Jab at him with the Tax Cuts passed in the trump administration, because he said unlike that, all of his plans are fully paid for, and so he went into details on some of those things as well. But i have to tell you, garrett, there is not a lot of new in these remarks that the president has talked about this over and over again, and the build back better agenda from Day One in fact, and so this is is a president who wanted to come Tout Speak out and speak about what took place and moving forward and the second half of the agenda, but what stuck out to me today is that he did not speak about what happened with the businesses and the universities and the airlines who are requiring the vaccines and i asked Jen Psaki in the briefing if it was the official white House Position that is what they wanted the private sector to do, and they would not go that far, but they are hoping that the businesses will be modeled for others, but that is what we are watching, but he says that he hopes that others will get vaccinated particularly as the Delta Variant continues to spread. And the White House is speaking on a couple of fronts today, and we will be back, monica, to talk about it more. And we are also following an introduction in New York of Kathy Hochul who is about to introduce herself to the country and New Yorkers, too, who have never heard her speak. She is going to be facing a barrage of questions about andrew Cuomos Behavior and the potential impeachment after she leaves office and how she is going to be leading shell shocked New York forward in that scandalplagued state. And joining us is Yasmin Vossoughian, and joan who is a Special Adviser to cuomo from 2014 to 2015 and former prosecutor wendy murphy, and yasmin, i want to start with you, and what are you expecting to hear from the future governor here . Well, two things. The talk of impeachment in the legislators here in the building behind me, and a lot of the talk from the democrats and the republicans that i have been speaking to in the last 24 hour os sor, and most of them have been saying to me that they want to continue on with the impeachment investigation, and depending what comes out of the investigation and then they will make a decision as to whether or not to drop the articles of impeachment, and then the question of the next governor who is going to be the first female governor in the first time in New York, and who is supposed to be speaking there, and we are seeing the action at the podium and we are waiting for her to approach the podium in the building behind me, but nonetheless, she has been alongside Governor Cuomo for the last seven years or so, and she has been preparing for this job from what i have been told since this investigation was released just last week, and she has been Making Calls overnight, and supposed to be speaking with the president over the next couple of days, and she served for the 26th congressional district here in New York in congress until she was and became the Lieutenant Governor and she has a lot of priorities ahead and she has first the pandemic that we have all been talking about on the air for who knows how long at this point, and the Delta Variant, and how the deal with that and the Rental Assistance and the economic recovery and New York strong attend of the day considering that we have been through a very tough time in the state with the resignation, garrett, with this governor. And part of the job of being Lieutenant Governor is preparing to become governor and we will see it now. And susan, as someone who has advised this former, and soob to soon to be former governor here, and answering the press who will be asking questions about the soon to be former guy, and she is going to want to talk about what she wants to do for the state of New York, and how would you advise her to thread that needle here . Well, she needs to show that she is ready to deal with the crisis at hand with the Delta Variant, and especially as yasmin mentioned the Rental Assistance program, and that is something that has been happening in the state that the money has not been moving out, and that is hugely important, because people in the new York City does not know about the western Lieutenant Governor, but she has to show that she is ready to lead. After she is sworn in, and which i hope is kind of Olow Key even though there is a lot to celebrate with her being the first woman, i hope that she does like a Press Briefing on covid, and to give an update, and show that she is in command. She is also going to have some problems with the staffing in that, it is very hard to figure out who to trust, and who should stay in and in making that transition happen. But there is a lot of awful lot of good people in the Governors Office and on their staff. And yet, she also has to be able to watch out for those who may not have her best interests at heart. Steve, New York seems to be really competing for the title of the state with the most political Corruption Scandal particularly in the Governors Office in 2008, and the last time that the Lieutenant Governor had to step in the fulltime role because of the resignation, and talk about the history and the context here of why it is challenging for the Chief Executive to stay out of trouble in albany . Well, one of the elements that is present in New York is that there is a lot more Media Coverage and a lot more Media Scrutiny when something happens to a governor in New York, it is a national story and we have seen the dynamic in the last yearplus On Cuomo on a number of fronts, but the opportunity politically