will speak with his russian counterpart after russia and the u.s. clashed at the u.n. will talks finally put an end to the ukraine crisis. a series of bomb threats have been reported at several historically black colleges and universities across the country. why is this happening? and what is the fbi doing about it? ♪ good morning to our viewers here in the eyes and all around the world. it is tuesday, february 1st. i'm john berman with brianna keilar. we do begin with a cnn exclusive, advisers to donald trump drafted more than one executive order to seize voting machines during the former president's final weeks in office. there was one order for the pentagon, we knew about that. and another for homeland security. we are just learning about the homeland security request for the first time. in addition to that, this eye-opening reporting from "the new york times" breaking overnight that trump himself was directly involved, quote, president donald j. trump directed his lawyer to make a remarkable call, mr. trump wanted him to ask the department of homeland security if it could legally take control of voting machines in key swing states? >> some of the white house records that were turned over to the january 6th committee arrived torn up. reports indicating that it was trump who personally ripped them to pieces. they had to be taped back together by national archive staffers. sources tell cnn that mark short, the former chief of staff to former vice president mike pence, testified before the house select committee last week in response to a subpoena, the most significant sign to date that pence's team is cooperating with the probe. we're in washington with our top story, which is, of course, these executive orders, more than one. what can you tell us? >> that's right. the big news here is that president donald trump in office was interested in the final days of his presidency in considering and potentially did show a lot of interest to seize voting machines using the federal government to do that. so, this would be the receipts theoretically that the house select committee is looking for. we learned about one of these documents a few weeks ago when the national archives was turning over records that there was a draft executive order to the pentagon to seize voting machines, and now this new reporting from my colleagues last night that there was a second one of these drafted executive orders for the department of homeland security. now, this didn't happen -- trump didn't sign off on these executive orders, brianna, but this is the sort of thing that the house select committee is very interested in because they're looking at whether trump and others around him were trying to use federal, government agencies to have him wrongfully keep hold of the presidency. >> this is actively coup curious the idea of making phone calls to agencies to even discuss seizing voting machines that is something the january 6th committee sure to be interested in. so the national archives says that some of the documents that the committee now has had been ripped up and put back together. what's going on here? >> reporter: right. the sources i talked to said this was a quark of the trump presidency. the archives said, they asserted that they believed it was trump himself that did this. we don't know if it was trump himself who ripped these up, but the bottom line here is that these are federal records. these are not tissues, scraps of paper. they were records being maintained by the white house. there was a reason to maintain them for historical purposes of the presidency. and that these are the documents that trump himself was trying to hold back to protect the secrecy of what was going on in the white house up to and around january 6th. >> how many pieces torn up into? >> we don't at the time. there were 700 or more documents that the archives turned over that trump was trying to hold back. it could be many. it could be the key ones. you never know, but the house is looking at them. >> thank you for the reporting. this morning, a republican candidate for state senate in michigan is under fire for saying people should be prepared to, quote, show up armed at polling places. laura jarrett, attorney at law and "early start" anchor. what's going on here? >> john, it was a brazen call to arms all caught on camera raising serious questions this morning about mike debt mer's fitness for office. it all started at an event when an unidentified man raises a question at this gop meet and greet. they're asked specifically about what can be done about all these republican observers being pushed out of rooms where ballots are being counted. there's no evidence that that happened, by the way. but in any event, watch what the man on the left in the gray sweater says about that. >> what can we do to prepare for that event that's going to occur again? >> i got thoughts. you want to say anything there? willing to share? >> are you armed? in all seriousness. second amendment isn't there for hunting rights. it's not there for self defense. it's there to protect all others. the ideal thing is to do this peacefully. that's ideal. but the american people at some point in time, if we can't change the tide, and we believe we can, we need to be prepared a lot more. >> lock and load. that line again from a man who wants to be a state senator now drawing a pointed response from the state's attorney general who said this. unauthorized personnel tampering with election devices