together and pass both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and his social safety net plan, saying -- and i quote here -- i do think that we'll get a deal. and saying he's open to altering the filibuster on issues like voting rights and the debt limit increases. also tonight, the house voting to hold steve bannon in criminal contempt of congress for defying a subpoena from the committee investigating the january 6th insurrection at the capitol. and late tonight, the cdc director approving booster shots for the moderna and j&j vaccines, endorsing the recommendations from the agency's vaccine advisory committee. we've got a lot to talk about. let's bring in now cnn senior political commentator mr. david axelrod, a former obama senior adviser, and political commentator mr. bakari sellers. thanks for the tie. david, hello to you. >> no thanks for my time? >> no. bakari is not wearing a neck tie. i said t-i-e. >> you want me to take my tie off? >> no. we're good. we're good. >> i'm going for the youthful sexy look tonight at 11:00. that's what i'm going for, okay, guys? >> it's 11:00, and it hasn't happened, so i guess it didn't work out. >> i'm not going to attempt the youthful sexy look. let's keep going. >> let's get this back on the tracks, on the rails. so there is a lot at stake for the president tonight. he had to sell his domestic agenda, which still isn't over the finish line yet. so how do you think he did, david? >> you know, i think he did pretty well. i think he did well. he's always good at expressing support for people who are struggling and working hard out there and middle class families. he did that. mostly what he did, don, was he really gave us a look at what is actually going on and where this bill is and where it's likely to land. and that was really useful. i thought he was incredibly candid about that. he said one thing i thought was really instructive that sort of framed the whole discussion. he said, when you have 50 democratic senators, every one is a president. >> every one is a president. >> and that was so true, and that is what he's dealing with, and therefore we learned what was in, and we learned what was out. and we learned about some of the compromises that he's going to have to make in order to get this done. and so, you know, i thought that was very useful. >> so, bakari, president biden made big news on the filibuster tonight. listen to this, and then we'll talk. >> are you saying once you get this current agenda passed on spending and social programs, that you would be open to fundamentally altering the filibuster? >> i am open to fundamentally -- >> or doing away with it? >> well, that remains to be seen, exactly what that means in terms of fundamentally altering, whether or not we just end the filibuster straight-up. there are certain things that are sacred rights. one is a sacred obligation that we're never going to renege on a debt. we're the only nation in the world we have never, ever reneged on a debt. >> when it comes to voting rights, just so i'm clear, though, you would entertain the notion with doing away with the filibuster on that one issue? is that correct? >> and maybe more. >> and maybe other issues? >> hmm. so what does this mean for voting rights? what did you think of that? >> i'm excited. it took us a long time to get to this point. i think that david was actually right in the fact that tonight -- and this is one of the things you have to either love or dislike. if you're a campaign operative, you dislike about joe biden. if you're somebody who voted for him like i did and support him like i do, you absolutely love that he's so honest, that he shows you all the sausage-making. he shows you how things get done. and tonight he did that. tonight he actually talked about things that actually matter to the american people. that's why these town halls are such a plus for him. and i will tell you this, look, i've been disappointed in the fact that we have not had results on issues that matter when you have a democratic house, a democratic senate, and a death white house on things like criminal justice reform, on things like voting rights. sure, the infrastructure bill, the reconciliation bill, these things are important. the work they've done on covid cannot go unnoticed. but the fact is there are a lot of people who voted for simple issues like justice. and the fact that he was able to say finally that he's coming around on eliminating or narrowing, i think is even better, narrowing the filibuster on an issue like voting rights is so important. the question, though, is can he get president sinema and president manchin onboard? >> that's right. >> i mean because, look, whatever the president of the united states said, he did say that, you know, we still have these two presidents out there that are just in the wind on these issues. and my plea for manchin and sinema would be simply that the reason that you're in the majority, the reason that you have this leverage is because people fought and died for these rights that apparently don't ring that alarm for you but ring that alarm for me. and i would hope they would get onb onboard. >> david, do you want to respond? >> no, look, that's absolutely right. i was a little actually confused by his answer on voting rights because his initial