now it is vladimir putin's time for choosing. invade ukraine or back down. plus, a cnn exclusive. senator mitch mcconnell prefers he and donald trump just ignore each other, but a new interview highlights a likely mcconnell/trump midterm crash. the republican leader says it's critical gop candidates avoid trump's big lie. and spiking crime is an every city challenge. the new york mayor vows to lead the fight and his plan relies on reviving a controversial police unit. we begin with the ukraine standoff. the white house holds two classified briefings to brief lawmakers and bring them up to speed on the security situation in ukraine. president biden says he is now ready to send 8500 more american troops to eastern europe. nato has put more assets in the region. the intent? to add military muscle to the diplomatic pressure and get vladimir putin to back down from a potential ukraine invasion. whether the russian leader takes that off ramp, though, is an open question. this morning, an exclusive sit down with cnn, ukraine's foreign minister says an american convoy to the region would deliver a clear message to putin that putin has, quote, shot himself in the foot and the foreign minister warns no one will decide ukraine's fate but ukraine. >> if anyone makes a concession on ukraine behind ukraine's back, first, we will not accept that. we will -- we will not be in a position of a country that speaks of the form, hears of the instruction of the big power and folds it. >> sam kiley is in kyiv for us. you hear the ukrainian foreign minister trying to say this is our decision, this is our country. but ukraine does very much need its friends. >> it does need its friends. its freds today, john, have been delivering in the form of u.s. military aid. among other things, large amounts of weapons, including the javelin anti-tank weapon. very important tactical weapon here. that's on top of similar -- rather smaller anti-tank weapons being provided by the british about ten days ago. so they are getting material support. they have been a bit rattled here also by kind of psychological damage they feel that's been done by the announcement that the u.s. is increasing its presence of u.s. marines in the embassy here, drawing down the numbers of people, getting rid of nonessential staff, families in the u.s. embassy nepbrits have done the same, as if the australians and germans. three of those five are part of the five is community who share intelligence. the anglo-saxon world. the outliers being canada and new zealand. they are sharing intelligence and their intelligence indicates they tbelieve there is a reason to do that. president zelensky here, john, saying calm. trying to spread calm in facebook addresses and echoed by his ministers across the board spending all day today saying we don't think biethink we're abouo get attacked but now is not the time to be worrying excessively, john. >> tense situation. somewhat confusing situation. sam kiley, appreciate the live reporting from kyiv. let's get some expertise from the council on foreign rel relations. richard haass, grateful for your time today. listen to the president of the united states yesterday. part of it is moving military assets. and part is getting all the military leaders on the phone. president biden says we're all together. listen. >> i had a very, very good meeting, with all the european leaders. we'll talk about it later. >> but you watched the move yesterday, putting these troops on standby and you tweeted this. not clear why u.s. should send troops, equipment to eastern europe. russia has not increased its threat to nato. less we fortify nato. why do you think what the president is doing now is not calibrated correctly? >> i think it's fine that we put u.s. forces on alert. shorten the lead time that if they needed to be sent to europe they could be. i think that's just fine. i think it would be premature to send them to europe since one of the things we're messaging to putin is essentially, if you go into ukraine, one of the ways you will pay a price is nato will be reinforced close to your borders in places like poland or hungary. he doesn't want it. so it seems to me the threat of doing that is one of the pieces of leverage i wouldn't -- >> the government in ukraine is not happy that the united states and a couple other western countries are drawing down families of nonessential personnel from the embassies. they say it sends the wrong signal at this time. but as joe biden tries to be ukraine's friend he also has to worry about those americans, doesn't he? >> sure. and it's tough. look, the u.s./ukraine relationship is strained. no matter what we do, it's not quite enough. from our point of view, we're taking reasonable steps in this case to reduce the vulnerability of american personnel and citizens. from ukraine's point of view we're signaling that we think war is likely. that's the last thing they want to see. this is a scratchy relationship, i think, that's inevitable what the foreign minister just said at the beginning of your program. he doesn't want deals made behind his back. he's talking about the united states. and he's