and the use of firearms to intimidate voters is illegal. engaging in such conduct will result in arrest and prosecution, but it's worth noting here that michigan actually tried to ban firearms at polling places ahead of the 2020 election, but a state court judge blocked that ban. cnn reached out to detmer, the candidate, but hasn't heard back. >> alarming rhetoric there. laura jarrett, thank you for that. joining us now former philadelphia city commissioner al schmidt, a republican, now the president and ceo of the committee of 70. al, always a pleasure to speak with you. i'll get to the michigan event in a second. first, breaking news overnight. requests made, these executive orders drafted for the pentagon and also homeland security to seize voting machines, it didn't happen. then the reporting that donald trump himself asked rudy giuliani to check with homeland security if it could seize voting machines as a guy overseeing things like voting machines, how does that make you feel? >> it is certainly concerning any of this magnitude would ever be seriously considered by people in position of responsibility and authority in the united states government. in america, as we know or should know, it's our voters who decide who wins and who loses, not specific people in power who are sort of peddling lies because they can't accept that they lost. >> it wasn't carried out, we should point out. i wonder if you think that matters, if it was repaired and you have here two eos awareness, dod and dhs, does it matter that these weren't carried out? >> i think it's very important that it's documented, that these conversations occurred, that there were steps taken, even if not sort of carried out at the -- in the white house and among people in positions of authority to carry them out if they had been given the order to do so. it's something i think the january 6th committee is doing a great job looking into and we wouldn't know about hardly any of this if it weren't for the good work that they're doing. >> so, al, this story out of michigan where you have the state senator candidate calling on people to show up armed to polling places. this is something with which you have some personal experience. explain. >> it's an example of the sort of dangerous escalation of rhetoric that we're seeing around elections right now. the language itself isn't entirely new. the first death threat that i received was using very similar terms, you are what the second amendment is for, corrupt election administrators like you. you're going to get what's coming to you. it's that there's a big difference between some creep sitting home on his sofa fired up, calling in and leaving a voice mail threat in the dark of night and someone who is running for public office speaking into a microphone in front of a group of people and doing this in the light of day. >> what's the affect on people who normally they just go to vote. they don't worry about these kinds of things. how does this affect those folks? >> people should not worry about these sort of things. they should be excited to exercise their right to vote and not be concerned about intimidation, not be concerned about threats of violence or anything like that. neither the voters or the election workers who work a very long day. in pennsylvania, we have both in-person voting on election day and vote by mail. the people responsible for this need to be able to carry it out in a safe environment where they can focus on their job which is to make sure our vote rs vote gets counted. >> you use the word intimidation. is that the concern here? >> it is because if this continues and at the brennan center report that was released not that long ago pointed to it, the number of election administrators who are leaving their positions because of dealing with threats and also some other things, these are typically very mundane jobs but very important jobs and requires a lot of experience to do them right. and if we lose experienced election administrators who believe in democracy and they're replaced by people who don't know what they're doing or hold anti-democratic positions, then that puts us in a very dangerous position. >> al, over the weekend trump put out a statement where he was saying that he wanted mike pence to overturn the election results and also he said falsely essentially that mike pence could have done that. this is an admission. what's your reaction to that? it is. it's also an indication of why we need to reform the electoral count act. not because mike pence -- vice president pence ever had the authority to do it to begin with, but rather because some people in their deranged outlook believe that he did. so to make very clear what should be clear to all americans which is that our voters votes determine the outcome, not any specific person, least of all a person whose name is on the ballot, to make that perfectly clear it makes sense that the electoral reform act should be revised. >> former president also dangled the idea of pardoning people involved in the january 6th insurrection. what do you think the impact will be on the investigation? >> well, what's really needed here when it comes to threats and when comes to actual physical manifestations of violence is that people be held accountable. and as we see on january 6th, the federal government and law enforcement is beginning to hold those people accountable. we haven't seen that when it comes to election officials very much, but accountability is