answer was, i couldn't -- i can't -- i don't want to talk about this because i'll lose three votes on these other bills if i talk about this. then he said, i'm for a -- i'd like to try a standing filibuster, which is something that manchin has said he'd support. you know, reinstating the old rule where you actually have to stand on the floor and hold the floor in order to filibuster. and, you know, people were broken by that at times. but then he was asked would he consider a carveout for voting rights, and he said that and other things. and so i don't know exactly where he is on this, and the key question is the one that bakari asked. you know, bakari says, why haven't we gotten stuff done on criminal justice reform, on voting rights, on a whole range of things? the answer is the filibuster. and the question is, are the senators who have opposed changing the filibuster -- manchin and sinema are public about it. i think there are others who probably share their view. are there 50 votes to end the filibuster? >> mm-hmm. >> but, i mean, don, let's be extremely clear. i mean, our good friend, the 44th president of the united states, somebody that david axelrod worked for, called the filibuster what it is, which is a relic of a racist past. i mean that is what the filibuster is. and so the question -- that's the frame that we have to look going forward. 2022 is not going to be easy for democrats, and i'm going to be out there campaigning across the country for democrats. what are you giving me to campaign for? that's the question. >> you're not happy with democrats, what they're doing? >> no, i'm not. i'm not happy. i'm in the same boat as many other democrats. i am not happy. i'm not 38 hot or pissed off yet, but i'm just not happy because i gave you a majority. you have to understand what people in georgia went through. like people in georgia waited in line for four or five hours -- >> sometimes longer. >> sometimes longer. they overcame the person running for georgia -- the governor of georgia being the secretary of state and dictating all of these things. they overcame so much, and just particularly in the state of georgia, we won't even talk about milwaukee. we won't talk about detroit, these other places. so, no, i'm not happy. democrats actually have to perform. and one of the things we've always said -- and i'll surmise here -- i'll wrap up here. one of the things we've always said is when republicans get in leadership, the reason they always suck is because they can never govern, and they can never produce. now we're doing the same thing over and over again. like give me something. give me something to campaign on. >> well, i'm confused only because we began this discussion about biden talking about, you know, coming close to having a deal on two of the really charge packages that we've seen in decades and decades and generations on both the social side and on infrastructure. that doesn't obviate the fact that, you know, on issues like voting rights, which are fundamental to democracy and criminal justice reform and others, that progress has been slow because of the filibuster. i'm sure biden would like to make progress on those things. but i will say this. i suspect that, yes, people stood in line in georgia to elect those senators, and they want them to vote for those things. i'm not sure that the people who voted for joe manchin in west virginia feel the same way, and that is the -- that is the challenge of democracy. joe manchin represents a state where trump won by 40 points. >> yeah. >> and so, you know, that makes it a little bit of a different conversation for him. i'm not defending him. i don't think that you should take a partisan stance on democracy. democracy should be something that's beyond party, and there are things that are happening in this country today that are going right to the heart of democracy. and i do think that congress and the senate should act, and i think manchin should act and sinema should act, and they should all stand as one on this. but bakari is a very smart politician, and he understands, i'm sure, that manchin has a different set of political imperatives than someone from another kind of state. >> president manchin? >> let me just say ax is absolutely correct. all of that is kyle cunningham's fault. that is what david axelrod said. because if cal cunningham wins in north carolina in 2020, then we don't have to deal with president manchin. look, democrats have to win elections. but in order for democrats to win elections, they have to communicate ideas. i think one of the lessons we can learn from the affordable care act is that people actually appreciated the affordable care act more after they knew what was in it, and they didn't know what was in the affordable care act until the republican party tried to take it away. this is the same thing over and over again with build back better, with the infrastructure bill. we need to communicate our ideas better. we need to tell them what is in the legislation. we need to go out on the road and do these things. then we need to actually show up when elections matter. but right now my only point is democrats have to do a better job in leadership of giving us something to vote for. i've been ringing that alarm for a long time. if people want to listen to