that Kathy Hochul has here is a profound opportunity. I mean, you are talking about how obscure the Lieutenant Governors position is in certainly any state, but New York as well. And it is an obscure position, and a couple of decades ago, there was a Lieutenant Governor in New York named Al Dell bellow, and he resigned the position because he was bored. That is the history of the job, and as you are talking about, if the governor has to step aside, theres your opportunity. Suddenly, you step into the Spotlight And Step into the governorship of one of the largest states in the country, and big Media Spotlight and obviously next year is an election year, and for Kathy Hochul, there is the opportunity here to go from the very, very obscure political figure potentially into being the frontrunner to hold on to this job for a full fouryear term next year. She is going to have a lot of competition on the democratic side, and getting a lot of attention starting five minutes from now, and The Big Question is how does she handle the spotlight and handle it right now, and handle it given everything that is going on with Covid And Everything that is coming with being the governor of New York. And there is an opportunity for her. Steve, we will hear her handle that right now, and the next governor of New York Kathy Hochul speaking right now. What a great start. Can you hear me now . Sounds like a commercial . Can you hear me now . All right. All right. Good afternoon and thank you for being here. I spoke with Governor Cuomo yesterday, and he pledged his full support for a smooth transition. And i thanked him for his service to our state. Regarding his decision to step down, i believe it is appropriate and in the best interests of the state of New York. And while it was not expected, it was day for which i am prepared. I have already spoken with Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stuart cousins, carl hastings, faith leaders, business, and other leaders and our tristate governors. I am looking forward to working with each and every one of them and all of you to build on the progress that we have already started. Over the next two weeks, i will continue meetings with current and potential Cabinet Officials. I will build out the senior staff. And i will do what i have always done. I will travel the state to meet New Yorkers to listen to them, to assure them that i have their backs. And i will take their concerns and bring them back to our state capital, and work with our partners at every level of our government to come to solutions, and people will soon learn that my style is to listen first and then take decisive action. And so in 13 days, i will officially become the 57th governor of state of New York, and shortly thereafter, i look forward to delivering an address to all of the New Yorkers to lay out my vision for the great state of New York. But make no mistake, our work has already begun. And i know that this year and a half has been so challenging for families and businesses across our state. Sometimes it does not feel like it is getting any easier, and the Delta Variant is still raging, and it is going to take all of us to defeat it. Our children are heading Back To School soon. And a lot of anxiety, and moms and dads that i speak to and the teachers as well. It is going to take all of us working together to keep our children safe and teachers safe and anyone who works in a school safe. Small businesses are just starting to bounce back into an uncertain world. We need to reassure them that they are going to be okay. And our workers are once again debating whether they should even go back to their jobs or offices or back to the factories and if it is safe enough. But i know that the New Yorkers. They are hardwired to persevere and to prevail. And the promise i make to all New Yorkers, right here and right now, i will fight like hell for you every single day like vi always done and always will. Thank you very much, and i look forward to your questions. I will start the questions by talking to jerry from buffalo news. Hometown favorite, sorry. Governor, i want to ask you about the transition period. Did the governor explain to you why he wanted to wait that long before leaving the office and how do you feel about that . That is not what i asked for, and however, i am looking forward to a smooth transition which he promised. He spoke to me about wanting to make sure that the transition to continuity is important, and they have an opportunity to meet the Cabinet Officials and other people as well, and they viewed it as necessary, and i am prepared to take office as any Lieutenant Governor is from the first hour that you are sworn in as Lieutenant Governor, and however, i will take advantage of that time, an engage with the people of the state of New York, and i have a vision, but i will continue to develop that, and at The End of the 14 days, i look forward to coming back to a venue like this, and to make sure that we are ready to deal with all of the challenges that we face. Morgan mckay from spectrum. Would you consider i will tell you right now i am talking about my vision of to state of New York and it is far too premature to have those conversations. I would ask jose velasquez. Gracias. A couple of years ago when you came into office, you had come out again undocumented immigrants and changed your minds and can you talk about the transition and also the last few months that you have been preparing for with respect to the Greenlight Law which is the law of the state of the land which is something that early