basically signaling washington, we don't trust you. we don't want you and the russians cooking up something at our expense. >> bill clinton was president of the united states when we first tried to figure ot what does vladimir putin want. there's been a lot of bad behavior in the 25-plus years since. an analyst you know quite well, fiona hill writes this of putin. he has the united states right where he wants it. right now, all signs indicate that mr. putin will lock the united states into an endless tactical game. take more chunks out of ukraine and exploit all the fractions of nato and the european union. getting out of the current crisis requires acting, not reacting. a, do you agree and, b, what would the acting part entail? >> i don't agree with it. i think putin is calculated. he put 100,000 troops on the border. he was probably thinking of using all of them. and then the strength of the u.s.-led western response got him to think again. i think now if he does act he's more likely to use something smaller. one of the reasons he'd do something smaller is not to trigger certain response he doesn't want to see. if he does something small, for example, the germans aren't going to be with us on sanctions. we may not have the same nato reactions. putin is calibrating his cost/benefit ratios of various kinds of action and, look, the united states, i don't quite know what it means to say we should act, not react. we've got a lot of considerations in the world, including china, including iran and north korea. including domestic. we do not want to have a crisis in ukraine. we're certainly not prepared to send u.s. forces to ukraine so we've got to handle this with a little bit of care and we still ought to be looking for an acceptable diplomatic effort. >> so let's close on that point then. you mentioned putin's cost/benefit analysis. president biden has to make a similar cost/benefit analysis. there's this exchange of papers. russia has questions. the united states is sending written response. nato is responding a written response. one thing putin wants is the united states to say ukraine will never join nato. he wants biden to concede that u.s. troop presence in certain countries would come down or at least not increase. is there something biden can quote/unquote, give putin that is not such a major concession that it's embarrassing? >> well, the united states has already said -- is not going to welcome ukraine any time in the visible or foreseeable future. i think we're very open to various types of arms control agreements. various pullbacks on forces, mutual ceilings on the forces putin would have near european countries. et cetera. it's up to putin whether he's looking for an off ramp or something that's face-saving. as i keep saying, i don't rule out the possibility that he won't find satisfaction like what you were just talking about. some new formula. virtually everything has been tried. i wouldn't be surprised if at some point we increased russian presence in the western hemisphere. having russian bombers visit nicaragua or venezuela. he can widen the chess board and find an acceptable outcome from his point of view that way. we then to have to decide what we're prepared to live with. >> widening the chess board. we'll say in touch as that happens. richard haass, grateful for your insights today. thank you. >> thank you, john. up next, cnn talks to the senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. his take on republican chances in the midterms and on differences with donald trump. ♪ smooth like butter, like a criminal undercover ♪ ♪ gon' pop like trouble ♪ ♪ breaking into your heart like that ♪ ♪ do the boogie, like ♪ ♪ side step, right-left, to my beat ♪ ♪ high like the moon, rock with me, baby ♪ ♪ know that i got that heat ♪ ♪ let me show you 'cause talk is cheap ♪ ♪ side step, right ♪ ♪ get it, let it roll ♪ get your personal points plan! i'm james corden and i'm here to tell people that ww is getting even more personal. keep on shopping, ignore us. i've lost like 28 lbs. you look great! i love that my clothes fit better, but i just love ice cream a little bit more than that. the new ww personal points program is particular to you. so what kind of foods do you like? 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(excited yell) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health. in a new interview with cnn, the senate minority leader mitch mcconnell really trying to thread the needle. he tells manu raju he's mostly on the same page at donald trump heading into the 2022 midterms, but there is one giant divide. how mcconnell thinks republican candidates should talk about the 2020 election. manu raju joins us live. this is one of the most fascinating relationships in politics right now. walk us through the conversation, including that potential collision. >> yeah, that's right because remember, in the aftermath of the january 6th insurrection, mitch mcconnell voted to acquit donald trump, but then went on the senate floor and called him responsible for the attack on this capitol. that has led to a months-long barrage of attacks launched by donald trump against