the key. when you're dangling the idea of a pardon that you could do things as bad as this and just get away with it is trying to remove the element of accountability which is so important. >> al schmidt, as always, thanks so much for being with us this morning. >> thank you. this morning we have a new cnn report why school superintendents are fed up and resigning across the country, creating a major shortage. plus, a crucial phone call about to take place over the ukraine crisis. secretary of state antony blinken and the russian foreign minister. is this the last chance to ward off invasion? ahead, road rage like this. a man shooting his gun out the window. how this dispute ended. i like that the ww personalpoints plan is built just for me. join today for 60% off at ww.com hurry, offer ends february 1st! nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: just stop. go for a run. go for 10 runs! run a marathon. instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette. ♪ it's the valentine's day sale. ♪ ♪ at zales. the diamond store (music) ♪ i think to myself ♪ ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ as a professional bull-rider i'm used to taking chances. but when it comes to my insurance i don't. i use liberty mutual, they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. wooo, yeaa, woooooo and, by switching you could even save 665 dollars. hey tex, can someone else get a turn? yeah, hang on, i'm about to break my own record. yeah. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ with my hectic life you'd think retirement would be the last thing on my mind. thankfully, voya provides comprehensive solutions and shows me how to get the most out of my workplace benefits. voya helps me feel like i've got it all under control. voya. well planned. well invested. well protected. pain hits fast. so get relief fast. only tylenol rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast for fast pain relief. and now get relief without a pill with tylenol dissolve packs. relief without the water. ♪ hours from now secretary of state tony blinken will hold high-stakes talks with his russian counterpart sergei lavrov amid concerns of a possible russian invasion of ukraine. this comes after a heated exchange erupted in front of the u.n. monday between u.s. and russian diplomats. >> translator: since our american colleagues convened us today, let them show us any evidence apart from bogus narratives that russia is intending to attack ukraine. >> russia further invades ukraine, none of us will be able to say we didn't see it coming. and the consequences will be horrific. >> the kremlin also now saying there's been a mixup and that it is still preparing its main reply to the u.s. proposal for deescalating tensions at the ukrainian border. cnn's kylie atwood live and nic robertson live in moscow. what is the state department saying about this mixup thing? >> reporter: well, the state department hasn't responded this morning to the kremlin saying that there was a mixup about this written response that they gave to the biden administration. but what the state department said yesterday is that they had received a written followup from russia. they didn't characterize it as response. they didn't characterize it as a proposal. they said they would leave it up to russia to characterize what they had given the united states. this is a delicate, diplomatic dance that the two countries are in right now. and it is largely unfolding in public, which is really unique because a lot of times these diplomatic back and forth, these documents that might be traded between countries happen behind closed doors. but what russia did by initially presenting their proposal in front of the public in december is that they have brought this to the public eye. so there is a very, very close look at what these responses to one another look like. now, thus far they haven't gotten these two countries anywhere. and so that is why this conversation today between secretary of state tony blinken and russian foreign minister lavrov is incredibly important to watch, to see if the united states can lure russia into buying their argument that there is room for the two countries to engage in productive diplomacy where both side can walk away with something that they think is good for the security of their country and, of course, with the main goal of deescalating the situation along the russia/eukraine border. >> nic, when is this main reply from russia expected? and what more is it going to say? >> reporter: it's expected when president putin thinks it's the right time to announce it. that's what the kremlin spokesman said today. today we got a couple insights into what's going on. obviously the phone call today the foreign minister here and the state news agency here is reporting that the main topic of the conversation is going to be america's response to russia's proposals. we know the letter that came in here delivered by the u.s. ambassador last week to the russian foreign ministry, that's going to be the main top tic of conversation. the state agency goes on to say this is important that the lavrov may make comments to the press after that phone call, potential opportunity for insight into what putin is thinking. but perhaps the biggest opportunity for insight into what putin is thinking but maybe not the full list of the response, today president putin is meeting with the hungarian prime minister, friendliest european leader towards