on in my career as a county clerk, i had taken a position that has now evolved and that evolution coincides with the evolution of many people. Many people in the state of New York. I am proud of that law, and if you want to read an oped that i wrote on it, and many people in our State Senate would argue that it was a Turning Point when they read that and saw the position that i had taken in support of that law that our immigrants need that. They need to be able to get to their jobs and parents need to take their kids to doctors appointments and im proud to support that law and you ask ask anybody my position on that law. It is clearly understood. In the last few months the Lieutenant Governors continue the work regardless of what is going on around them. I am proud to maintain the same schedule to, meet with the elected leaders and my schedule has been robust. And im ready. I want people to know that i am ready for this. It is not something that we expected or asked for, but i am fully prepared to assume the responsibilities as the 57th governor of state of New York. Michael formley from newsday. How are you planning to handle covid in your state . I understand that the president was planning to reach me, but i was on a plane earlier, and i have not confirmed that, and i have not spoeng, but now e that he did express an interest, and i did speak to Senator Schumer Yesterday and senators gillibrand and Hillary Clinton and countless others. There is a point to recognize that there is one governor at the state of New York at one time, and Governor Cuomo is the governor for 13 more days and that does not mean that i am not engaged with the Health Care partners and commissioner and we are getting the regular briefings up to the minute and im well aware of the situation that is frightening for people, and we will review closely what the cdc puts forth, but i am proud to look forward to addressing this in a matter of a couple of weeks. Dennis slattery from newsday, oh, sorry, daily news. That is a big mistake. Dennis in The Room. Hearing none. I cant hear you. Okay. Dennis slattery in The Room . Okay. I cant see that. Dennis. Can you tell us it has been 24 hour, and im meeting with all of the Cabinet Officials in the next few days and i will make those decisions is shortly and happy to announce them in two weeks. Also, we are looking for Dan Clarke from pbs now. In the report, several members of the Governors Staff were indicated in trying to discredit the women who accused him of Sexual Harassment and are you planning to keep them around . No one has named, who was named of doing anything in that report will remain in my administration. Chris from wtiv, buffalo. Can you describe the Work Environment in the chambers and follow up on what has been asked, and take issue of that as you describe it, and to what extent given that fact, and you have the need there is turnover. There is going to be turnover, and that is the description of many witnesses in the attorney generals report. I think it is very clear that the Governor And I have not been close. Physically or otherwise in terms of much time, and so i have been traveling the state and i do not spend much time in his presence or in the presence in the state capital, and that is what is reported. And i want to be clear, that No One is going to be describing my administration as a toxic Work Environment. Karen dewitt from new York State public radio. And with the staffing in the state, are you going to require State Workers to vaccinate, and any chance that you would declare a Health Emergency to vaccinate. Let me answer this two ways. Now, for the next 13 days, the current governor will make decisions is in respect to that. I will use this time to evaluate, and i will tell you that all options are on the table, and ill be looking closely at the trends in consultation with the Health Care professionals as well as the cdc. I want the people to know that currently the administration does not possess the executive powers that it had last year at the time when i was very engaged in dealing with the covid response and the authorities held by the administration were much more expansive than they are at this time. And that being said, we will monitor this closely, and i can assure everyone that we will be looking at all options, but also i believe that the key to get through this has been before eyes for months. It is as simple as more people to get vaccinated. We have a high rate of people getting their first dose at this time in New York, and it is almost 77 , and approaching 70 of people getting both dose, and that is good news, and there is a lot of concern about the children between ages 12 and 17 as well as we will see what happens with respect to any decisions by the cdc and the fda to allow the younger children to be vaccinated. So i think that the answer is very simple, more people being vaccinated is our key out of this, and im going to be working with the communities where the rates are higher and in infection and the Vaccination Rates are lower and to come up with a strategic approach to target that and make sure that we overcome the hesitation and the worries and also to make it widely available, but it is going to be something that i am looking forward to addressing for a couple of weeks. Joe specter from gannett. You said from the Impeachment Hearings that you and the governor did not have a particularly close relationship, but were you aware of any of the allegations put forth in the a. G. Report . I was not aware. The report stands on its own, and i have been in the