mitch mcconnell in a number of republicans flatly concerned about what this could mean for the efforts to take back the senate majority, keeping their party on the same page. now talking with senator mcconnell through all these dynamics, it's clear he believes he and trump are actually on the same page on a number of these key races. they've gotten behind similar candidates in nevada and georgia. he's staying out of a republican primary in alabama and a primary that donald trump has endorsed. he has also -- notes they are on a different page on alaska, the senate republican, lisa murkowski running for re-election there despite her vote to convict donald trump. but that's a state that will almost certainly stay in republican hands. he also notes, john, he is good with republican candidates in a number of key races. and the primaries emerging. messy primaries in pennsylvania, north carolina and ohio. though notes that he is watching very closely a potential problem in missouri. republican candidate there that republicans are nervous about. the former governor could arise from that race. mcconnell is not ruling out the idea of engaging in that primary if it turns haywire. what he is warning about is the talking about what happens in the -- happened in the 2020 elections. donald trump has used the -- his lie that the election stolen as a litmus test to get republican candidates to agree with them in order to give him their endorsement. but when talk ing about republican candidates who are embracing that election falsehood, mcconnell had this warning. he said it's important for candidates to remember, we need to respect the results of our democratic process unless the court system demonstrates that some significant fraud occurred that would change the outcome. now he also is discounting the impact that the fight in congress over expanding voting rights that we've seen all throughout this past year, as well as in the last couple of weeks here will have any impact at all. doesn't think they'll have a single impact on the specific senate race. john, even though he and mcconnell and trump at this moment may be on the same page on the candidates, he is still trying to court mcconnell is, two governors, larry hogan and doug ducey to run for those races in arizona and maryland. trump has gone after, particularly ducey, so potentially they could be on the opposite sides in critical races this fall. >> stand by because let's bring in some other reporters. with me to share their reporting, cnn's dana bash, politico's nicholas wu and npr's alisha rasco. this is what leader mcconnell said about the alaska race. we'll be in alaska helping lisa murkowski. that's the one place the former president and i have a disagreement. he calls it the one place. but to the point manu was just making, if -- if mcconnell is successful, and he can get governor ducey in the arizona race, and if he is successful and he can get governor hogan, former governor hogan in the maryland race, especially in the case of doug ducey, that's one of trump's hand grenade states, if you will. he thinks governor ducey was supposed to help him cheat in arizona and he didn't. mcconnell wants to be hohum. mostly on the same page as donald trump but that's going to be sorely tested. >> they're very much connected, john. my understanding in talking to republican sources is that a big reason if not the big reason, governor ducey isn't already in the senate race is because he understands the incoming he would get undoubtedly from former president donald trump because, as you said, ducey daned to stand up for the truth and the rule of law and not bend to his election lies. that's a very real dynamic. for larry hogan, it's a bit different because he's in a -- he's a very popular governor in a blue state. and more of a question about whether he wants to be a senator after being a governor for some time. if i may, very quickly, there's one line in here that manu got which is just -- first of all, this interview is fantastic. i encourage everyone to read it. mcconnell is talking to this point about having winnable candidates. he's talking about 2010 where there was a huge wave and republicans in the house took over. in the senate, they didn't make it and he said, it took us six years to climb out of that hole because they lost republican primaries with candidates who -- the candidates who could win statewide lost in the primaries and that's what he's trying to avoid here. >> he remembers claire mccaskill out of missouri. that one state sticks with him quite well. one of the interesting things is what will the issue terrain be. covid, the economy, but mcconnell makes the case that democrats will get nothing on this big fight over voting rights. he said it's just as likely to be a liability for democrats as it is for us. i think i can confidently say we won't lose any elections over that issue anywhere in the country. and he goes on to list other issues that people are concerned about. the border,ing if inafghanista and the like. i assume biden agrees this will be one of the big tests. >> i think they're talking about really things in two different