it, that's fine. if they don't want to invite me to the white house christmas party, that's fine as well. but i'm just telling you -- >> if you heard me last night, i'm definitely not getting an invitation. >> you're going to have to wear a tie if they do, you know. >> first of all, i'm going for millennial sexy. i told you that already. that is what this is about. >> all right. i'm going to go but let me just say this. the reason bakari is dressed like this -- and i was very proud to be there with you and your lovely wife ellen tonight. the american liver foundation, the 45th anniversary legacy gala, he and his wife were the co-chairs, and because of the issue that they've had with liver and their little girl. >> yes. >> good work. >> thank you, bakari. it was great to be there. as much as we can help, continue to let us know. we love you and we're glad you're here and we're so happy for your family. i want to turn now to the full house voting to hold steve bannon in contempt of congress for defying the january 6th select committee. cnn legal analyst elliot williams and he is wearing a tie. good evening to you. >> good evening, don. i was born in this tie. you will get a necktie off my cold, dead body. it ain't happening. >> baby, i was born this way. >> not going for sexy. not going for sexy, but talk to me. >> good evening. tonight the ban the contempt referral sits with the u.s. attorney. this is what merrick garland said about the decision about whether to prosecute him. >> the department of justice will do what it always does in such circumstances. it will apply the facts and the law and make a decision consistent with the principles of prosecution. >> what do you think will happen? >> yeah, look, i want to say a couple things. first, when he made those comments, don, that was maybe six or eight hours before this case even existed, right? so it would have been irresponsible and inappropriate for him to go further than that. look, i think they're going to take a close look at it, and there's a basis for charging him with a crime. the committee put out a pretty long, detailed report indicating all the ways in which steve bannon, you know, sort of didn't respond to communications and sort of was blowing off the committee. so there's a basis for a charge to say that he willfully violated a subpoena. so we shall see. >> how long do you expect it's going to take the a.g. -- a.g. garland to ultimately make a decision? >> you know, look, i hesitate to impose timing on anybody. i think anybody is aware of how politically sensitive and how much public interest there is in this. so i would think the justice department's probably been looking at it already and will get to a decision soon. you know, whether it's hours, days, or weeks, it's just hard to say, don. >> okay. i've got to ask you this. i mean we know sometimes it's hard to find the truth in d.c. >> oh, yeah. >> oh, yeah. so congresswoman liz cheney revealing today that congressman jim banks has been claiming in official letters that he is the ranking member of the january 6th committee, but he's not even on the committee. >> yeah. >> so how can he possibly make that claim? >> because it's a fabrication. look, you know, jim banks was in the negotiations earlier on to be a part of the committee and chose not to, and his party chose not to. so that's very unfortunate. the committee is clear it is bipartisan. it has democrats and republicans on it. i don't know how he's able to make that claim, but it's simply not true. it's a duly authorized committee of congress, right, that the house of representatives have voted on. so it seems odd for a republican member of the house to claim even membership on it, let alone being the head of it. >> thanks to elliott and his tie this evening. thank you. the house voting to hold steve bannon in contempt for defying a subpoena from the january 6th committee, but more than 200 republicans refused to take a stand and voted no, coming down on the side of the former president and his big lie. >> that is what fear looks like. that is what fear of donald trump looks like. was no longer . my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant™. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is the only medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™. janssen can help you explore cost support options. i would've called yesterday. but... i could've called yesterday. but... i should've called yesterday, but... would've, could've, should've. we hear that a lot. hi. i'm jonathan, an insurance professional and manager here at colonial penn life insurance company. sometimes, people put off calling about life insurance. before you know it, another year has passed. and when they do call, they say, "i wish i'd called sooner." call right now for free information on the $9.95 plan. are you between age 50 and 85? you can get whole life insurance with options starting at just $9.95 a month. do i have to answer health questions to get it? there are no health questions. you cannot be turned down for any health reason, past or present. how long does this policy last? our $9.95 plan is permanent protection. can my rate increase later? never. once you're insured, your rate is locked in for life. you can get whole life insurance with options starting at just $9.95 a month. have you thought about life insurance but put it off? don't regret what you didn't do yesterday. call now and feel great about saying yes today. (announcer) call now and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. start your day with crest 3d white and from mochaccinos to merlot, your smile will always be brilliant. crest 3d white brilliance. 