business long enough to know that it is not the Per View of the new York State governor to dictate to the assembly what action to take especially impeachment. Bill mahoney, politico. Do you see yourself in the coming weeks as certainly a lot of people have reached out to me. It is going to be it is going to be [ laughter ] i am excited to work with the next Lieutenant Governor who is going to be named within the next few weeks. Currently, we are considering a number of individuals and the fortunate thing for me is that i have spent so much time in seven years getting to know many elected officials and Community Leaders personally and at a friendly level and i understand who they are, and it is going to be someone who is no stranger to me, but someone who is going to carry on the vision of my administration and the strongly progressive policies that take this state forward to get us out of covid as soon as possible and to rebuild back this great state of New York. Can you answer that . Governor, a lot of people are looking at you as a partner of this administration as you are part of the current administration. How will you restore the trust in the Executive Office being that you are part of the Cuomo Administration . First of all, many people have supported the policies of the Cuomo Administration, and there a long legacy of accomplishment, and i was out there fighting in the streets to raise the minimum wage and i was out there fighting for paid Family Leave and i have been the champion of policies to eradicate the specter of Heroin And Opioid which has touched my family personally, and Child Care issues and i have been out there on affordable housing, clean energy, and economic development, so that is going to continue. Those policies will continue and be more enhanced, but with respect to the particular environment, and the reputation of the current administration, i think that it is pretty clear, and it is no secret, that we have not been close and i have not been associated with that. So i know the job. I fought for the same policies, and this is why i am more prepared than anyone could possibly be for this position. Will you release the Nursing Home data that was in the coverup . My administration is going to be fully transparent when i am governor, and i am not governor yet. I want to first of all, please wait. Is there a if there is not any virtuals and im sorry to the virtual world out there, and wed will look forward to seeing you. And the next question is from donovan from syracuse. You can unmute your mic. Governor, can you hear me . This is donovan from Channel 9 in syracuse. Home of my alma mater, Syracuse University. I was going to say that you are not shy to remind people that you are a Syracuse University alum, and what is your message to the people of syracuse and among other things, the State Fair starts in a matter of days and people are worried about the capacity and the mask wearing and the Vaccination Status with that approaching and also the outgoing administration said that its Health Department would not give guidance to School Districts about mask wearing when school starts in a few weeks and so i am wondering if you can address both of those covidrelated concerns, and you will see the State Fair for yourself as governor. I have never missed a State Fair, and it is one of the joys, and i will be as Lieutenant Governor or governor at the State Fair. I understand the concerns, but i am not responsible for the policies with respect to that at this time. I am not governor at this time, and there is only one governor at a time. I look forward to returning to syracuse, because i cut my teeth in activism and i am looking forward to returning to the State Fair and eating all of the great food, and the Erie State fair starts today. Can you tell us we are on zoom right now. One moment. And the next question comes from Tara Bloom from western New York. Tara, please unmute your microphone. Am i unmuted now . Yes, you r are, tara. Thank you, governor, for taking the question. This is in regards to the next Lieutenant Governor, and do you plan on announcing your pick within the next two weeks . I expect i will. Do you expect that the person that you will select will be someone from Down State . We are hearing a few names tossed around. I love upstate, and i love Down State and i love the whole state. There are so many qualified individuals. But im cognizant of the need for diversity and inclusive ticket, and i am going to name someone who i believe that the state is going to be familiar with and proud of, but the process is in the early stages. Lieutenant governor wow. All right that is going to do it for the Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul and soon to be governor of New York. And so we saw her call on local News Outlets from New York, and you saw her candidly trying to engage with the questions of the Predecessor Andrew Cuomo resigning because of scandal and she will fight like hell for all New Yorkers and put her stamp on this as she is taking the over in the next two weeks and the whole panel is back with me, and Yasmin Vossoughian who is back with me, and do you think that she cleared the bar to the state of New York and the nation . It appears, so and i was speaking to mary Beth Walsh who is a republican member of the assembly judiciary committee, and she is ready to work with her across the aisle as soon as she is sworn in as governor of the state. So as you mentioned, garrett, and she talked about in the speech today, she is Red Doi Go Full Speed ahead. And it is interesting, because