>> sandra: kristin fisher has more. >> president biden will be delivering his first prime time address hours after signing his biggest first legislative accomplishment in to law. this american rescue plan 1.9 trillion. now, remember, this was supposed to be a bipartisan package. in the end, it had zero republican support. now the white house is proudly calling this the most progressive bill in american history. that is not sitting well with republican senator john kennedy. listen here from this morning. >> we tried with president biden. he said look, i'll meet you halfway. we said okay. well -- then he just ignored us. if he was meeting us halfway, he's a damn poor judge of distance. >> in terms of what to expect tonight, the white house says the president will mark the one-year anniversary of the country shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic. he will be talking about the sacrifices that the american people have made over the last year and what they have to look forward to over the next year. he's also expected to "level" with the american people about what is still required to defeat this virus. there will be no chance to ask president biden questions. this is strictly a speech. so here we are, john and sandra, day 50 and still no formal news conference but we're getting a prime time address. >> sandra: we know jen psaki will be giving a briefing a short time after the president signs this. not the same exactly. so kristin, thank you. see you in a bit. >> john: a fox news alert. right now you're getting a bird eye view of the border with mexico. this is just outside maccallum, texas. the rio grande valley. that's ground zero for the border surge. these incredible pictures along the southern border south of maccallum, texas. you'll see it on here on fox news. biden's border crisis getting worst by the day. agents encountered 100,000 migrants. that is a 174% increase in february over last year. the biden team still not calling it a crisis. griff jenkins is in the area. what is the situation like? >> john, you're right. we're at ground zero for the border surge where they cross daily by the thousands. what i'm standing in is where there's supposed to be a hole. let's get to the fox drone and show you where you see this, about a half a football field cut in the fence. it was supposed to be completed under president trump. president biden stopped construction. now migrants are coming in. you'll see from that bird eye view a large transport bus. they come and go hour by hour by hour where they have taken in the migrants that have been apprehended by hour hour. they're averaging 1,880 in the last 24 hours. we can show you some video from yesterday we shot. i spent about four hours with a border patrol agent and a landowner. we encounter four different groups of 220 my grants, the largest about 75. we found pregnant woman, unaccompanied children. most of them were family groups. that's what that white bus is going to pick up there. you mentioned the crisis in the lead-in, john. we asked the agent and landowner what they thought about it not being a crisis. here's what they told us. listen. >> as far as us on the ground, the folks that work down here, i mean, if it's expected, is it a crisis? we expected it. >> are you frustrated that they don't call it a crisis? >> yes, i am frustrated. they think we're all idiots. >> he would know. his family has owned land for centuries out here. he said it's getting to be a lot of numbers that he has never seen before. the numbers you're seeing, let me show you that is a february 1,441. that is an incredible number considering in 2019, it was a crisis, they didn't hit 100,000 until may of that year when it was called a crisis. that is up 28% from the past january. up 97% from fiscal year 2020. if you can take the drone again, you can see the white bus winding its way down the road and goes up to the levy. it will go to a temporary processing site that they've had to set up because there's so are many people coming across this border in this very area in the rio grande valley sector. john? >> griff, i have to say, i'm impressed the drone isn't blowing away. unlike in mexico, california and arizona, new mexico and california where the wall is right on the border or at least the fence is on the border, in the rio grande valley sector it's not on the border. if a migrant is looking to get feet in the united states and get picked up by the border patrol, wall or not, they can still do it, right? >> that's a great point. let me explain to you, so the entire rio grand valley sector is 310 miles of pure river border. it's just beyond the far levy on the other side. once they come across, john, you can see the wall structure corrals where migrants can possibly go if they're not willingly and peacefully trying to surrender to the border patrol. that's why that they need wall like this. because if someone is trying to move drugs or maybe a person crossing has the criminal record and doesn't want to be apprehended, they go through areas like this. look at this restaurant. he says he sees people sleeping almost every morning. they come there, use his rest rooms and he said numerous accounts that have coordinated to have pick up people at this very location we're looking at, john. >> john: interesting. >> sandra: griff, you're providing us with remarkable footage from that. the drone foot single is something. we got a notice a short time against that senator john cornyn of texas and henry cuellar will be taking a visit to the border tomorrow to see what is happening there first hand, meet with local leaders. speaking of local leaders, griff, we've had so many sheriffs on this network talking about what is happening in their local towns there in texas as a result of this surge at the border. one sheriff said why can't we acknowledge what was working under the previous administration and continue that before changes are made? that really stood out to me, griff. >> sandra, that's exactly the point. i also talked to agent chris cabrera, who you saw in that sound bite that we played. i said what fixes this? how do you get this under control? he said you get the politics out of it. they cited democrats like cellular so that they can get it under control. nine -- until we do, it's not going to stop. >> john: thanks, griff. that goes to show you everything is bigger in texas including wind. goodness. >> sandra: griff has done fantastic reporting from down there on the border. thank you to him for that. this story continues, john, of course, there's a white house briefing happening a short time from now as well. jen psaki continues to be pressed by all the reporters in the room about what is a crisis and the administration's refusal to call it that. >> john: one person that does call it a crisis, the former acting secretary of homeland security, chad wolf. he will joining us in a little while on "america reports." stay tuned. >> sandra: we look forward to that. john, the strongest accusations to date of inappropriate conduct against new york governor andrew cuomo. new claims from an aide are more graphic. six women have accused cuomo of inappropriate conduct and 120 new york lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are now calling for cuomo to resign or be impeached. the governor is denying the claims. in moments we'll speak with new york columnist miranda divine and the hypocrisy. where is haven't kamala harris on this? first, let's go to bryan llenas in brooklyn with the latest. bryan, a warning that the allegations that we're about to hear from you are disturbing and may not be suitable for children. >> that's right, sandra. let's begin with what is new this hour. right now all 20 republican new york state senators are now calling for governor andrew cuomo to resign and more than 55 democratic new york state lawmakers just released a letter reading in part "the governor needs to put the people of new york first." we have a lieutenant governor that can step in and lead the remainder of the term, this is what is best for new yorkers. it's time for governor cuomo to resign. here's democratic assembly member anna kellis. >> i'm standing with many of my colleagues asking the governor to resign. with six woman coming forward to say there's nothing there, that this is a witch hunt has gone a bit too far to say that cleanly. >> this after the times union reported that a female executive chamber staff member alleges that governor cuomo "aggressively groped her" late last year. they were alone in cuomo's private residence when he closed the door and reached under her blouse and began to fondle her, this is the sixth accuser and the most egregious. the governor is denying this claim and has called the allegation "gut wrenching." back to you. >> sandra: a quickly changing situation. bryan llenas, thank you. john? >> john: for more on this now, let's bring in columnist from the "new york post" miranda divine. you have 120 state lawmakers calling for impeachment or for his resignation. among them, 65 democrats. yet at the national level, we're not hearing a whole lot from democratic lawmakers. at least not the ones here in washington d.c. >> it was interesting yesterday to see vice president harris who had been such an outspoken critic of brett kavanaugh, effectively calling the judge a racist. yet on this particular occasion when so many of her democratic colleagues in new york are calling on cuomo to resign, she just refuses to answer questions. it's