100% stain removal, 24 hour stain resistance to lock in your whitest smile. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. the house of representatives voting to hold steve bannon in criminal contempt, but if most republicans had their way, this referral would never have passed, okay? so joining me now, cnn political commentator scott jennings and also ana navarro. good evening to both of you. scott, i'm going to start with you. republicans remain hellbent on whitewashing this all in the name of what? donald trump and his big lie? >> well, obviously the republicans would rather talk about something else and they didn't want this committee in the first place. so it made sense to me why if you didn't want the committee in the first place, you wouldn't want to hold someone in contempt for defying the committee. he quite clearly defied a subpoena and it's quite clear this executive privilege claim is specious at best. my suspicion is if the department of justice takes it up, that he's not going to stand a very good chance. so we'll see how it plays out, but, you know, i was actually in a position once when i worked for president bush, i got subpoenaed by congress, and i actually had to show up and then say, you know, the president was asserting executive privilege over my testimony. but i had to show up and do it. in this case, bannon is not only claiming privilege, but he didn't even show up to assert it. it's an interesting case and one in which i don't think the facts are on his side, but i guess we'll see how it plays out. >> scott, you're like, i don't really know what to say. that's what it sounds like because -- you think about it. you said you can see why they didn't vote for it, but i mean, you know, they are supposed to be setting an example, and for them to vote against holding steve bannon accountable, you don't think that's irresponsible? >> well, they don't agree -- i'm just putting myself in their shoes. if they don't agree with the formation of the committee, which most of them didn't, then it makes sense to me logically why they wouldn't -- they wouldn't vote to hold someone in contempt who's defying the committee they didn't support in the first place. it doesn't necessarily make it responsible or right or proper. but to me, the votes are congrcon congrewous. the specter of the president hangs out there. there's no secret about that. >> i see you shaking your head, but just before your response, trump saying the insurrection was on november 3rd. he said the real insurrection was on november 3rd, and that january 6th was a protest. we know that's a lie. it was all on camera. what do you make of this? >> well, thank god you came to me because i've gotten to love scott jennings, and it's painful to hear him bend himself into pretzel shapes trying to justify what's happening. it's unjustifiable. they are putting their loyalty to a cult leader that is donald trump above the law, above the constitution, above the country, above patriotism, and above their job. they're trying to whitewash what happened on january 6th. they want the country to move on. so for those of us who don't want to move on, who want to learn the truth, who want to know how it happened, why it happened, who funded it, who was behind it, how it was organized, who participated, we need answers. and so, you know, they don't want to get to those answers because they want to pretend that it didn't happen, that it was tourists touring the u.s. capitol. so, you know, then they have to go along with this entire thing. in this case, steve bannon is a proxy for donald trump, and the bottom line is that but for these nine republicans who still know what a backbone is, the rest are miracles of science walking around invertebrate, without a backbone. they have no spine. it's a miracle they can walk on two legs. >> i want to talk about texas, what's happening in texas. let's talk about the new secretary of state there. governor greg abbott appointing john scott, a lawyer who briefly represented former president trump in his effort to challenge pennsylvania's election results. what do you think of that appointment, scott? >> i talked to some people i know in texas. i don't know mr. scott, but i'm told he's thought of as a qualified guy, somebody who has had a number of different jobs in texas state government, longtime lawyer, sort of well thought of person. the trump involvement here, though, makes the decision, you know, obviously a flash point. this is not, you know, an appointment that would normally draw that much attention except for the fact that he was briefly, i think for three days, involved in the trump litigation in pennsylvania. so on the one hand, seems like a qualified person. on the other hand, he's got this trump involvement, which has everybody up in arms. so i guess we'll see how he acts. they've gone through a number of secretaries of state there, so this is another in a line of appointments