ways. no, i don't think republicans are going to lose because of the fighting rights issue. the argument that democrats are making is that the actions that are being taken in these states will help republicans by discouraging demfat krats, right, or by discouraging more people from voting, by making it more difficult to vote when you have less people voting that that will benefit republicans. i do think that it could be a liability for democrats, absolutely, because in many ways, it has become a litmus test for democratic supporters, whether biden is doing enough to live up to his promises. they are thinking, about he hasn't done voting rights. this is a center for democracy and it hasn't happened. so i think it could be a liability, but it's really in different ways that we're looking at the voting rights issue. >> and nicholas, he is a national republican figure who has survived a constant fight with donald trump and you can make the case he's even stronger now, in a position to be re-elected as republican leader. he said i'm going to be running again in november and we'll see what happens later. not even ruling out perhaps seeking another term as leader down the road. that's remarkable. if you talk to senate republicans. trump has several times tried to get somebody to make a run at mcconnell and trump has failed. >> absolutely. mcconnell steeems to have only strengthened his position. found some issues within his caucus. he's -- despite talk what some folks call the battle of three johns, mcconnell's lieutenant who, you know, at some point might be folks who could succeed him. mcconnell looks like he wants to stay there. and to have been able to not only bury the hatchet with trump but stand behind an incumbent whom trump has targeted, lisa murkowski in alaska, really shows the skill at which mcconnell has handled this situation. >> manu, let me circle back to you. he's also very skilled at interviews. he's a tough guy to crack. he's only going to say what he's going to say. part of the challenge is trying to translate based on your experience, a, what he wouldn't say and, b, how he chose his words. on this idea he can tkeep this detente with trump through 2022, does he believe it or does he have his fingers crossed? >> i think he has his fingers crossed. he doesn't know what donald trump would do. he's not spoken to donald trump in more than a year. they're on the same page just by hampenstance in some ways. in pennsylvania, one candidate dropped out there who had donald trump's endorsement there. and in georgia. mcconnell was concerned about him initially. donald trump got behind him. now mcconnell is behind him. uncertain how this will play out but his comment to republican candidates to embrace the election results, that was by no mistake. he wanted to make that very clear that that is an issue that republicans should get behind and trust the elections. >> we'll watch to see if the former president decides to raise his hand on that point. fascinating interview and months ahead of us as we go through primary season and beyond. the panel will be back. manu, thanks for the interview. a big win for the january 6th committee and new grand jury in georgia that only adds to donald trump's legal woes. when you switch to t-mobile and bring your own device, we'll pay off your phone up to $800. you can keep your phone. keep your number. and get your employees connected on the largest and fastest 5g network. plus, we give you $200 in facebook ads on us! so you can reach more customers, create more opportunities, and make this the best year for your business yet. visit your local t-mobile store today. living with diabetes? glucerna protein smart has your number with 30 grams of protein. scientifically designed with carbsteady to help you manage your blood sugar. and more protein to keep you moving with diabetes. glucerna live every moment >> vo: my car is my after-work decompression zone. ♪ music ♪ >> vo: so when my windshield broke... i found the experts at safelite autoglass. they have exclusive technology and service i can trust. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ as a business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving by switching to the mobile service designed for small business: comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable nationwide network. with no line activation fees or term contracts... saving you up to $500 a year. and it's only available to comcast business internet customers. so boost your bottom line by switching today. comcast business: powering possibilities. this just in. ten members of the far right group the oath keepers pleaded not guilty to charges connected to the january 6th capitol attack. that includes seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge yet leveled by the justice department against any insurrection defenders. the group leader stewart rhodes was among the ten who pleaded not guilty. that one of several big legal developments related to donald trump and his big lie. one say new grand jury in georgia. we'll get to that. another is a big win for the january 6th committee. federal judge now ordering