been weeks. yesterday we saw her at a press conference where a reporter tried to shout a question to her about this. she just walked out as if she hadn't heard it. it's a tactic that joe biden uses when he's asked any hairy questions he doesn't want to answer like the border. obviously this is something the vice president is not interested in talking about. and the same goes for her new york senator colleague, kristin gillibrand who was an outspoken critic of any man who had been accused of any sort of sexual harassment or sexual assault claims. she now is saying that she refuses to answer any questions about whether cuomo should resign. if fact, that it's sexist to ask women about such things even if the women are showing complete double standards. >> john: we'll take a deeper dive into that in just a second. the incident you referenced with the vice president, for folks at home, let's play it for you now. >> big deal. thank you. >> any response about governor cuomo? >> john: there's the walk-away as you pointed out. when she was a senatener the halls of congress and on any television program she was on, there were two accusers that were taking aim at brett kavanaugh. she was happy to talk about those allegations, but there's six accusers now that levelled allegations against andrew cuomo and she's silent on it. >> yes. just proves the feminism of the left is really just weaponizing women's issues for political purposes. three only caring about women's dignity and respect for women when it comes to attacking the other side. when it comes to protecting predators in their own ranks, they're mum. i think it shows you that their morality is flexible. i'm thinking of writing a column about women who were aides to governor cuomo that have not accused him of sexual harassment. it's getting ridiculous. there's so many allegations coming out of the wood work. in a strange way, i think that really suits him. the great crime that was committed last year that resulted in the deaths of 15,000 people, mostly elderly people, the most vulnerable in the pandemic when governor cuomo forced the nursing homes to take covid positive patients out of hospitals, that's been overshadowed. the root of the problem is that governor cuomo received donations from those hospitals that were going to profit from getting rid of the medicaid patients and medicare patients from their hospitals. so there is a real serious criminal investigation that needs to be done on that. in a way, governor cuomo is skating over one terrible incompetence and cruelty and callousness and sort of being ripped for the other. >> john: i promised a deeper dive in kirsten gillibrand but we're out of time. have to leave it there. this is something we'll continue to talk about. thanks, miranda. sandra, you know, kirsten gillibrand to her point was more than happy to talk about brett kavanaugh, talk about al franken, bill clinton, president trump. but now saying, you know, we shouldn't be judge, juror and execution and let the process go through. she wasn't willing to do that in the past. >> sandra: rightly so. the focus on kamala harris as well. the first female vice president in the white house. what has she said on this? still silence. it's a big point to make. when you compare the allegations of sexual misconduct allegations of nursing home allegations very important, but to miranda divine's point there, john, serious, serious stuff when it comes to the cover-up of the nursing home deaths. >> john: no question. >> sandra: california's largest public school system is one step closer to reopening. the los angeles unified school district and the teacher's union there reaching a tentative deal we're told this week. an exact time length still is unclear, but under this deal, students would spend some time on campus and still some time at home remote learning. teachers would not have to return until they have had access to the covid vaccine and have achieved maximum immunity. if the teacher's union does sign the agreement, students could return to school next month. although, let's see. we're in march. we're talking april there. really a couple months left in the school year, john. >> john: if that. schools go to the end of may, beginning of june. not a lot of time left. that's if they can get this deal going as well of the. >> sandra: which is by the way, john, in the bottom corner of your screen, you can see kids in crisis. we'll be doing a big focus on this in the next hour. a lot of important guests will be joining us. we'll have a much-needed focus on the children getting back to the classroom. >> john: ahead, new reporting on the national guard mission that you'll only see on fox. what we're learning about president biden's secretary overruling his national guard chief. >> sandra: and democrats forcing that stimulus bill through with zero support from republicans. after the president vowed to work with them. we'll dig deeper with larry kudlow. he will join us live on set next. alright, i brought in ensure max protein... ...to give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you don't (grunting noise) i'll take that. yeeeeeah! 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar drink, play, and win big in the powered by protein challenge! want to make a name for yourself in gaming? then make a name for yourself. even if your office, and bank balance are... far from glamorous. that means expensing nothing but pizza. your 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keep the national guard troops here at the capitol. they're saying the guard is overstretched and he doesn't think they're equipped right now to carry out this decision. general austin overrode the national guard's recommendation and extended the d.c. mission anyway. let's take a look at the memo. general atkinson said -- >> he goes on to say -- >> now, fox news has learned that this memo did circulate within the white house at the national security council last week and two days ago on the 9th. defense secretary general austin formally approved that extension to keep the troops here in d.c. protecting the capitol. we have to flag this memo is at odds when pressed yesterday why the secretary of defense signed off on this mission. take a listen. >> i don't think i'd describe it that way. yes, the department of defense will be funding this as we funded the previous mission, which ended the end of the week. that's not how anybody is looking at this or forcing that on the capitol police that they're looking at this as free labor. >> so john, the pentagon knows now that fox news has obtained this internal memo. they're declining to comment on it. not denying its existence. >> john: yeah, looks like a case of the civilian appointees overrules the ones on the front lines. thanks, gillian. >> sandra: president biden set to sign the $2 trillion stimulus bill at the moment. we're told the press has been called in. larry kudlow is a man that spent a lot of time in that wait house and someone that knows this trillion dollar bill very well, larry. republicans were adamantly opposed to it. a lot of pork in here. why? knowing president biden would reach across the aisle. why is he jamming this through? >> it's probably one of the tragedies of this bill. less than 10% of it goes and affects covid healthcare and vaccinations, which is what we really needed. most of it is political pay-offs to blue states, urban teacher's unions and so forth. a big chunk of it is the largest expansion of l.b.j.'s welfare state. no work requirements on anything here. so it's not going to help. wall street loves this. >> sandra: look at the dow. new record highs yet again. >> these brilliant economists on wall street are saying yeah, yeah, more cash to buy stocks. >> sandra: really? >> i don't think that was the intent from the far left. >> sandra: you're saying stimulus checks get to people that don't need it, going to put it into the stock market. >> yeah, on our show tonight, we have a chart about i think people -- i don't know -- under 25 or under 30 years old or something. they're using -- there's evidence from the prior check that they invested in stocks. maybe they're buying gamestop orbit coin. i'm happy to have kids buying stocks. don't get me wrong. i don't think we should be financing them through federal payments. >> sandra: you have said all along the way, there's people that need help. businesses that need help. we want to get that relief to the people that need it as a result of the shut downs and the result of the pandemic. but still the republicans speaking out on this. we talked about it at the break. senator kennedy has a way with words. he described it like this. >> president biden says it's a coronavirus bill. my response is right. when the stripper really likes you. >> sandra: he said that. a man you know well. the "wall street journal" has put hit the way. the progressive democratic steamroller, larry. the $1.9 trillion spending bill is a taste of what is coming. >> i fear that is exactly right. behind this bill, there's going to be a so-called infrastructure bill. in that infrastructure bill, which could run five or six trillion, there's a green new deal that will demolish fossil fuels and put strict limits on almost every part of the economy. it's really central planning government control bill aimed to stop fossil fuels which will kill our economy and kill our jobs. what i don't get, president biden, candidate biden ran as a moderate. candidate biden was against the