she was asked about the 14day Period in which the governor asked that he would take before the Lieutenant Governor is Sworn N and she was transparent that it is not necessarily what she asked for, and she has been preparing for this moment, and ready to be sworn in, but it is as if the administration communicated that they needed this time to introduce her to certain folks, so she took it, but did not take pit as enthusiastically as one might think, so incredibly transparent there. And i also thought that it was interesting when asked about the report from the a. G. She said No One will describe my administration as a toxic Work Environment, garrett. That moment stood out to me. Because, despite the fact that these were accusations made by 11 women inside of the administrations on top of the Sexual Harassment in this administration, there were claims of abuse, right . There were claims of emotional abuse inside of this Administration And Bullying inside of this administration and so it is not surprising that she would make a very strong statement about that. With that though, she also talked about the fact that as governor, it is not within her purview to talk to the assembly and the judiciary, and sorry a Fire Truck is going by, but to talk to the assembly and the judiciary about what to do with impeachment, and that is one of the questions standing in albany as to what is going to happen with the Impeachment Trial going forward and the impeachment issue to wrap It Up or head to trial. So as i have mentioned on the air all day to republicans and democrats standpoint, it is exactly what they want to do, but we have to wait to see what is going to happen over the next couple of days, but so far, it is seeming that this governor will want to stick to the issues and the legislative issues and talked about the Coronavirus Pandemic and what to do with that and speaking of the vaccinations here in the state almost 70 to shots of the arms of citizens in the arms and wanting to get as many folks vaccinated as possible, and sticking to the legislative prioriies ahead instead of weighing in on the a. G. Report. Of course, that is weighing in on the current governor. You say it is making a virtue of the lack of closeness with the current occupant of the office is a way to make a clean break and not engaging with what the assembly may or may not do. Wendy, i was struck about the 14day Thing as well. Can Governor Cuomo use that 14 days . Do you suspect he is going to use the 14 days in some way to protect himself from the legal or political consequences that might still be coming his way at The End of his term here . Yeah, why wouldnt he to the extent to have deals to make and issues that he has power over and call in the favors, and he is fully going to do what he can to limit his exposure. I dont know that he is going to get away with too much, because the decision to impeach, i dont think that he can have any impact there, because too many of the assembly have made it clear that they are willing to move forward, and i dont think that he will have much leverage with the Criminal Case, because there is a lot of pressure on the prosecutor to do something. At this point, he has resigned which is a good thing and inevitable, i feel like we got half a loaf. I think that women are entitled and i want the whole loaf. He has to have some more consequences whether thats an Impeachment Trial, Criminal Case or some civil lawsuits, it has to be something. So he cant use the next few days to deal away everything. He might be able to cut back a little bit on what is on some things, and maybe try to make some deals, and we will never hear about it, but i think that he has got more legal troubles ahead absolutely. So do some of the people in his office. One of the things that was so heartening is that the Lieutenant Governor said she is Cleaning House in regards to everybody in the report that acted unethically, because there is a lot of people who acted unlawfully, and she said unethically which is a low standard and so she is going to be able to get rid of a lot of people with their role in the investigation and they thought, well, i protected the Governor And I cant be sued because my behavior is not that bad, but they are going to be losing their job, and i was heartened to hear that, and it is a little bit of the poetic and my whole Loaf Desire that he is being replaced by a woman. I think it is a little bit of the extra justice for all of us. I think it is the Onion Headline that the woman takes the governorship in the most american way possible of a Skand Ofl a man ahead of her, and we could spend the whole show talking about the gender politics and how screwed up that whole situation is. Steve, for the folks who dont know a lot about the New York local politic, you got a big dose of it in this Press Conference and talking about the next Lieutenant Governor might be upstate or Down State and by the way, when she takes on the top job, she has to run for reelection, and could face a democratic primary and can you talk about the political challenges that will face her as she is trying to keep this job that she is going to get in the next two weeks . Well, absolutely. She was not trying to sound this way but from the Kathy Hochuls standpoint the campaign of 2022 began today for most hearing her for the first time and with the eye towards campaign she knows that every other prominent and ambitious democrat is looking at this saying that this is the only opportunity i get for the next decade. Andrew cuomo took this job in 2010 and only