former trump attorney john eastman to sort through nearly 19,000 emails. eastman was a leading big lie architect, including pushing a plan to get then-vice president mike pence to overturn the 2020 election. eastman taught law at chapman university at the time and was fighting the january 6th committee's efforts to see his university emails. but judge david carter ruling eastman must go through those emails and then if he wants to, offer case-by-case objections if he wants to assert some privilege over some of the documents. judge carter writing the court expects the parties will work together with the urgency this case requires. our reporters are back with us. dana bash, katlyn points out the importance of the committee getting more documents. they are the clearest statements yet on how much eastman was doing on trump's behalf. rather than on his own initiative in the days leading up to january 6th. the committee is trying to piece together a timeline how involved was the former president in trying to, a, object to the election and block the election, then overturn the election and then january 6th. this is part of the puzzle. >> absolutely. i agree. kaitlan is one of our best reporters. and the fact that donald trump did not and does not text, he does not email, it doesn't necessarily mean that there won't be a paper trail on what he wanted which is the whole goal in getting these emails from john eastman because he dictates -- he, the former president, dictates. it is possible that you're going to see mails or texts from or to his aides, his assistants that will explain exactly what he wanted. that is really the key here. and it is yet another big indicator that this committee is going straight for questions about the former president and his role. >> nicholas, you and your colleague write about this in the case of another huge conspiracy theorist, alex jones, sitting down with the committee repeatedly refusing when with the committee to answer questions but then going on his program and talking about some of it. >> exactly. alex jones and also one of these longtime targets of the committee. he sat for what looks like it was a virtual interview with the committee on monday evening. and then, yeah, went on his show after it and laid out everything that he had told them. and what he called his kind of unofficial testimony. and among the more interesting things was that he said that caroline renn, this republican fundraiser who was involved in planning some of these rallies on january 5th and 6th had been his liaison, his go between, between the white house and, you know, folks like him. so this starts to show, you know, more detail around how these rallies are planned. something that had been a goal of the committee from the very beginning. even with someone like alex jones who didn't want to apply and said we plead the fifth, still able to get more information around it. >> piece together the time table. outside of washington, ayesha, the fulton county district attorney has permission to convene a special grand jury with subpoena power as she tries to investigate donald trump's effort to reverse the results in georgia. significant because they can now get testimony from people who refused to cooperate but we've all lived through two trump impeachments and the like. listen to preet brara. he says this is a big deal. but -- >> criminal legal jeopardy. they'd say we've been down this road before. where particular prosecutors or enforcement agencies open up investigations of people up to and including the president and we all follow it and we think it means sometimes more than it means. >> the skepticism there jumps out because there are a lot of people left of center who think this is the investigation that's going to get trump. and now they say, well, maybe not. >> well, that's always the case because what trump is going to do is he's going to call it political and he's going to fight them every step of the way. he's going to take -- do every bit of legal maneuvering possible under the sun to try to slow it down. and so far he's been successful with that -- with those strategies. >> we'll continue to follow these cases. when we come back, interesting political moment. president biden apologizing. that after calling out a fox reporter on an open mic. what the president did to try to make amends. at libertymutual.com so you only pay for what you need. isn't that right limu? limu? limu? sorry, one sec. doug blows several different whistles. doug blows several different whistles. [a vulture squawks.] there he is. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty♪ shhh... you think she's still awake? don't worry. the lexus rx, built for a modern families. get $1,500 lease cash toward a 2022 rx 350. ♪ new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today. hello, for the last few years, i've been a little obsessed with chasing the big idaho potato truck. but it's not like that's my only interest. i also love cooking with heart-healthy, idaho potatoes. always look for the grown in idaho seal. the pandemic made teaching and learning really hard. but instead of working to help students safely return to the classroom, the san francisco school board focused on renaming schools and playing politics. and they've even saddled our district with a $125 million deficit. our children can't wait for new leadership. here's our chance for a fresh start. on february 15th, please recall school board members collins, lópez and moliga before our kids fall even further behind. topping our political radar today, london metropolitan police investigating the alleged lockdown parties at boris johnson's official residence. the prime minister welcoming the investigation saying it will give the public the clarity it needs. johnson reportedly attended two birthday gatherings in june 2020. one may have included 30 guests. the spokesperson says it included a group of staff working at number 10 who gathered briefly to wish the prime minister a happy birthday. a report on just what happened expected to be published this week. the capitol police officer eugene goodman, remember his heroics on january 6th? he's talking about what happened that day. we see goodman there. the officer leading protesters away from the senate. he says that day could have turned much more violent than it was. >> it could have been -- easily been a bloodbath. so kudos to everybody there that showed a measure of restraint with regards to deadly force because it could have been bad. really, really bad. >> president biden caught on a hot mic monday. >> will you take questions on inflation then? >> thank you. >> you think inflation is a political liability ahead of the midterms. >> that's a great answer. more inflation. what a stupid son of a [ bleep ]. >> the president later calling the fox correspondent to apologize. biden was calling to, quote, clear the air. reporters are back to discuss. ayesha, you covered the biden white house. not the first time he's said something critical of a reporter in an open mic. why? >> look, he's having a rough run of it now. but, you know, presidents often, they get mad at the press. like that is not unusual. but biden, like everybody else, he has to talk about people behind their back and not to their face. and that's just why he got in trouble this time. so i think that was the really big issue at that moment. >> the use of the language, dana, is what jumps out. look, the president has starred with peter ducey before. as someone who covered the white house for years, peter ducey handled it perfectly. not always a fan of how peter ducey works but the president called him. said i'm sorry. said he wanted to move on. and peter said fine. i'm going to be back to work tomorrow. what's up with the president? >> it's not the first time he's said something, been caught saying something about a reporter. not the first time he's been caught on a hot mic. remember the big blanking deal when he was vice president and he was hugging then-president obama. but i think more broadly, i was thinking about sam donaldson and ronald reagan. presidents have a -- there's a benefit for presidents to use certain reporters as foils. and sometimes, depending on the dynamic, definitely in this case, in the case of ducey and fox, there's a benefit for them to do the same. the fact that the president apologized is good. the fact that ducey handled it with grace and class is even better. >> and nicholas, i guess the question, is this an isolated incident? president biden and a fox reporter. also a recent open mic about a fox reporter or is it part of the increasing tension, sometimes increasing verbal combat between people in our business and politicians. you get a lot of this on the hill who think the quote, unquote mainstream media is the perfect foil. >> that's for sure. like dana said, we have seen biden on the sort of hot mics before but this sort of salty language is something that you see, it's not just limited to republicans. i mean, we hear it from both democrats and republicans on the hill, too. you know, look at times when senator jon tester is quoted and says something kind of salty. it's all part of the game here in some ways, but it's not an isolated incident to have this sort of sparring and back and forth. >> there are sort of two rules that people continue to break. one goes all the way back to oliver north. they keep emails. you can delete an email and, guess what, the microphone is open. and the third one, the phone has a camera. politicians sometimes continue to forget the obvious. thanks, everybody, for coming. up next for us, crime and punishment. eric adams says he has a plan to c combat rising gun violence. ♪ ♪making your way in the world today♪ ♪takes everything you've got♪ ♪ ♪taking a break from all your worries ♪ ♪sure would help a lot ♪ ♪wouldn't you like to get away? ♪ ♪ ♪ sometimes you want to go ♪ ♪where everybody knows your name ♪ ♪ ♪and they're always glad you came ♪ ♪(music)♪ at aetna® we're shifting medicare coverage into high gear with benefits you may be eligible for when you turn 65. benefits that may include dental, vision, and hearing. aetna medicare advantage plans call today to learn more. ♪ smooth like butter, like a criminal undercover ♪ ♪ gon' pop like trouble ♪ ♪ breaking into your heart like that ♪ ♪ do the boogie, like ♪ ♪ side step, right-left, to my beat ♪ ♪ high like the moon, rock with me, baby ♪ ♪ know that i got that heat ♪ ♪ let me show you 'cause talk is cheap ♪ ♪ side step, right ♪ ♪ get it, let it roll ♪ the insurance company enwasn't fair.ity y ca i didn't know what my case was worth, so i called the barnes firm. llll theararnes rmrm now the best result possible. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ i d d so my y quesonons eouout hicacase.y y son, ♪ call one eight hundred, cacalledhehe bars s fillion ♪ i d d soit was the best call eouout hii could've made. call the barnes firm and find out what your case all could be worth.uld've made. ♪ call one eight hundred, eight million ♪ new york city mayor eric adams says one part to stem violent crime will be reviving a controversial police unit. it was abolished because of abuse. but adams says it is needed and it will patriot with new rules. >> we want to institute an anti-gun unit where police officers will have a modified version of police uniform apparel. they want to be better trained. we're going to use technology with cameras to video every interaction. and i'm going to make sure the right officers are assigned there. precision policing to go after those who are dangerous gangs and carrying guns in my city. >> with us is errol lewis, host of new york one's inside city hall. grateful for your time today. this is a giant challenge for a guy on the job for a little over three weeks. he's not afraid to bring back this controversial unit. put that into context for us and what it means. >> the context is that it was not just controversial but it was deadly. and it was disbanded for a reason, john. back in the 1990s, there was an anti-gun unit that had hundreds of officers and they ended up killing a man, amadou diallo. shot 41 times on the front step of his own house because he was reaching for his wallet. so when they're not trained, these units can do quite a lot of damage. that led to national demonstrations and so forth. and so it was disbanded. the mayor now, because he was a police officer for 22 years, thinks he can do it in such a way that it properly calibrates the need to get illegal guns off the streets with the need to be trained, be precise, be careful, not abuse the rights or the lives of new york city residents. and so it's an odd kind of a mix and it's very subtle, but they're going to be wearing uniforms but they'll be in unmarked cars. part of the way they used to operate it was really kind of scary. i saw them in operation in the past. a car would screech on to the sidewalk. a bunch of guys jump out of it, start throwing people up gans the wall, yelling and cursing and waving guns around. what he's saying is we're not going back to that cowboy style. it's going to be much more precise. it's going to be done in a way that makes people feel safe rather than threatened. we'll see if he can get it done. >> and one of the many things we watch as he tries to tackle. i'll put the numbers up on the screen. crime in new york city from last year up 35%. shootings up 16%. hate crimes up 18%. violent crimes there, why the mayor says we have to work on this anti-gun unit. listen to this interview where he's also criticizing the da can do -- has to do his job. but criticizing his own local prosecutor and prosecutors nationwide who he says are letting too many crimes go. listen. >> you must deal with a city and cities where we're telling police officers that people can walk in stores, steal items off the shelves and no one is going to prosecute them. you can do fare evasion in the city and no one is going to prosecute or pour water over the head of a police officer and a person who did that will not be held accountable for that. >> he says he'll make his views known to the local prosecutor. that seems to me to be a big issue ahead. >> yeah, well, look, at the same time that eric adams was being elected on a vow to restore order to the streets, prosecutors were also being elected in the manhattan prosecutor in particular, has the approach and frankly the backing of the voters in saying that we don't want to spend a lot of time with prosecutors and cops going after people who are engaged in shoplifting, disorderly conduct, public urination, you know, that it's a waste of time because you want to make cases against gun trafficking and domestic violence and, you know, illegal drug sales. that is what the cops and prosecutors ought to be involved in. it's an old conversation. it's an old debate. how do you get the right balance? do smaller crimes lead to bigger ones? if you catch people jumping over the turnstyle without paying their fare to get on the subway, yeah, you'll find some people carrying guns but for the most part that's not how you break up the gun trafficking rings that have caused havoc in the city. so they're going to have to continue talking and figure out the right way to get this done. >> as we had the conversation about the new mayor in america's largest city, new york city, i want to show a map of the country. 