green new deal. okay? candidate biden was a moderate and said he would work with republicans. when he won the south carolina primary because james clyburn backed him, he was as a moderate. what i'm seeing here is that the absolute left left progressive left of the democratic party is running the show and running the policies. >> sandra: a big statement. >> speaker pelosi and aoc and chuck schumer has sided with them, too. >> he wants to change america. go back to those days. >> i don't want -- america has great values and a good economic system if we keep taxes and regulations born. i don't want to change american. i like america. >> sandra: john, you're here with us. >> i don't want to end our history our cancel our culture and i want to keep free market supply sides in place for low unemployment and more jobs, john. i like america. >> john: could never imagine it from larry kudlow. >> breaking news. >> sandra: great to have you here. >> john: chuck schumer said if we need another bill, we'll do another bill. could be going through this again. >> i can't wait. >> sandra: thanks, larry. see you at 4:00 on fbn. >> john: seattle schools receiving millions in federal funds to reopen. teachers still refusing to go back. so what is the hold-up? >> sandra: and back to the southern border. how the biden administration is dealing with the number of migrants heading into our country illegally. we'll talk about just that with chad wolf, the former acting homeland security secretary who will join us live. i felt awful because of my psoriasis. i was covered from head to toe with it. it really hurt. then i started cosentyx. okay, thanks... that was four years ago. how are you? see me. cosentyx works fast to give you clear skin that can last. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered 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usaa. important news for veteran homeowners. introducing refiplus from newday usaa. what usa.re made of, we're made for. refiplus lets you refinance at today's all-time low interest rates plus get cash. with home values climbing, now is the smartest time ever to turn your home's increased value into an average of $50,000 cash. refiplus. it's new, it's only for veterans, and it's only from newday usa. >> john: back to the border crisis now. now the administration is admitting what is happening and republicans calling for hearing on the surge of migrants. chad wolf joins us now. let's rewind the clock to yesterday when roberta jacobson in a white house briefing said this. listen here. >> surges tend to respond to hope. there was a significant hope for a more humane policy after four years of pent-up demand. so i don't know if that is a coincidence but the idea of a more humane policy in place may have driven people to make that decision. >> john: so chad, the ambassador said that the biden policies have led to the surge. there were pressures to keep the surge from coming across the border but they dismantled them. >> at the end of the day her comments her and the comments of the administration. the crisis that we see is the biden plan. it's what they had in mind all along. whether they thought they would get the numbers as quickly as they have is upper question. but i think this is their plan. when she talks about inhumane or humane policy, that there's pent-up demand, i vehemently disagree with that. it's the most -- most inhumane message you can give and sell all of these individuals a lie. what do i mean by that? we know the vast majority of these next don't qualify for asylum. they have to be deported or leave the country and go back to their countries of origin. they know that. the biden administration knows that. they're selling these individuals a lie and encouraging them to put themselves in the hands of smugglers and traffickers. so my opinion is that is the most inhumane message and inhumane policy that you can deliver. >> john: we're seeing this drone video from where griff jenkins is where there's a gapping hole in the border wall that was halted. yesterday ambassador jacobsen said the border is closed, but she says the cartels are sending a different message, that the border is open and sending that message because in essence it is open. >> it is open. messages from u.s. officials didn't work. we tried it. the only message the cartels and the smacklers and the traffickers can see is whether or not individuals crossing that border illegally remain in the u.s. or deported in a very quick time frame. what they're seeing now is they are remaining here in the united states and what they're doing is phoning their friends and family back home, back in the northern triangle and elsewhere saying it's okay. you'll get in and you'll stay here. that's the message being sent recordless who is at the white house podium. we know that message won't resignate. let's show where the numbers are compared to the last crisis in 2019. february 2019, 76,545 encounters along the border. in february this year, an increase of 21%. chad wolf, we'll get you back to talk more about this because it's not going away any time soon. thanks. sonda? >> sandra: thanks. up next, we mark a year since the covid pandemic began. we'll take a look at the biggest challenges that we have faced and the progress that we have made together during this difficult time. >> john: top doctors that have been part of our coverage since the beginning will joins us to discuss what we learned so far and what we have yet to learn. i'm a performer. always have been. and always will be. never letting anything get in my way. not the doubts, distractions, or voice in my head. and certainly not arthritis. voltaren provides powerful arthritis pain relief to help me keep moving. and it can help you too. feel the joy of movement with voltaren. hi, i'm debra. i'm from 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new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home. >> john: anything can happen on live television. check out this video from espn in columbia. yes, that was a video wall that fell on one of the people on the anchor set. the anchor says he was not seriously hurt. they say as well, the show must go on. i have to tell you, sandra, the wind is howling here in washington d.c. i expect our rooftop tent to blow away. keep an iso rolling on us. >> sandra: be careful. you never know. that's just how dangerous these jobs are, you know. >> john: the only thing that would fall on me is the washington monument. >> sandra: be safe out there. glad he's okay. one year ago today, the world health organization declared a global pandemic as the coronavirus changed all of our lives. many schools and businesses have remain closed since then. are we at a turning point as more americans are getting the vaccine? joining us now, dr. marty makary and nicole sapphire. thanks for being here. this is the a team. we have spoken to all 3 of you doctors throughout the pandemic. doctor, i'll start with you. i thought about a year ago and something that stuck in my mind. you've always been this calm voice as a doctor, a mother, taking us through this. i'll never forget when we were all saying oh, no, should we spray the boxes that ups down can clorox because we didn't know how it was spreading and how contagious it was. you said well, i'm doing it. as a doctor, you say end spraying them down, wiping them down with clorox. we look at how much we have learned since then, dr. sapphire. >> that's right, sandra. i remember before we had any information, we all did that. two weeks after that on tv, i said, you know what? i stopped doing this. we're learning more about this virus. that's the things. over the year, it's hardly rare that when you get research to come at lunch time, does it turn to policy by dinner time? that's what is happening as science and research has been coming so fast. the one thing that has come out is that delayed action and mixed messaging has breathed a distrust and led to behaviors that impede progress. but the cdc being transparent and putting fort clear guidelines for people to move forward as the level of immunity increases. >> sandra: doctor, i have so memories with you in your white jacket talking us through the pandemic. there was that moment that you got your vaccine. we now see so many americans getting the vaccine. are we at a turning point? >> i do believe we are, sandra. my heard goes out to the over 500,000 lives lost this past year. it's been a tumultuous use. our country, we're a resilient nation and we've achieved historic milestones specifically having three highly safe and effective vaccines available that we have already administered to 80 million americans. this is just an unprecedented -- this will get us out of the pandemic closer to herd immunity. it's something that we should be so proud of. >> sandra: dr. makary, i'll brick it to today. most recently you grabbed a lot of hidlines that you said you believe the coronavirus could be gone by april, we could reach herd immunity and this virus could go away. where do you stand on that thinking today? >> we're 100% on track with that projection, sandra. it's interesting. if you have a model in epidemiology that is vastly wrong, people ignore it and move on. here's a model that we're on track for. we achieved herd immunity for healthcare workers and two weeks from nursing homes and different places will hit herd communicatety by may. >> sandra: we're still looking at school closures. it's heart breaking to not see them back in