putin. they're having a meeting, working lunch and then a press conference and the kremlin spokesman said he would expect a question about russia's response to the u.s. letter to come up. now, he didn't say that putin is going to answer it, but he said the question he would expect to come up. john? >> all right, we'll be paying attention. hopefully to get an answer to that question. nic robertson, kylie atwood, thank you. up next, states are seeing an uptick in superintendent turnover. so what is behind the sudden shortage? and how much does politics play a role? plus, offensive, insulting, that's what senator ted cruz thinks about the president's promise to nominate a black woman to the supreme court. ♪ got my y hair ♪ ♪ got my head ♪ ♪ got my brains ♪ ♪ got my ears ♪ ♪ got my heart ♪ ♪ got my soul ♪ ♪ got my mouth ♪ ♪ i got life ♪ every business is on a journey. and along the ride, you'll find many challenges. ♪ your dell technologies advisor can help you find the right tech solutions. so you can stop at nothing for your customers. your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn... claire could only imagine enjoying chocolate cake. now, she can have her cake and eat it too. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn? ♪ this morning, a shortage of school superintendents resignations are on the rise because of all the disputes involving mask mandates and vaccines. cnn leyla santiago has the story from miami. just when we need them the most. >> reporter: yeah, that's exactly the point, john. a third of the 25 largest school districts in the country now searching for superintendents. i spoke to the once superintendent of the tenth largest school district in the u.s., that's here in south florida, palm beach county, he only served three of the five years in his contract. he left early. and he's not alone. donald craved stress free moments like this for months. the now former school superintendent of palm beach county stepped down 16 months into the pandemic. he wanted to spend more time with family, less time with this. >> stop trying to incite division among us! >> we reserve the authority to fire all of you including you, doctor. >> you're absolutely just as bad as some of the nazi generals. >> we will be having school tomorrow. >> he expected to include tough days, but not like this. >> behave yourselves or i'll have you removed. >> not the hostility, stress, exhaustion, the threats that came with the politics of covid-19. >> did that happen to you? >> oh, god yeah. oh, yeah. i had letters sent here. security teams. this is just the new reality, right? >> a new reality that fueled his decision to resign. a growing number of superintendents are now leaving the job because of pressure from the pandemic and the political guide especially as it relates to masks, vaccines and critical race theory, according to the school superintendent association. >> these are wearing people out. i have friends that tell me, this job, they didn't sign up for this. >> reporter: dealing with covid was a crisis he says that had no play book and at times contradicting national and state response strategies. it all took a toll. >> i came home from the board meeting and i was in my office. and my daughter said, daddy, it's time to eat. so i stood up and next thing i remember they were standing over me screaming and yelling, right. so i passed out. i tried to brush it off. it scared me. >> it's alarming, no question about it. >> reporter: a recent survey found nearly two thirds of the superintendents who responded considered quitting during the 2020/2021 school year. there was already a shortage of superintendents before the pandemic. >> i can tell you that i've been in this business for 54 years. i have never experienced what we're experiencing today. >> reporter: there is no national system keeping tabs on the turnover, but organizations tracking superintendents in arizona, alaska, colorado, florida, wyoming, kansas and idaho told us they're seeing more superintendents leave their positions now compared to the pre-pandemic school years. >> this is a time where you need experienced leaders. >> reporter: experienced leaders whose roles continue to expand beyond the traditional scope of management. >> we're social workers, pastors, a school system does everything now. it's hard when up to be medical professionals. that was the hardest part about covid when i was asked to make decisions about -- as my kids love to tell mer, i'm not a rea doctor. >> reporter: one of the largest education research firms in the country told cnn it's seeing fewer people wanting to go into school superintendentsy right now. >> the first they're doing is looking at youtube meetings of board meetings. think about that. you have candidates looking at board meetings to see if i want to deal with that. >> reporter: all part of that new reality for superintendents he says, a reality that has resulted in more superintendents leaving school districts still struggling across the country. and politics and masks have become such a part of the conversation when it comes to superintendents, case in point, just last week in the miami dade school board meeting where they were interviewing superintendent candidates, they were specifically asked about the politics out of tallahassee and masks and how they would make decisions moving forward. john? >> look, i don't think any superintendent going into the job thinks it's going to be easy or even wants it to be easy. they