open in 2021 and so these things dont come along that often. The big picture on this, and the Track Record across the country with the Lieutenant Governors who strike gold like Kathy Hochul does, the Track Record over the last several decades of the Lieutenant Governors moving up to the governorship in the mid of a term, and a chance to build some Name Recognition and full term is a good Track Record, and they often a majority of the time end up winning at least one full term as governor, but it is not a perfect Track Record and New York offers you a Counter Example and you mentioned it before, the last time it happened was Eliot Spitzer who was forced to resign by scandal and replaced by his Lieutenant Governor David Patterson in 2010 and he had two years to make a positive impression on the party and the voters and then to run for a full term and the exact opposite happened. He got into scandals around him, and controversies and backing out of pressure in the obama White House in 2010 in favor ironically of Andrew Cuomo. So when i say there is an opportunity for hochul, it is that, but an awful lot of democrats looking at the next few months trying to figure out for themselves is she vulnerable and is there an opportunity, and quickly, you mentioned the question of impeachment and Andrew Cuomo, and obviously all sorts of considerations. But one i would mention and a few people talking about this is that Andrew Cuomo, himself, resigning right now in the summer of 2021 a year ahead of the election, and if, and im saying if, if there is some part of cuomo who has nit his mind, maybe i sit back a few months here, and maybe hochul does not do well, and a crowded democratic field emerges for 2022 and maybe i can go back to run in 2022, anded if there is some part of cuomo thinking that at all, the legislature could put an end to that on the spot if they went forward with impeachment now. Because the impeachment and conviction in New York comes with that ban of holding the office again. Susan, less than a minute left, and steve sets It Up, and you know Andrew Cuomo better than anybody in the group. Have we heard the last of Andrew Cuomo here . He is not someone who cedes the spotlight . He has 18 Million in the war chest, so he is not going away any time soon, however, it does not mean that he is going to be successful in the attempts to get back into public life. All right. A fascinating stuff as we get to know the newest national political figure, and the soon to be governor of New York. Thank you all four of you. We will go inside of an icu overwhelmed by covid and the patients are younger and sicker and unvaccinateunvaccinated, ans there are physically exhausted. I cant do this anymore. I have seen more death than i thought that i would see my entire life. But first, the senate passes two multi trillion spending bills or at least started on them that would touch nearly aspect of american society. Now, they head to the house. We will have all of that action ahead. Ahead. Verizon launched the first 5g Network and now we want to be the first to give everyone the joy of 5g, by giving every customer a new 5g phone. Old customers. New customers new 5g Phones when you trade in your old ones. Upgrade your phone. Upgrade your network. History says fine jewelry for occasions. We say forget occasions. snap fine jewelry for every day, minus the traditional markups. In the past 24 hours we have seen the Senate Advance two key pieces of my agenda, the Infrastructure Bill, and the build back better bill. But with this progress, families are feeling the pinch, and Family Budgets are tight, and the paychecks are not going as far as they need to. That is the reality in the millions of households in america for far too long. That is the president in the last hour touting the work of the senate and moving forward with that bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. And the work is far from done. That legislation advanced yesterday with the multi trillion Dollar Blueprint that the senators finished work on after a voteorama. And now they will have a new test in the house chamber. Chuck schumer urged democrats to hold the line for the sake of the president s agenda. What we are doing here is not easy. We have labored for months and months to reach this point, and we have no illusion, and maybe the hardest work is yet to come, but we are united in a desire to get it done. And so far, so good. And joining me is monica Alba And Jake sherman from punch bowl. And so, monica, the president has been coveting this bipartisan support, and he said it was critical to get the infrastructure through the senate, and what role is the White House going to envision as it is moving through the house next . Well, the president was a key player in all of this, garrett, and speaking repeatedly about this Infrastructure Bill both here at the White House and on the road, but a lot of the conversations also happened behind the scenes of course. We saw maybe some more of the public display from Vice President harris who did go to The Hill on occasion and have these conversations with the lawmakers in person at some of the critical junctures, and so i think that we can expect more of the same continue as this isher but now we want to see what happens with the statement put out by Senator Joe Manchin about his concern about the plan. And Jen Psaki said that they are concerned about it, and this is the size they want to pursue, and when she was asked if the president was comfortable coming down from the price tag, she said she would not negotiate from the