the classroom. what is your message as businesses are closed and teachers not returning to the classroom? >> sandra, i hate to say it, a year ago, i said one of my biggest concerns is the school closures and if they were long-term, what would be the long-term effects of that. it's obvious at this point now that we started covid-19 pandemic with a mental health crisis in our country and now we're having a much larger mental health crisis. not only in our adults, not only in our elderly but our children now. it's going to take a long way to get out of this. we need to move forward and focus on mental health. >> sandra: doctor, a lot of folks wondering when they can travel again. what do you tell them? >> we always have to go by cdc guidelines and protocols that are backed up by science and dad that. if you're vaccinated, fully vaccinated, you'll have more social freedoms. you'll be able to visit with loved ones and hug your neighbors, grandkids, go to restaurants and gyms. we should be able to travel if you're fully vaccinated. it's a matter of knowing your risk and taking precautions. it's so important what we learned this past year, not just to manage and treat covid patients, not just the use of steroids and anti-body therapies but understanding it's harmful to do lock downs and shut downs of schools. it's more harmful of our children. that mental, physical growth is deterred. so taking that into consideration will help moving forward in the future, being prepared with future pandemics. >> sandra: dr. makary, a final thought as we're about to see the president sign this massive stimulus bill. so many businesses and individuals have been so badly hurt economically during this crisis. we all just hope and pray that we don't have to face this again. final thought to you. >> i hope we don't react poorly again. we have miopic vision because we're scared, this is about valuing human life. we've tried hard to get this right and we've done our best. so, you know, it's great to be here to have this conversation with everybody. >> sandra: i wish i could ring the church bells for you. you've been a huge help during this unprecedented time. thank you to all three of you. >> thank you. >> sandra: john? >> john: dr. marty with a thought provoking op-ed in the "wall street journal." one big private city school declaring words on words like mom and dad. details on the other terms that they're discouraging and the reasoning behind that. it's a new day for veteran homeowners. with home values high and mortgage rates at all time lows. great news for veterans who need money for their family. that's me. refiplus from newday usa lets you refinance at record low rates plus get an average of $50,000. that's me. that's money for security today or retirement tomorrow. that's me. refiplus. life... doesn't stop for diabetes. be ready for every moment, with glucerna. it's the number one doctor recommended brand that is scientifically designed to help manage your blood sugar. live every moment. glucerna. cell phone repair. is scientifically designed to help manage your blood sugar. did you know liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need? just get a quote at libertymutual.com. really? i'll check that out. oh yeah. i think i might get a quote. not again! aah, come on rice. do your thing. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ if you smell gas, you're too close. leave the structure, call 911, keep people away, and call pg&e right after so we can both respond out and keep the public safe. if you see wires down, treat them all as if they're hot and energized. stay away from any downed wire, call 911, and call pg&e right after so we can both respond out and keep the public safe. >> john: a very expensive private school in new york city telling kids not to use words like mom and dad. because they make assumptions about kids' home lives. laura ingle has more. >> hey, john. the idea is to give parents, teachers and students new guidelines on inclusive language. we're talking about a 12-page guide that was issued at a $57,000 a year private school in noho asking everyone to use the term people, folks and friends instead of boys and girls. also included a directive to remove the phrase "merry christmas" from the vocabulary and instead offering the alternative of happy holidays and have a great break. the guide explains that the goal is to provide community with more inclusive language. that is aligned with the mission of grace church school, which is episcopalian. the school said if the cancel culture press wants to cancel us, then i embrace it and i hope you will, too. he said the spirit of the guide is to give everyone words to help bring people together. john? >> john: laura, it's still surprising. no question about that. sandra, i -- you wonder where it begins, where it ends and where it is going in between. >> sandra: seems like there's a story every day now, john. you look at that, that stands out. good reporting there from laura. by the way, speaking of schools, many still shut down, john. next hour we'll have a big focus on that. kids in crisis. so many that are going to have and pay the price for some years to come on the learning gap that we have seen for some who have been back to school in the classroom from the private schools, john and the public schools that are still shut down to this moment. >> john: yeah, a lot that are open. a really interesting tracker online. gives you a big picture across the united states of which schools are open and which aren't. we'll introduce you to that as well. >> sandra: fascinating, too. parents making decisions today what they're going to do in the fall. some schools have not announced they'll be open in the fall. we'll be on that. president biden set to sign a massive $2 trillion stimulus packages that he's touted as one of the most progressive bills in history. we'll go to the white house live. check out our line-up in a brand new hour. >> sandra: welcome to a special second hour of "america reports" on our nation's kids in crisis. one year after the nation shut down, our look in to how children are paying the price for closed classrooms and the consequences could last a lifetime. hello. i'm sandra smith. hi, john. >> john: hi, sandra. i'm john roberts in washington. we want to mention that we're waiting for president biden to sign that coronavirus relief bill in the oval office at the white house. it's running a bit behind. we'll have that live when it happens. millions of children are still not in classrooms. in too many places, there's no clear plan for getting them back. making life impossible for many families. >> sandra: it's been difficult for sure. the science shows keeping kids home is harming them. how do we move forward as a country? here to help us, we'll check in with our correspondents across the country that have been covering this crisis since day one. >> john: and also with us, martha maccallum who is a more and news anchor and a fellow father with us that has been on top of everything, editor josh crawshire. >> sandra and john, covid shut down has affected kids, teachers and parents. coordinating all of it has been school principals. you're one of the first principals in the country to deal with covid-19. >> yeah. a year ago, we were closed. the beginning march. >> it was 7:00 a.m. on a tuesday. rabbi krause got the call and someone from his community in the bronx had tested positive for covid-19. the first reported case in new york. >> so this was a really scary time. nobody had any experience of dealing with covid at a school. >> it was very unknown. we were on the phone with the department of health and the governor's office. we were all learning together. >> the date was march 3, 2020. the u.s. had just experienced the first covid death. >> two days later, the north shore district of washington state would close its doors to 22,000 students. by the end of march, districts in almost every state would impose a closure affecting 50 million students. education experts call it the biggest disruption to teaching in american history. darrell bradford is from 50 cam, which advocates for educational reform. he says the time away from actual school has created a huge learning deficit for almost all of america's youth. but especially for those from poor neighborhoods. so you're particularly critical of remote learning. >> yeah. if you want to be remote, you have to have tools to be remote. most schools are having a hard time being good for in-person. the kids got the worst of it. >> the students themselves can't learn staring at a screen for eight hours a day. mental health professionals agree. it's simply too isolating. dr. rebecca manus has studied child developments. >> kids are suffering. self-inflicted harm up by 90%. >> children are hard wired to be interactive and benefit from each other. with what is happening right now, it's harder and harder for them to have those connections. >> as for krause, he listened to parents concerns and completely revamped his school with masks, social distancing and other covid protocols. he even converted his office into a classroom in order to get his students back to learning in person. >> so you were one of the first to shut down. now you're a success story. >> we've never seen kids happier to be in school. >> happy to be in school and especially happy to be with other kids. that's it from here, sandra and john. back to you. >> john: you know, douglas, an interesting resource online called