just want it to be safe. >> right. >> and sustainable. >> reporter: right. it's not a lot to ask for. >> terrific report. thank you so much. so, new reporting that donald trump's grip on the republican party is facing new strains. plus, whoopi goldberg apologizing for what she said about the holocaust. and ahead, road rage. ♪ - hiring is step one when it c comes to our growth. we can't't open a nw shop or a new location without the right people in place. i couldn't keep up until i found ziprecruiter. ziprecruiter helps us get out there quickly and get us qualified candidates quickly. they sent us applicants that tched what i was looking for. i've hired for ery role, entry-level technicians, service advisors, store managers. ziprecruit helps me find all the right people, even the most difficult jobs to fill. - [announcer] ziprecruiter, rated the number one hiring site. try it for free at ziprecruiter.com ♪ ♪ people with moderate to severe psoriasis, are rethinking the choices they make like the splash they create the entrance they make, the surprises they initiate. otezla. it's a choice you can make. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines, and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. (vo) for me, one of the best things about life is that we keep moving forward. we discover exciting new technologies. redefine who we are and how we want to lead our lives. basically, choose what we want our future to look like. so what's yours going to be? ♪ this morning, things feel like they are shifting. that is a quote from a new york times report that says donald trump's grip on the republican party might be waning, yes, his political operation raised a whopping $122 million, but the "times" write his long-standing grip on the party is facing new strains. so what are the numbers? one man can answer that question, joining us now in person very close to me, cnn senior data reporter harry enten. harry, look, donald trump is still strong in the republican party. >> yeah, look. before we get into why his grip may be loosening, it's important to point out that when you look at the national polling right now, he is still well ahead in a potential 2024 primary. look at this, all the way up at 53%. ron desantis, in second, is just at 16. the rest are in single digits, right? so look, his grip may be loosening, but he's still getting over 50% of the potential republican primary vote. that's a pretty strong position to be in. >> historical context here is challenging for us, right, neither of us were around for gro grover cleveland. >> we were not around for grover cleveland, though i did enjoy the picture grover cleveland alexander for those old-timer baseball fans. look, nonincumbents polled 45% or above presidential primaries to this point, only two of them. only two of them. hillary clinton in 2016 and al gore in 2000. so at this point being 98 and 2014, both of those two won the nomination. we don't know where trump is going, but it's a small sample size that you're going to be polling so high at this particular point and usually it's been pretty successful. >> so strong but maybe slipping? >> strong but maybe slipping. so i think this is the type of private polling that folks are looking at, we see some of this in the public polling. do you consider yourself more of a supporter of trump or the republican party, this is among republicans. and what do we see here? back in october of 2020, right, only 38% consider themselves more part of the republican party than a supporter of trump. 54% were more likely to consider themselves a supporter of trump. now flash forward to january of 2022. what do we see? those numbers have flipped. those numbers are flipped, john. now 56% of republicans consider themselves more a supporter of the republican party compared to just 36% who consider themselves a supporter of trump. >> this is a huge shift. this is huge. >> this is absolutely huge. now, the question is obviously trump has been out of office for a little while, right? so is this just that he's sort of taken back -- given up the limelight. if you want to find trump, you can find donald trump. he's speaking all the time and got now a 20-point deficit. >> some of his support may be because of name id. >> that's bingo. so, here is a key thing that's so important when you look at those early polling numbers and you see someone like donald trump who is all the way up say 53% in my aggregate of all the national polls, keep in mind, he is universally known, favorablelating in the latest market university poll, 72%. compare to ron desantis in second place at 52%. now look at those who had an opinion of both of them. what do you see? look, trump universally known only 73%. look at desantis among those who have an opinion about both of them, he is at 83%. >> among people who know both trump and desantis, desantis has a higher favorability. >> among republicans. this is just one poll. i looked at multiple ones. some have ten-point gap. some have a five-point gap, but either way it's clear that among those who know both of them, desantis is very, very well liked in republican party, at least as well liked in donald trump. >> you made the case desantis is leading. there's another metric where he has a slight edge. >> why would you vote for ron desantis over donald trump if you're a republican? it's because you really don't like this gentleman. you really don't like joe biden. you want to beat joe biden. you can remember in 2020 it was electability, electability, electability. now look at this among all folks nationwide, this isn't just republicans. if you look at the favorables and unfavorables of biden and trump, 42% better than desantis's 29%. again, that's name id. look at the unfavorable ratings. 