastructure as a country. >> on this critical time, for getting the biden agenda through congress, and i know you've been very outspoken when it comes to the needs of the country, climate for instance, as well as other topics, you have the speaker warning her caucus that difficult decisions have to be made. what will your message be to progressives? do they need to budge? >> remember, this vision, any way you cut it, is an enormous step forward for america. for the infrastructure issues that i work on every day, and for families, whether we're talking about healthcare, child care, climate change, there is going to have to be a series of adjustments, that's how a negotiation works, we're still on track to deliver something that will be remembered for decades for the rest of my lifetime as a game changer for american families. as a new parent, i'm thinking about some of those child care and other issues with a whole new level of urgency. but the american people already see the need to do this. i think most members of congress do too. i know the democratic caucus shares that vision and that sense of urgency. we have got to get it done. >> you've got to get it done. it is not going to get done unless someone budges. do progressives need to budge? >> everybody is going to have to take a look at where they started and where they want to get to. and that's exactly the process that is under way. by their very nature, negotiations and end in a different place than where all the parties come in. i believe the place we can end that, the place we can get to is going to represent a stronger economy and a better life for this country. it is what the president has been talking about from the beginning of this administration, from before the beginning of this administration, the idea we're not just building back to 2019. we're building back better, whether we're talking about physical infrastructure, whether we're talking about making it easier to raise a child, to get through life, to participate in the economy in this country, progressives believe in that, moderates believe in that, the president believes in that and we're going to get it done. >> all right, transportation secretary pete buttigieg, thank you so much. and congratulations to you and your husband. >> thanks. >> here's what else to watch today. still ahead, a dramatic live launch of william shatner into space. so many people are talking about "star trek," not nearly enough talking about his most important work "t.j. hooker". one of his co-stars from that groundbreaking show joins us live. before nexium 24hr, anna could only imagine a comfortable night's sleep without frequent heartburn waking her up. now, that dream... . ...is her reality. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts, for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? a little over an hour from now 90-year-old william shatner blasts off into space for real. so the obvious reference point to this is his role on "star trek." obvious, but insufficient. because if you grew up in the 1980s, you know his most complete work was "t.j. hooker ." ♪ >> in pursuit of 211 suspects driving a tan four wheel drive. >> oh, no! >> so joining me now is the man you saw riding along side william shatner, actor, singer, director, the incredibly talented adrian zmed. thank you for being with us this morning. >> great to be here. thank you for letting me share in bill's wonderful journey. >> so how excited are you? how nervous are you for your friend? >> that's a really good question. i tried to call him a couple of a days ago, but they took his phone away and he can't answer to anybody. they said they would get the message to him. i was concerned, saying you're really going to do this? and, well, the word got back to me he is really going to do this. he's already said that he's terrified. he's scared to do this. and as i am for him at his age. but i know that he is absolutely thrilled to be doing this at this point. i mean, 13 hours a day in a police car for five years, we get to talk a lot. and he reflected many times on his wonderment of space, and how incredible it would be to actually go there. i joked with him saying certainly that's not possible. he said, i don't know about that. and i'll tell you, he was -- he was a visionary. because he saw it. i think that this has been his number one bucket list item and in about an hour, it is going to happen. i'm really happy for him. >> you say that he's larger than life, he's not normal, you say. what do you mean? >> he's always been just bigger than life. bill does everything with massive intensity, passion. he has a wild imagination. and he has stamina for everything. he's like that rabbit that never, you know, stops running on the batteries and all. and he's been that way forever. that i've known him. when i was in my 20s, and he was -- whatever age he was, then in his 60s and 70s and then in his 80s he did a one-man show, telling the stories that i listened to in the squad car, the police car for many years and i washe was a dynamo and het changed a bit. he's always been larger than life and he's been a mentor to me and amazing in my life. >> you were in your 20s during "t.j. hooker", four years you were on the show. he was already in his 50s. what was it like to be around him? >> well, like i said, he was a mentor to me. he was kind. and helped me and taught me a lot of things. also just watching bill really taught me a lot about acting on camera. i had come from the stage. i think off camera we had mentioned that i had done, you know, a lot of broadway shows. he saw me do "blood brothers" on broadway and i needed to transfer that theater, stage technique to the film, to television. and just watching him really, you know, helped me learn. on camera. >> that is so wonderful. look, it is great to get a chance to talk to you. as i said, i did see you on broadway years ago. incredibly talented. and it is nice to hear your enthusiasm for your friend. i know -- i think we'll all be a little relieved after that ten minutes in space. you'll be watching it very closely. adrian zmed, thank you very much. >> i am thrilled. thank you. thank you for having me. and the launch of this spaceship with william shatner on board is just one hour away. you're looking at live pictures. cnn's coverage continues now. very good space age wednesday morning to you. i'm jim sciutto. >> and i'm erica hill. planted firmly on earth. we're going to have to stay on earth, but pretty soon going boldly where no 90-year-old has gone before, one william shatner one hour from now. the legendary actor known for his role as "star trek 's" captain kirk set to make history on the "new shepard" rocket. shatner will become the oldest person to travel to the edge of space. >> while we wait for our own