verbio.com where people can look at the school tracker, put it on the screen, so folks can learn. the best states across the country that are 100% inperson learning, montana, wyoming and iowa. florida is doing well. oregon, california, washington state, maryland, new mexico. they're on the worst end with very little in-person learning. across the country, douglas, where do things stand right now? >> well, the conclusion now is, john, a lot of these schools did not need to close. what you really needed is ventilation and fresh air. you needed to open the doors, open the windows. pay more for heating. you didn't need to shut down as many schools as they did. the sar academy that i went to, they figured it out. they got a new ventilation system, kept the windows and doors open and had no problems all year, even at the height of the pandemic. >> john: that's a story across a lot of school districts. >> sandra: thanks to douglas kennedy for that. going to bring in martha for a quick reflection. >> my thought goes back to mayor de blasio. he fought back on shutting down. he said the children need to be in school, need to be there for their lunches, parents need to go to work. this was a line of thinking early on that was advocating for that. this is a safe place for kids. >> he was he was pressured by the governor to shut the schools down. it's worth re-visiting his initial inclination on that. i think what has circled back around is to discover that yes, it would have been a better move to leave those schools open to contain them as much as possible, to social distance, to give kids masks. all of those things that would have helped to make it a safer place what we learned very clearly as was pointed out, virtual learning does not work. it's unsuccessful. there's a reason that we have a public school system. it's created to educate the children of this nation. so now you have a whole year of kids being behind and i think here about this charter in schools, but there's an advocacy out there for summer school, that we need to catch up. this is a program that should be implemented immediately. it is something that there's a lot of push back from from the unions, as you might imagine. >> we have up while you've been talking, the live white house shot as we are expected the president to step out at any moment now. i received the two-minute warning. he's expected to sign this $2 trillion stimulus bill. obviously republicans have reported out, not a lot of the stuff pertains to the pandemic. here's the president and the vice president as he signs this $2 trillion bill. let's listen for a moment. >> thank you for coming in. in the weeks that this bill has been discussed and debated, it's clear an overwhelming percentage of the american people, democrats, independents, republican friends have made it clear the people out there made it clear that they strongly support the american rescue plan. yesterday was the final passage of the plan in the house of representatives. their voices were heard. reflected in everything we have in this bill. and i believe this is and most people do as well, it's historic legislation. it's about rebuilding the backbone of this country and giving people in this nation, working people, middle class folks, people that built the country a fighting chance. that's what the essence of it is. i'm going to have a lot more to say about that tonight and the next couple days and be able to take your questions. meantime, what i'm going to do is sign this bill and make the presentation tonight and then there will be plenty of opportunities that we'll be on the road not only talking about what i'm talking about tonight and the impact on the virus and how we're going to end this pandemic. talk all the elements of the bill friday, saturday and through the week. thanks for being here. thank you all. appreciate it. >> john: short and sweet. for president joe biden there putting pen to paper and signing the $1.9 trillion american rescue plan. saying before he signed it, he wasn't going to take any questions despite the fact the pool tried to shout them at hem. he has the address at 8:00 p.m. he said he will be on the road after that. he said there will be plenty of time to answer questions in the days and weeks ahead. we still don't know exactly when that will be. there's no formal press conference that has been scheduled. we're now in to day 50. so just keep on watching, sandra. see if something happens at some point. >> sandra: that's a lot longer than any of his predecessors went before they took their first questions from reporters in a formal solo news conference. we'll await that. john, thank you. we look back at one year since covid closures began, a new report in the "wall street journal" pointing to more than 130 studies related to school reopenings. the analysis shows bottom line, school closures do not keep kids safer from the infection. jonathan serrie is in atlanta, home to the cdc and spent a lot of time there. he's been on the case since the beginning. let's start with the concerns over kids mental health. >> yeah, there's a concern that a lot of these students may be suffering in silence. people are putting off treatment even for serious issues. you look at emergency room visits. they declined during the pandemic. when researchers analyzed the numbers, when they looked at the proportion of mental health visits to the e.r. and compared them to all e.r. visits in general, they found there were actually increases in mental health cases. 24% for children ages 5-11 and 31% for children 12 through 17 according to the cdc. the concern is that you keep children at home, you take them out of their normal social interactions. that increases their chances of depression and the chances of suicide or self-harm, sandra. >> john: john, it's john roberts here. want to bring in here -- we talked about the mental health aspects of this, the increase in suicides, the increase in anxiety among these kids that have been isolated from their peers and also effects when it comes to education. the study from the chicago department of health compared chicago public schools, which have been closed for a year with the chicago arch diocese schools, parochial schools. they found more kids from closed public schools got covid than kids in open private schools. test scores showed public school fell further behind. it's going to take a double toll and both will have lasting effects. >> that's right. i want to point out another study done by a nonprofit in portland called nwea. among the findings, students in grades 3-8 performed similar in reading during the pandemic compared to students in the same grade the previous year. however, their math scores decreased 5-10%. they were lower this year compared to the previous year. another thing, john, as you pointed out, the private schools versus the public schools, many private schools have reopened while many public schools remain closed. child advocates say that that is creating a gap in terms of income that you have these higher income students that largely go to private schools that are benefitting from in-person instruction and the poorer students that go to public schools are at home and suffering these academic and mental health effects, john. >> john: yeah. a lot of times it's the children most at risk on a general basis that have been suffering to an even greater degree because of the schools closures as well. jonathan serrie in atlanta. thanks so much. sandra? >> sandra: thanks, john and jonathan. students are going to take a big final hit from being home during this. take a look at this from the "wall street journal." interesting analysis. it's a report that is talking about analysis of -- cite as june 2021 report from mackenzie. it projects that children stand to lose from 61 to 82,000 in earnings over their lifetimes with black and latino students experiencing more potential losses if inperson learning is not more widespread than january 2021. martha, that is fascinating. >> it goes to the fact, this idea that you can shut students down and leave kids at home in front of their computers. in many cases they don't have them. one of the saddest cases is disappearing students. teachers that say, you know, well, we had that kid on zoom for a little while and they disappeared. i saw a man that works in the community in michigan driving around trying to identified where these students are. going to their homes, trying to knock on the door and say, is he or she still here. this is heart breaking. this is -- so the devastating loss of not learning that the impact on their earning potential in the years to follow is rule. so learning loss is a real phenomenon. what do you do to catch the kids up? i talk about summer school. if you're in college, you fail something, you need to take it in the summer to get caught up. everybody loves summer vacation. but a situation that you're in for four weeks and back in for another three weeks at some point. just get their muscles going again in that vein of being in the classroom. you know, more kids committed suicide than died of covid in this country. the anxiety, the depression, lack of stimulus of being with others is very real. we have sort of i think put so many emphasis on covid and not enough on the picture of the whole child. >> sandra: absolutely. >> we'll be paying the price for this for some time if we don't really help them out. >> sandra: the kids, the parents and john, the teachers as well. in the cases