20 points higher than ron desantis. so the net favorability ratings just minus 2 for desantis. basically breaking even. biden and trump at minus 11. the argument would be if you're a republican, why should i vote for donald trump who at this point point is tied in the national polls with joe biden and is very unpopular when i can vote for ron desantis who is much better liked and has a better chance of beating joe biden. >> may be why this guy is scared of this guy right now. what i was scared of this morning, when you walked on the set, harry enten says to me, i'm wearing your pants. >> this is true. >> right now. i want you to explain this frankly to me and america because it is somewhat alarming to me. >> essentially what happened was we had been going in flash studios. it's old out in new york. i've been wearing sweat pants. i have been wearing sweat pants and going into a flash studio. you can see me from the top up. no, we're allowed back on set. i produced a negative rapid test. i didn't have any pants. my office was locked. the office i normally have them in was locked. i needed to get a pair of pants. i'm wearing your jeans right nowky get away because i'm youth and wonderful and these aren't my socks either. these are not my socks. they're a producer's socks. it works out the for me. >> you walked into my empty office and put on my pants. >> that is correct. i walked into your empty office and put on your pants. i have years on you. looks good, right, folks? >> i have to process this right now. but thank you for at least laying out exactly what happened. >> i give you politics and fashion model now, too. >> my attorneys and maybe my doctors will be in touch. harry, thank you very much. >> thank you, sir. >> i'll be more alarmed when harry comes into my office and puts my pants on. >> you know -- >> i think he would. >> they would look better on harry. >> whatever it takes. i'm a cnn man. >> i'll be really bad if they look better on you harry. >> i have a good body. i like my body. >> it's more of the show. >> significant sign that the end might be in sight. the news about the vaccine for young children. >> cannot wait for that. and "the new york times" buys the popular word game wordle we here on the show are addicted to. how much did they spend? and what does this mean for us? are we going have to pay for this? that's the big question. 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you get unlimited for just 30 bucks. nice! but mine has 5g included. wait! 5g included? yup, even these guys get it. nice ride, by the way. and the icing on the cake? saving up to 400 bucks? exactly. wait, shouldn't you be navigating? xfinity mobile. it's wireless that does it all and saves a lot. like a lot, a lot. ♪ it is no secret that u.s. history is full of dark moments and turmoil. slavery, the genocide of indigenous americans, but if republicans in the new hampshire state legislature get their way, students might be spared those grizzly details because of a proposed bill that would ban students that portray american history in a bad late. does not include the worldwide context of now outdated and discouraged practices, such prohibition includes but not limited to teaching that the united states was founded on racism. joining us now is jamar, the author of how to fight racism, a guide to standing up for racial justice. your reaction to this proposal. >> well, i find it very disspiriting that proposals like these are happening at all, let alone right now. it's february 1st, the first day of black history month, yet it's that very history that is under attack here. but let's think about what's really going on. these legislatures and the people who are supporting these bills probably aren't expert historians. so, i think what's really happening here are loyalty tests, loyalty not to the truth but loyalty to this myth of american exceptionalism that the united states has been on this inevitable march toward progress and aside from a few missteps here and there that society largely works equally and fairly for everyone. well, that's simply not true and an awfully convenient narrative because that means whatever issues, whatever struggles that black people, indigenous people and other people of color face in this country is due to their own flaws and shortcomings and lets people off the hook for doing things on a system-wide, a law, policy or practice level to make things more equitable. >> my understanding is this new hampshire proposed law is based on red scare type stuff where initially the law is you can't teach communism or marksism. this bill is just repeating what that one says. you are a former middle school principal. right? >> that's right. that's right. i was a sixth grade teacher and middle school principal, yeah. >> so as a principal, what will your reaction to this be? >> it's shocking. it's appalling. most educators get into this because they love students and they love the content that they're teaching, but what this law does is essentially deputizes anyone from students to adults to be able to tattle on their teachers about any content that they find uncomfortable. and what must that do to an educator who simply wants to teach the curriculum