10 of our biggest cities set homicide records last year. they go from coast to coast from philadelphia out to portland, in the northeast in the midwest, in the south across, as well. mayor adams, as the mayor of america's largest city, knows whether he wants to be or not to be, part of a national example here as cities try to deal with this. in his case, he seems to welcome the spotlight. >> he very much welcomes it. he says over and over that, you know, a general who is going to lead from the front that when the game is on the line, he wants the ball. all kinds of different metaphors. he says he spent his entire career getting ready for this moment and that includes the 22 years he spent as a member of the nypd. if he does get this right, we perhaps will have learned something. but just as your earlier question suggests, john, it's not just the cops. it's not just the mayor. it's prosecutors. it's state lawmakers. it's the public itself that has to make up its mind about the right way to go about this and, again, get the right balance between really going after people who are a serious menace and maybe not sending everybody to prison just because they, you know, were caught shoplifting or have a drug problem that hasn't been treated or some other kind of minor nuisance type of offense as opposed to a serious crime. we'll have to figure that out together. not just in new york but all around the country. >> in the first chapter, the new mayor, how he deals with it. errol louis, appreciate it. we'll circle back in the months and weeks to come. >> thank you. coming up, check your pharmacy and check your mailbox. free masks and home tests starting to arrive. the fight against omicron continues. we'll have the latest numbers, next. 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[girls laugh] -nice smile, brad. -nice! thanks? crest 3d white. 100% stain removal. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. if you missed the show or want to listen again, catch our podcast. scan the qr code down there or search "inside politics" wherever you get your podcasts. important covid news to bring you. pfizer announcing it's running a clinical trial for his new omicron specific coronavirus vaccine. that study will evaluate up to 1400 adults and the company says it hopes to have the shot ready by march. in the meantime, new cdc numbers leave no doubt. absolutely no doubt getting a booster is an important weapon against omicron. let's walk through the latest numbers. to the point about the booster. this is a study from the cdc. you are 90% protected against hospitalization. 90% protected, if you are boosted. 90%. look at that number. you are 81% protected against hospitalization if you're fully vaccinated and your second shot, last shot was less than six months ago. drops to 57% if fully vaccinated but that last shot was more than six months ago. so the data is clear. get boosted. you stay out of the hospital. in israel, the conversation now about, do we need a fourth booster shot. the health ministry expert panel recommending a fourth shot five months after your third booster shot. that will be a conversation that comes to the united states quite soon. but here's the issue right now. right now, the issue is not so much a conversation about a fourth shot. it's about getting 61 million americans who are completely unvaccinated, getting them to get shots. they would be further protected. 86 million americans eligible for boosters but have not gotten a booster. not gone to get the third shot. 20 million young children who are not eligible yet. those under 5 are not eligible. this is where dr. fauci says we can talk about a fourth shot down the road. talk about a new variant down the road. get vaccinated and get boosted. >> quite frankly, the more people that we get vaccinated and the more people we get boosted, the less the likelihood that we'll be seeing these return of variants that keep challenging us. >> again, the message there, get boosted. and worry about everything else down the road. to that point, this is a conversation we've had before but look at the map. the darker the green, the higher the percentage of citizens who have been boosted. vermont leading the pack with 44%. maine, 39%. new england states tend to be darker. out in the midwest, northwest, darker. where is the problem? across here, right here, numbers in the teens right here. still a problem getting beam boosted there. and lastly, you look at the transmission map. everyone says better days are ready. numbers are beginning to plateau and come down. only 5 of 3200 counties in america do not have high transmission right now. a lot of work to do against omicron. appreciate your time today on "inside politics." busy news day. anna cabrera picks up our news coverage right now. hello. i'm ana cabrera in new york. all eyes are on the stock market right now which has become a roller coaster as once in a generation inflation and concerns about the fed's plan to rein it in stoke extreme volatility. right now the dow is down about 400 points and finished with losses six of the last seven days. not one day with gains. that was yesterday. all it took was a wild last-minute rally just a few