where someone or a family was able to afford putting their kids into parochial school for a year or maybe two years, to put them back in the public school system, there's going to be a gap. from those public school students that were virtual learning from this to have them back in the classroom, the private school kids getting a different level of education, there's going to be catch-up to do. >> john: there is. i would say the kids in parochial school will come out ahead whenever goals back in, if those students go back to public schools. so that could create another gap as well. we won't find out about that probably until the fall as some kids are in private school might transition back to public school. we talk about the lingering closures of schools across the country and the problems to reopen them. the biggest constant seems to be teacher's unions. you'll remember what happened in chicago. we're familiar with that. teachers threatened to strike rather than go back to school. it's far from just the windy city. unions are putting up fights coast to coast. the l.a. teacher's union. just today, seattle teachers should have been back in class. parents were all set to send their kids back but the teachers did not go back. however, that did not stop dan springer from going to school. dan, seattle is just one in a long list of these fights between the local politicians, the parents and the teacher's unions. >> yeah, john. this was supposed to be an exciting day in seattle. the youngest kids, the kindergarteners and first graders were supposed to go back after this long lay-off of going -- studying at home. the teacher's union said no, we're not going to do it. the district caved. the district had said to the teachers, you teachers of young students are essential workers. we have to have you back as we negotiate the parameters for reopening schools. the union said we're not going to go back. we talked to a teacher who just went in a little while ago, back into her classroom. he said it's safe in there. this is the union leadership telling them that it's not safe to go back. interestingly, we had a tour given to the leadership by the district. they had -- they checked out the schools for the hvac system, checked out ventilation and distancing. came back as there were no real problems. they really should have had school today. but they didn't. the teacher's union said we have to have an agreement in place before our teachers go back. john? >> john: so many cities and school districts, we've seen the goal posts being moved quite substantially. teacher's unions went on one thing and then they said we want this. then we want these other things that have nothing to do with public health and safety. what is the situation there in seattle? they just looking for assurances that they can go back safely or are these other myriad of issues christmas treed on top of these agreements? >> you're right. the goal posts keep shifting here. doesn't have any connection to the amount of money being spend across the country. here in washington state, they received a billion dollars in covid relief money. yet here in washing stan, 46th in the country in getting kids back in the classrooms. they have done all the hvac work, the social distancing stuff. they have the hand sanitizers, the ppe, they have it all. the teacher's union says we still don't feel like it's safe enough to go back. so they keep shifting around. until they have that hard and fast agreement in place, they say they're not coming back. >> john: dan springer following that for us. sandra and martha, it's so frustrating for the parents. the kids are finally going back and the teacher's union say nope, it's not going to happen. it has a lasting impact in terms of trust. >> sandra: also, this is an instance yeah, i've seen this in chicago and other areas of the country. at the same time, we're all parents. we all interact with teachers. there's fantastic teachers for the most part out there that have been taking our children through this. that have been battling this and doing what they have to do to stay safe, to keep the kid safe. they have been warriors during this pandemic as well. we don't want to ignore them. obviously some of their areas of the country still shut down and struggling through, this we have sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers that teach. i do. and they have been champions through this. they want those kids back in the classroom. they know how important it is, martha. >> martha: there's no doubt about that. the problem is that, you know, when you look at essential workers, all of them went back in one way or another and this group did not. the reason that they did not is because the unions really prevented it. we see what is happening in the story in seattle that we just heard. parents have learned a lot more about the school system. they learned how the unions functions and learned about charter schools and catholic school options around learned what the kids are learning. they've been looking at it. in all honestly, it's raised a lot of questions about what they're learning and how their school operates. obvious lividly, you know, there are so many wonderful teachers. i'm the product of a teacher, the sister of a teacher and i give them a lot of credit. the fact of the matter is, if you're in a certain age group or risk group, there's accommodations to figure out so you don't have to go back. the majority of teachers are not in that age group. most of them are young and healthy. it's unfortunate that the union has made this such a political thing. in some cases, they're asking for rent reimbursement, asking for all kinds of things that fall outside the scope of getting the school up and running. we have to be clear-eyed what is happening here. a lot of politics involved. >> sandra: john, in addition to that, we learned a lot about how the unions work and the charter schools and the options out there. we learned more about remote learning about the ability to use zoom and some of the other technology out there perhaps nor the good we learned more about how we can use that when people get sick, students get sick, parents or teachers have to make changes. so i don't know. perhaps we look at the bright side there. businesses have when it comes to the use of technology. >> john: there are some important things. we've had our kids in catholic school, inperson learning since last august. when there were snow days, the school didn't want to give them the day off. they send them home to do remote learning. as much as they try, it's not the same. martha, you set this up perfectly. from the hill newspaper about chicago. they said the union demands won't outside the scope. rent abatement demands, placed defunding the police on the table. while kids are struggling. the unions are using a pandemic to push their political agenda. let's bring in josh. it seems that these teacher's unions used the coronavirus as leverage for a lot of grievances that they've had for a long time. just a real wish list of things that they would like to see. >> yeah, john. the teacher's union has been consistently moving the goal posts. like lu i can and the football. you think wore a week or two away from opening schools. the health conditions have been met. other demands have been made. makes you wonder what the real goal of the union is in these cases. doesn't seem like the students interests are primary. here in fairfax county, thehead of the fairfax count the i teacher's union, she wants to wait until students get vaccinated to fully reopen, which would be indefinitely. kids are not eligible right now. so you see unreasonable measures that are being proposed and the delays being proposed in all school districts across the country. makes you wonder why the -- what is the real interest of the unions. is it for students to get educated or to protect the teachers as long as possible. >> sandra: josh you and i have had a lot to talk about this. you see the parents out there fighting for their kids to get back in the classroom. obviously for their education, but also for the many parents that have not been able to return to the workplace because their kids aren't in school. it's an incredibly important function to the recovery and to the economic recovery in this country that those parents are able to get back to work. >> yeah, look, sandra, this is a big political test for the biden administration. it's not just parents, it's working moms. it's kids who are just desperately looking to get back into the classroom. biden signs the stimulus. it contained $150 billion for k-12 education. some of it is earmarked for after this school year. biden has promised that teachers are getting prioritized for vaccines. there's money going to the school system. end of march is a pretty big timetable for the white house. if all of this money is going into the school system and you don't see five a week full-time public school education, that will be a big problem for the democrats. especially for a party, the democratic party, who has talked a lot about equity lately. it's been a big part of their political messaging, helping the most disadvantaged americans. when you see the outcome that you're talking about, a african americans, hispanic students have been falling far behind, the most disadvantaged kids have really lost almost a year's worth of learning, this is about as inequitable as it gets and will rip the democratic party into pieces if they can't