here, but it's quite obvious the governor of texas is responding to the president, who is obviously demanding an audit of a state that he won, which i find a little strange frankly. but by putting someone that had some involvement with his legal team in this job, i guess they're hoping to gain some favor there. >> ana, texas state democrats are calling the new secretary of state one of the architects of republicans' big lie. i mean, you know, he represented the former president. what do you make of it? >> look, i agree with scott, and i think greg abbott is trying to curry favor with donald trump. i think he either wants to be on trump's ticket should trump run, and if he doesn't, you're going to see greg abbott along with ron desantis running for the republican nomination. this is one more thing that they are doing to impact voting in texas. we saw the legislation. we saw that they just redrew the districts, the congressional districts, eliminating some of the hispanic districts and making them more easily won by republicans. and this is one more item on the agenda to lock up texas, to affect the right to vote and the access to vote. a secretary of state can make many, many decisions. let's remember the influence of katherine harris in the 2000 election in florida when she was secretary of state. so i think he's -- you know, he's dotting the is and crossing the ts when it comes to how to affect and influence voting so that it benefits republicans. >> thank you both. i appreciate it. i'll see you soon. so we have some breaking news to tell you about. it's really odd. there's an accident on a hollywood set that left a member of the crew dead and another injured. this is after alec baldwin fires a prop gun. we have the details right after this. plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. the sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now. 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. and now, save up to $1,000 on select sleep number 360 smart beds and adjustable bases. only for a limited time. to learn more, go to sleepnumber.com. tony here from creditrepair.com taking to the streets to talk about credit. can you repair your credit yourself? yes. -great. how? uhhh... how long does credit repair take? i don't know, like 10 years. what? are you insane? what's a good credit score? go. 600. maybe if you're trying to pay thousands extra in interest rates. cut the confusion, get started with a free credit evaluation at creditrepair.com. firefighter maggie gronewald knows how to handle dry weather... ...and dry, cracked skin. new gold bond advanced healing ointment. restore healthy skin, with no sticky feeling. gold bond. champion your skin. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. call coventry direct to learn more. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. our friend sold their policy to help pay their medical bills, and that got me thinking. maybe selling our policy could help with our retirement. i'm skeptical, so i did some research and called coventry direct. they explained life insurance is a valuable asset that can be sold. we learned we could sell all of our policy, or keep part of it with no future payments. who knew? we sold our policy. now we can relax and enjoy our retirement as we had planned. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find out if your policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance. i used to pre-rinse because mom did. but i wasted up to 20 gallons of water every time. now, we just scrape and load. finish quantum works without pre-rinsing, cleaning your dishes to a shine. join the millions of americans skipping the rinse to save our water. president biden confident that democrats are coming together to pass these two big pieces of legislation, infrastructure and the social safety net bill. during cnn's town hall tonight, the president talking specifics as negotiations continue and admitting that he is not getting a lot of the spending items that he wants. how do americans feel about this? i want to bring in harry enten, cnn senior political writer and analyst. harry, good to see you. so biden was pitching his build back better agenda tonight. do people even though what's in these plans? >> not really, no. i mean some do, right? >> yeah. >> obviously there are some people who pay more attention to the news than others. but if you look at a cbs news poll that just came out, what do you see? only 53% of americans know a lot or some of the specifics in this plan, versus 57% who don't know anything or don't know specifics. so i would argue that this has been a pretty poor sales job by the president and his administration on this plan. >> do you think build back better will help their families -- or do they think, i should say, because that's what really matters, if they think that something positive will happen to them and their families, if it's going to affect them positively. >> it doesn't really seem so. the polling is quite split on this. i think you're right that this is a great way to phrase this question. what you see is only 36% of americans thinks it will help you and your family versus 33% who say hurt. and even on the national economy, right, the broader picture, it's 41% help versus 38% hurt. so what we really see is this is actually