the best way they know how and it makes it very difficult -- i think we'll have recruiting problems for teachers and unfortunately these are people who are already overworked and underpaid, dealing with the pandemic for three school years now and then layer this on top of it all, this is extremely frustrating and shouldn't be happening. >> what do you think is at the heart of this? you can still love your country and look at its blemishes and learn from mistakes. that's one of the things that is amazing about america and that in other places people can't do. >> that's right. martin luther king jr. said there can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. so those of us who are disappointed in the history of this nation and many of the present injustices it's because we have a deep appreciation for where we are. it's been said that you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. well, they're hiding the truth. they're denying the truth. and the reverse is true as well. if you tell lies and if you believe lies and myths, then those lies will imprison you. we can't truly make progress in this nation along the lines of racial justice until we face the truth which is something that so many people in this country have become experts at denying and avoiding. but the truth will out no matter what. >> look, we're lucky we have this amazing right to explore all of these issues. it just seems kind of anti-american that people are saying people shouldn't do it. jamar, thank you for coming on for such an insightful conversation. thank you. >> thank you. who is threatening hbcu campuses with bombs? that is what the fbi wants to know. and big news for parents with young children. kids under 5 could be approved for the pfizer vaccine as soon as the end of the month. or authorized, i should say. dr. sanjay gupta joins us with this breaking development. ♪ trelegy for copd. 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"new day" continues right now. ♪ welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world it's tuesday, february 1st. we do begin with some big, breaking news that could signal an end in sight to the pandemic as we know it. pfizer is expected to ask the fda to authorize its covid vaccine for children under 5 as early as today. cnn has just confirmed this first reported by "the washington post." >> so if emergency use authorization is granted, children as young as 6 months old could have access to a two-shot regimen by the end of this month. i want to bring in cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. sanjay, this is welcome news for a lot of parents, but it's also a little bit quirky. can you explain? >> yeah. it is because you remember last year when we talked about this, end of last yeerks we thought maybe this would be second quarter of this year, back couple weeks ago dr. fauci said this sort of authorization request may come within the next month. the first time we heard the maybe accelerated timeline. now we hear that the request at least for authorization is imminent, could happen really today, any day soon now. and if that happens, possibly by the end of the month there could be an authorized vaccine for children under the age of 5, which i know brianna you've been thinking about a lot lately. a lot of parents out there have been. there's a couple things that have been going on here. one is i want to show you the dosing first of all. when you look at the dosing for children under the age of 5 compare that with dosing for older people, they wanted to try lower doses, understandably, for these young kids and wanted to get the right number of doses as well. what they found is that in 6 months to 24 months, 2-year-old children, they seem to have good immune response based on this dosing. it was 2 to 5-year-old children that they thought maybe, look, do we have to add another dose, a third dose? that was originally what was pushing the trials a little bit later. now i think what they're basically saying is why don't we go ahead and apply for the authorization for the two doses. we're continuing to get data on three doses. that data should be here by the end of march and by that point you should have a lot of children already able to get access to the vaccines and determine later on whether a third dose is necessary. it's kind of what happened with adults as well, if you remember. so it seems like that's what the thinking is there. lowest dose possible, figure out the right number of doses. that data is still forthcoming, but the two-dose authorization request may come in very soon. >> so what do you think parents will do here? we have seen some reticence of folks to get their kids vaccinated, you know, for some people. i will not be one of them, to be clear. but do you think the parents are going to say, yeah, let's get this done? >> well, i could show you what has happened so far if you look sort of just based on the age groups that the vaccine has already been authorized for, you'll find that it really does go significantly down when you start to get into the 5 to 11-year-olds. 22% thus far have been vaccinated. i don't know. it's tough to say what that's going to mean for younger children. i think a lot of it will depend on sort of what's happening with the pandemic at any given point as well when the vaccine is authorized. let me show you weekly cases. we pulled this. people often asked me what is going on with children overall in terms of their likelihood of being infeed