respond and make sure that schools get open and kids learn again. >> sandra: it's heart breaking, john. john, having just seen the president sign this massive trillion dollar stimulus bill, you look at what is packed into that that has nothing to do with the pandemic and the recovery and you wonder how much will get to helping kids return to the classroom considering you have teachers demands and cities like chicago that exceed the money that they have. that city is broke. stand by. even the mayor from chicago had issues. let's listen. >> we also have to bring you the news that the union leadership has made it clear despite the data and science confirming the safety of in-person learning in our school, they have determined that pre-k and cluster teachers should not report tomorrow. we owe it to our parents and our students to tell them that therefore we have no choice but that they should not send their children to school tomorrow. >> sandra: martha, that was quite a moment. >> martha: she stood by the teachers as long as she could and she realized this was not a winning move. these teachers don't have the argument that they purported to have, that there weren't good reasons not to head back to the school. we heard douglas kennedy talk about inventedlation. a thing with the fans to circulate the air. that wasn't good enough. the unions kept moving the bar. first ventilation. then fix the mold that had been there since way before covid. then it moved on to the vaccination question. and then a lot of places, it's even if we're vaccinated, we won't guarantee that we go back. there's a point that you say, what is going on here? does the city have the opportunity to perhaps go around and hire teachers that will come in to the classroom. >> john: you know, martha and sandra, this is becoming increasingly a hot button political issue. now you have republicans charging the biden administration is putting more attention on keeping the border open than the schools. josh who is still with us, when you take a look at the fact that you have all of this attention on the southern border, you have the central american minor program being restarted again and this communication going to central america and the it is a time the centers for disease control under fire for misinterpreting guidance that researchers were giving to the cdc about how to get schools back open, it would seem to suggest is that there's a political agenda here. >> yeah, when you see liberal mayors and governors like lori lightfoot or california governor gavin newsome talking to the party saying you have to open schools, we have to move faster, starting to take on the teacher's unions in the case of lightfoot and a few others, you know where the politics are. democrats wouldn't be doing this and showing that sense of urgency if there wasn't widespread frustration among republicans and democrats. >> john: josh, we're going to the white house talking immigration with peter doocy. >> the majority of the people will be turned away. we recognize because the president and our administration has made a decision the way to humanely approach immigration is to allow for unaccompanied minors to come and be treated with humanity and be in a safe place while we're considering -- while we're trying to get them in to homes and sponsored homes, that some more may have come to our border. there has been of course a large flow of children across the border. we recognize that. that is -- we made a policy decision because we felt it was the humane approach. the vast majority of our people are turned away. the statistics bear that out. >> in terms of keeping covid out of the country, does the white house think it's a problem that travelers have to show a negative covid test, proof of a test when they fly in to the u.s. from any foreign country, but travelers don't need to show anything like that when they just walk across the border as long as they don't go to a port of entry? >> well, i think there's a lot of confusion what is happening at the border as it relates to people coming across. what happens when they come across. i know governor abbott down in texas has expressed some of his concerns and many of those have not been based in fact. so let me go through a few of those. i know we're interested in facts around here. one, governor abbott has referred to what is happening at the border as open borders, us having an open borders policy. that is absolutely incorrect. the border is not open. the vast majority of individuals are encountered at the bonder are denied entry and returned under title 42 as we have mentioned. also, he has suggested that we are not vaccinating cvp officers. we like to deal with facts. there's no higher priority of the health of the federal and safety workhorse. they have been clear that more than 64,000 front line dhs employees including members of the u.s. border patrol have received a vaccination. that's another point to provide full clarity. the other piece is the question about the testing of migrants at the border or testing of my grantses as they come across. we have dhs and fema have stepped in and work with local mayors and public health officials to have covid-19 testing and as needed isolation and quarantine at the border patrol facilities. the agreement would cover 100% of the expense of the testing, isolation and quarantine. governor abbott has decided to reject that. there's a lot of confusion about that. i what tonight provide a point of clarity. >> no asking about governor abbott. asking about the feds. why are they relying on ngos to administer the tests? we talked to people at the border that say migrants are tested if they show symptoms. that seems like a loop hole. >> that's not accurate. there's an important role that ngos, local officials play in working together. this is a proposal that was worked with dhs, with fema and others to help address and ensure that people are tested. governor abbott, i raised that because he raised a concerned about that. we put forward a proposal. why is he standing in the way of local communities getting in the way of testing, isolation and quarantining efforts. >> a question about biden's administration policy. covid is covid. covid at the dulles airport is the same as covid in a border town. so i'm curious why it is eninformationed for people flying in from other countries but not a requirement by the federal government to test or to prove a negative test anywhere along the border except for the port of entry? >> i can describe what our policies are. there's more to convey to you. i'm happy to do that. >> one point on green jobs. you have talked about tackling climate crisis while creating good paying jobs. now the president of a aflcio said something working in a refinery leaving to go install solar panels, they're probably going to take a 75% cut in pay. so that something the administration is aware of. >> i'm not sure which jobs are being compared there. here's what i can convey to you. the president is committed during his presidency to invest in, work with labor unions, climate activists with a range of -- with the industry to invest in good paying clean energy jobs. he believes that unions have an incredibly important role to play in ensuring those are high-paying jobs, those treat the people in them with the respect and value that they deserve through collective bargaining rights and a range of the benefits of union organizing, being a part of the unionsch obviously that required additional work and investment by the federal government working with congress to invest in what we see as industries of the future. oil and gas jobs are not going away. there are many industries that are of course continuing to function. the outgoing administration flooded the markets with leases. this won't affect the markets for years to come. we're investing in where we feel the jobs will be moving forward. the president looks forward to continuing to delivering on his commitment to doing exactly that. >> high-paying, good paying but equal paying? >> high paying, good paying jobs. i think we're comparing a little bit -- i'm not sure what specific jobs you're comparing. i'm committing that jobs in the clean energy industry will be high paying union jobs. that's what the president's objective and commitment is, too. go ahead, kaitlyn. >> the white house said that president biden wants to look ahead to a return to normal in his speech tonight. how does he do that while striking the balance that 1,500 americans on average are still dying from coronavirus every day? >> you're right, kaitlyn. but his objective is to strike exactly that balance. this is one of the reasons that he's been line editing this speech the last week plus to ensure that he's conveying that he's levelling with the american people, that he is delivering on his commitment to being truthful about the challenges that we face. what is required of the american public to get to a return to normalcy as you conveyed and he also wants to provide a sense of hope and what is possible if we abide by the good night lines. if you have access to a vaccine, you have the vaccine. what can people look forward to. so that is exactly the balance that he's hoping to strike tonight. >> should we expect -- >> john: jen psaki taking questions from peter doocy about the border. peter making the point if you fly to dulles airport, you have to have a test but not at the border. jen psaki pushing back that we have open boarders in tax. by title 