quite divisive when it comes to this. even if they approve of a plan overall, they don't actually really think it's going to help them. i think that's part of the reason why this has been such a hard sales pitch for them. >> sometimes it's hard to quantify these things. it depends on what you ask, right? >> sure. >> so what's the concerns? what are americans concerned about? >> yeah. i think this is part of the reason why this hasn't picked up a lot of steam because if you look at the polling, the number one thing americans are extremely coext extremely concerned about is inflation at 53% versus look at the bottom of that list, 27% on infrastructure. me and your producers are going back and forth how to get this many things on the list. that's how low infrastructure is here. i think it was all the way down at 10th or 11th. i think this gives you an idea that although the president is trying to petition this and people might think we need infrastructure reform, the fact is they're not really concerned about it. there are far more other things they're much more concerned about in their day to day lives at this point. >> can we put that one back up, please? look at that, political divisions, very high up there. health care, very high up. migrants at the border, very high up there as to what they're concerned about. >> yeah, that's exactly right. i think, you know, part of the issue is we've sort of seen this kind of build on top of each other, right? we've seen the president's approval rating decline over the last few months and people say, oh, what is it? is it one particular thing? i don't think it's one particular thing. i think it's a combination of a lot of things. >> so do you think biden isn't concentrating on what's important to them? >> i don't believe that he necessarily is. i think that's part of the reason why even if you believe this plan is popular, which most of the polling does suggest that more people approve of it than disapprove of it, the numbers really aren't moving. and i'm not sure even passing this bill will necessarily move it. it may help try and get this idea that biden's actually doing something and americans don't think he's accomplished that much so far. but i'm kind of on the doubtful side here. i don't think this plan necessarily gets at what most americans are concerned about. >> you know, all of this biden stuff will be on the background, right, on the minds of the people going to vote in virginia. that race is tightening. so what's going on? show us the polls. what's going to happen? >> yeah. i mean, look, you and i have been talking about this. you texted me earlier today. you're like, is terry mcauliffe actually going to win? i'm kind of maybe, more likely than not, but you could see the race is tightening here. it was a five-point lead a few months ago in august. then look last month, it was three points. now it's two points. that's well within any margin of error. when you see a lead like that, that race is just too close to call. that's the way i would describe it at this point. maybe a slight edge to mcauliffe, but i really wouldn't bet on it. >> look, it's not over until the polls close and all the votes are counted. thank you, sir. i appreciate it, harry enten. >> bye, don. breaking tonight. so this terrible story coming out of hollywood. one dead, another injured after alec baldwin fires a prop gun on a movie set. we're going to explain to you what's going on. symptoms, get your zzz's...ht yr and get back to your rhythm. feel the power. beat the symptoms fast. i would've called yesterday. but... i could've called yesterday. but... i should've called yesterday, but... would've, could've, should've. we hear that a lot. hi. i'm jonathan, an insurance professional and manager here at colonial penn life insurance company. sometimes, people put off calling about life insurance. before you know it, another year has passed. and when they do call, they say, "i wish i'd called sooner." call right now for free information on the $9.95 plan. are you between age 50 and 85? you can get whole life insurance with options starting at just $9.95 a month. do i have to answer health questions to get it? there are no health questions. you cannot be turned down for any health reason, past or present. how long does this policy last? our $9.95 plan is permanent protection. can my rate increase later? never. once you're insured, your rate is locked in for life. you can get whole life insurance with options starting at just $9.95 a month. have you thought about life insurance but put it off? don't regret what you didn't do yesterday. call now and feel great about saying yes today. (announcer) call now and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. okay. so here's the breaking news we have been telling you about. law enforcement officials confirming tonight that one person is dead, another is injured after an accident on a movie set where alec baldwin fired a prop gun. the sheriff's office says it was an active investigation, and no charges have been filed. cnn's senior national correspondent sara sidner is covering this story for us. what an awful story, sara. >> reporter: it is unreal that this has happened with a prop gun according to the sheriff's department. what we know so far is sadly the director of photography, a woman who is in her early 40s, 42 years old. her name i now have is halyna hutchins, has been killed according to investigators. this prop gun that alec baldwin was apparently holding, it was obviously fired. they're trying to figure out what kind of projectile came out of the gun. but there was also the director of this film that he was working on called "rust" that they are filming. 48-year-old director joel souza has also been hit. now, we don't know what -- we don't know anything, any details about his condition. but we do know that the director of photography has been killed on-set in this seemingly freak accident. we are unsure exactly, you know, how this all happened and why it may have been, you know -- this prop gun may have been pointed at the director of photography. we don't know how exactly the director of the film was shot. but we do know that alec baldwin was really, really happy about being back on-set in person. he posted on instagram a photo of himself working on the film and almost disturbingly now, because of what's happened, there's a video -- or picture of him where he's got, it looks like, fake blood on his torso. he's sort of saying, you know, happy to be back on the set, and that's sort of all we've heard from him, and that was way early on when they started filming. now we know that two people have been shot by this prop firearm, and one person has died, and, you know, the crew is reeling from this. it just -- it doesn't seem real. >> yeah. let me just -- this is what they're saying here. the sheriff said that the investigation remains open and active and that no charges again have been filed. but, again, sara sidner is reporting this coming from santa fe, new mexico. alec baldwin on the set of a movie called "rust," and they said witnesses continue to be interviewed by detectives. we can roll that back. this investigation remains open and active. no charges have been filed in regard to this incident. witnesses continue to be interviewed by detectives. that's what the sheriff's office is saying. halyna hutchins, 42 -- that's according to investigators -- a female victim identified as the director of photography. she was transported to a hospital via helicopter, pronounced dead by medical personnel at the university of new mexico hospital, and the other victim, 48-year-old director joel souza transported to the saint vincent hospital by ambulance for care. we're checking on them. sara is going to continue to dig on this reporting. if she gets more, we'll bring her back. sara, thank you so much. i really appreciate it. bizarre story coming out of santa fe, new mexico, involving alec baldwin on a movie set. >> so black players getting a win in the nfl after suing over discrimination. we're going to tell you about it after this. with holiday spirit all season long. connect to nature this season. tony here from creditrepair.com taking to the streets to talk about credit. can you repair your credit yourself? yes. -great. how? uhhh... how long does credit repair take? i don't know, like 10 years. what? are you insane? what's a good credit score? go. 600. maybe if you're trying to pay thousands extra in interest rates. cut the confusion, get started with a free credit evaluation at creditrepair.com. - [narrator] as you get ready for what's next, custom gear from custom ink can help make the most of these moments. we've developed new tools to make it easy for you. custom ink has hundreds of products to help you feel connected. upload your logo or start your design today at customink.com tonight, two house committees launching an investigation into the nfl's handling of allegations of a hostile work environment inside the washington football team. allegations which include bigotry, racism, sexism, and homophobia. the committee's requesting documents and information. and also tonight, an agreement to scrap race as a factor in nfl concussion settlements. "the new york times" reporting the nfl and lawyers for black players who accuse the league of discrimination reaching the agreement. so let's discuss now with ken belson, nfl reporter for "the times," and also ken jenkins, a former player. good to have both of you on. we wanted you to keep us updated on this story, and you all are, so thank you very much for that. so, ken belson, it's been a long battle getting to this point. explain this policy of race norming and what the agreement ll mean. >> sure. this started about a year ago -- actually last august, so a little more than a year ago when two former players sued the league claiming that their claims for payouts for dementia under the concussion settlement were denied in part because race was used as one of the categories to determine whether they were -- they had cognitive decline. and this was -- and there were two separate categories, one for black players, one for white players, and the assumptions made for the black players assumed a lower level of cognitive ability, and therefore they had to have a much steeper decline to get a payout. so this came to light more than a year ago. it was quite embarrassing to the league, especially when it's out there on the football field trying to say end racism. so this became kind of an urgent matter to kind of undo or replace, and that's what's happened yesterday. >> so, ken, i