42, a number of people were turned back. i know that percentage to be 72%. if you look at the numbers from february, sandra, that means that some 72,000 people were turned away, but that means some 28,000 people were allowed in to the country. we now know that some 9,000 children are being held in detention there on the southern border in hhs facilities. >> sandra: you can't help but remind our viewers that this is 50 days in to this new presidency, john. while he was going to deliver a that address tonight, he signed a $2 trillion stimulus package. did not take questions. still has no planned announcement of when he will hold a formal solo news conference. you look at the crisis we're dealing with at the southern border, look at that team there, the drone, the pandemic. still many dying across the country from this virus. school closures, business closures and the president hasn't taken a soly news conference. it's remarkable, john, when you see what is happening in this country right now that we're not getting more transparency from a president that promised that when he campaigned for office. back to the pandemic. as we mark one year since the pandemic began, affecting all of our lives, the biden team set to hold their first high level meeting with chinese officials in alaska next week, john. >> john: this comes as the united states continues to push china for answers of covid. and some are calling it a worldwide call pain to lie about too virus. jennifer griffin has more. >> john, one year after the who finally declared covid-19 a pandemic, u.s. officials still do not have a clear picture of how the virus originated. at first china said it originated in the wuhan seafood market. the only problem, the first case had no connection to the market. former secretary state mike pompeo has been the lead voice suggesting the virus most likely came from the wuhan institution of virology. a research lab where chinese scientists were experimenting on that virus using u.s. taxpayer money. >> there were certain facts that make it strongly indicative that this came out of that laboratory, a accidental leak. the chinese party won't let anybody in there to see what happened. they made people disappear. that cover-up is a crime. >> two new pieces of intelligence were declassified by the trump administration january 15. several researchers from the lab had covid-like symptoms in the fall of 2019. new evidence that the chinese military was using the wuhan lab for secret research. concern about gain of function manipulation of that viruses about mice also alarmed scientists that attended a conference in beijing in late 2017 when a group of scientists from the wuhan lab funded by nih presented their findings. >> we're not talking about the french here or working with the allies. we're working with an adversary and transferring critical technology to them using the u.s. government funding that could be used against us. i find that disturbing. >> a new book by journalist be josh rogan has explosive details about how u.s. diplomats warned about risky work on bats being done at the wuhan lab in cables dating back to 2018. the cables were ignored. >> in may the chinese cdc disavowed the seafood market theory. nobody noticed because they were so engrained in our psyche that this was what happened. now here we are a year later and we have both the trump administration and the biden administration agreeing in fact that several things that we're pointing towards, human error related to the wuhan institute of virology. >> u.s. intelligence estimates have ruled out a bio weapon but cannot rule out an accident at the lab. the who team set to investigate have decided to forego doing a report as tensions between the u.s. and china grows. >> john: we'll see if that comes up next week. thanks, jennifer. appreciate it. sandra, i remember talking with sources last year and not long after the pandemic really started raging about the potential that this did escape from that bio safety level 4 lab in wuhan. we heard a scenario in which somebody accidentally became contaminated and went to that market and started passing it on. kind of hit a dead end. but that seems to be gaining more fire now. >> sandra: it's remarksable as we look back at a year ago how much we went through. remarkable also when you look at jennifer griffins reporting and what is happening in alaska next week for the biden administration pressing for answers. how we don't have answers a year later, john. >> john: yeah. the pandemic continues to rage. the past year, there were some bright spots is though. sports even found a way to keep the ball in play. clay travis is going to weigh-in live. he's coming up next as we look ahead to opening day at 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i'm bring sports back! makes us happy. fox news alert. the associated press reporting a lawyer for new york governor andrew cuomo said reported a groping allegation made against the governor to police. that's after the woman involved declined to press charges herself. 120 new york state lawmakers are calling for andrew cuomo to be resigned or impeach. the top democrat in the state avoiding the questions. >> it's a big deal. thank you. >> any comments on governor cuomo? >> sandra: meanwhile the investigation continueses on whether he covered up coronavirus deaths in nursing homes. claudia kenny join us. she was not saying the allegations are a big deal. that was on the topic that she was discussing when asked to weigh-in on the allegations against cuomo, she declined to answer. why are we not hearing from our first female vice president? why is she not saying anything about this? >> i don't know. it's curious. she's not the only one. our lieutenant governor has been silent on this. in the event that governor cuomo resigns because looks unlikely or the likely event that he could be impeached, she would as send to the governorship. she's not weighed in on this or the deaths of 15,000 seniors. she's not weighed in on that, nor has our senator, kristin gillibrand or the governor's secretary. she's still defending the governor even though she was quick to condemn sexual harassment during the harvey weinstein scandal. and she's talked in public about her own concerns about women who are in positions of power, need to stand up for sexual harassment victims. here she is, her own boss and she doesn't have the courage to stand up. this is a real concern. as as a former member of the state assembly, when you see this many people calling for the governor to be impeach or to resign, that is unusual. they can bring these articles of impeachment on the floor. all they need are 76 votes in the house. they have more than income democrats. the republicans will certainly join them. between the hearsing home scandal, the failed vaccine roll-out, now the sexual harassment issues that look like possibly a possible sexual assault situation, the governor really needs to step up. >> sandra: congressman, this state needs leadership. it's struggling. i look out the window in new york city. businesses boarded up, people have not returned. crime is up. how can he continue to do his job facing these allegations, not just sexual misconduct allegations against him, of course, he continues to face an investigation into a cover-up of nursing home deaths in his state. >> i would argue, this is the job he's always been done but given free pass in albany and the media who give him praise and never go into the scandals. he created his own anti-corruption commission that he shut down. we don't know how many seniors had vaccines. five states in the entire country including new york don't reveal who has had a vaccine. an abysmal 38% have been vaccinated, seniors in this state. >> sandra: it's a problem when you look at the borders states like connecticut who has had a seamless roll-out of their vaccine in that state. congress woman, we appreciates you joining us. >> thank you. >> sandra: we'll take a quick break and be right back. i felt gross. people were afraid i was contagious. i was covered from head to toe. i was afraid to show my skin. after i started cosentyx i wasn't covered anymore. four years clear. five years now. i just look and feel better. see me. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen, or if you've had a vaccine, or plan to. serious allergic reactions may occur. five years is just crazy. see me. learn more at cosentyx.com. >> sandra: all right. look at this. this is another record high for the u.s. stock market. it's not just the dow, the s&p 500 as well, which is a broad-based rally, john. why? there's 500 stocks in the dow. >> john: anybody with a 401(k) will like it. it's terrific. after a year of dealing with covid, it's great to see baseball season around the corner. when you agree with it or not, putting fans in globe life field will be something to see. >> sandra: absolutely. i'm sandra smith. >> john: i'm john roberts. see you tomorrow for friday. "the story" starts rights now. >> martha: spring is coming. thanks. i'm martha maccallum live in new york. here's "the story" right now. the president of mexico reportedly refers to our president biden this way. "they see him as the migrant president, so many feel they're going to reach the united states." many teachers say biden, please let us in. peter doocy will join us with a take on what happened in the briefing room. and a surprise signature from the president adding $2 trillion to the already $4.4 trillion that p