know you and your wife have been leading voices against the nfl's policy of race norming, but you say t t tt it' to rejoice just yet. why do you say that? >> well, it's not. you know, we've made some progress, but how much is really yet to be determined. you know, the devil is going to be in the details. but we are cautiously optimistic. thank you, ken belson, for posting the entire settlement. i've been working my way through it sort of word by word and paragraph by paragraph. but, again, it's hard to take a victory lap because of blatantly racist policy has somehow been reversed. i mean it's like setting your house on fire, and then they say, hey, i'm going to come help you put it out. there's some good things in there, and what i've read so far, i -- i'm cautiously optimistic if they can pull it off. one thing to have it in writing. it's another thing in practice, right? >> yeah. so, ken jenkins, how much has this cost former players and their families? has the damage really already been done here? >> it depends on the family. there are a lot of men -- there's some men who have actually died during this process, and their families actually get nothing, right? and there have been families that are going through tremendous financial difficulty before their settlements get rescored or reviewed. and it's -- it's been tragic in some cases. you know, men going into bankruptcy and falling further into -- their households into disarray, so it has been difficult. >> ken belson, in your reporting, you acknowledge that as a result of the new agreement, no party can appeal claims based on the grounds of race or the use of race norms. i mean what will happen to the hundreds of former players that have had their claims denied already? >> this is one of the open questions that i think a lot of players will have. more than 7,000 players took a kind of preliminary test that was given for free as a kind of baseline or a benchmark test, and many of those players didn't know why their scores didn't qualify. and now they'll have the chance to go back and get rescored and perhaps have a qualifying diagnosis that will allow them to get a payout. but as ken jenkins mentioned, years have gone by. the stress of waiting and appealing and having claims audited, you know, this was supposed to be a, quote, easy to use settlement. that's the way it was portrayed to the players four, five years ago, and it's been anything but. the second thing to add, which is not relevant to the race norming issue per se, is the guidelines or the reasons for players being disqualified. let's say a player can still drive or, you know, do a radio or tv interview. well, suddenly the nfl might appeal that claim and say, well, he can't have dementia because he still drives a car. well, as we know, there's many grades of dementia and cognitive decline, and so there are many other things having nothing to do with race that are still holding up claims. >> i just have a short time left here, ken jenkins. you want the doj civil rights division to get involved? >> yeah, i think that's the only way that we're going to get full transparency of what transpired here. i think if they do an inquiry and open discovery, then we're going to actually find out the demographic information as to who's been paid and who's been denied and on what grounds. and we'll find out also whether it was purposefully done. that's really important. you know, we still -- we need a team of lawyers instead of just chris seager. he seems to be no match for the nfl. we need full transparency, and we need full reporting on the progress as the new settlement takes hold. >> well, ken belson, thank you for your reporting. ken jenkins, thank you for appearing and my regards to your wife, please. >> she says hello. >> thank you very much. i appreciate it. and thank you for watching, everyone. our coverage continues. kim, no! mucinex lasts 3x longer for 12 hours. dog barks you're right bunker, the medicare enrollment deadline is almost here. if you're on medicare and you want to explore your options, the deadline to enroll is december 7th. so, you should act now. were do i find the right medicare plan? at healthmarkets, they search many of the nation's most recognized carriers so they can help you find the right plan, at the right price that's the right fit for you. how long does it take? just minutes. my current plan only covers 80% of my costs. healthmarkets may find plans with zero dollar copays, deductibles and monthly premiums. even plans with prescription drug coverage, vision, dental and hearing aids. how much does it cost? healthmarkets service is free. dog barks ok bunker! ... he really doesn't want you to miss the december 7th deadline. don't wait. save time. find the plan that fits you. call the number on your screen now, or visit healthmarkets.com healthmarkets hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the united states and right around the word. i'm isa soares in london. just ahead right here on "cnn newsroom." breaking overnight, the actor alec baldwin accidentally shoots two people with a prop firearm on a movie set, killing one of them. new details this morning about what investigators found in a florida nature park while searching for brian laundrie. and as nicaragua soon heads to the polls for election, the