podium. So that is the tack to have this take place behind closed doors, and of course, the lawmakers want to bring it to the forefront as you and jake know so well, and the other question, garrett, is the time line issue. The White House was asked for a drop dead redline when you want to see the Budget Reconciliation Process be completed by, and again, the White House saying that we wont put out any dates, because we dont want to blow past anything, but in the hopes and discussions with the White House officials they want to see this get done in the month of september ideally. That is ambitious, and you dont want to set time lines that you cant meet. Speaker pelosi has no margin in the house the pass either of the bills, jake, and right now, she is siding with the progressives to wait for they get the bigger bill before they act on the Infrastructure Bill. And you have reported on this in punchbowl, and will they at all, moderates bring the fight to push her to act sooner . Well, garrett, the moderates have been extremely successful in Writing Letters and the big Pen Pals with Nancy Pelosi the Golden Age of Letter Writing on capitol hill. They keep Writing Letters as you know laying out the opposition to the various parts of the democrats agenda to the Reconciliation Bill is too big and the reonciliation is not coming up soon enough, and they have not gotten up to block pelosi, which she can, because she has a Threeseat Majority of the house, and any three can band together and prevent her from bringing anything up to the floor. Most things are partisan and she has a threeseat margin, but up until now, they have been sending the letters and not backing them up with any action, and we reported this morning that some of the moderates are suggesting that they might do something. We are skeptical based on history that they will do anything. Listen, im not i doubt time lines too much, but i do doubt that they could get all of this done in september, because Government Funding runs out at The End of the month, and the Debt Ceiling runs out this fall, and we are about to enter a sprint from september to The End of the year that is going to be brutal. And the senate is not back until the 13th. But one moderate in congress who is throwing his weight around and this is joe manchin, and the senate has not left town yet when he put out a statement this morning expressing his concerns over the price of the social Infrastructure Bill, the Reconciliation Bill. How tough is chuck Schumers Job going to be to keep him and Kir Kirsten moderate . We can assume that the human Infrastructure Bill is not going to be 3. 5 trillion but less. But then you are in a push and pull with the progressives and will they vote for something smaller . I guess we have to wait and see, but at this point, we have the Take Sinema and mansion at their word that it is too large for them at 3. 5, and they gave approval to budget at that level to get the process going, but it is doubtful that they will be putting, they will be voting for a bill that is the 3. 5 trillion and if we listen to what they say, that is what they are telling us. None of them want to be responsible for thwarting the biden agenda. We have to leave it there. And monica Alba And Jake sherman, thank you, both. Now, going to one community where the covid cases are surging, and yet, they are returning to school without masks. We want to put it in the hands of the individual families and our employees to make the best decision for their children and for themselves. D for thems s and their suv is always there with them. So when their windshield got a chip, they wanted it fixed fast. They drove to Safelite Autoglass for a guaranteed, sameday, inshop repair. We repaired the chip before it could crack. And with their insurance, it was no cost to them. Woman really . Tech thats service you can trust, when you need it most. Pop Rock Music singers safelite repair, safelite replace. Life before cerebral was, was pretty taxing. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. And, uh, i found cerebral. Cerebral is an app that combines Medication Management and behavioral care, all in one nice package. I signed up. I got the video call. I got the pills shipped to me. Normal Therapy Costs about 3 times as much as cerebral. Getting this type of care online, it really is a lifesaver. Join today for just 30 at getcerebral. Com. We are back with more Breaking News. The California State Department of Public Health is issuing an order of all School Staff to do one of two things. Proof of vaccination or tested once per week. Meantime President Biden put vaccines with pressure on universities n. A statement, he praised the airlines and Health Care kaiser permanente, and he urged others to follow the lead with mandating the vaccines. Once again, hospitals are struggling to keep up with the crush of covid patients. And state after state, it is a similar and familiar story. The patients are younger and sicker and unvaccinated. So we are joined by our reports from tennessee and texas and also we have director of pediatrics in benjamin, mississippi. And now, we are hearing that one of the hospitals is plum out of hospital beds, and you have been speaking to administrators there, and what are you hearing . We are in Ocean Springs where they have three hospitals within their Hospital System Singing River Health systems. They have a hospital in Gulfport And Pascagoula and we have spoken to all of them and doctors and nurses and Respiratory Therapists and we went into this hospital here, and to answer your question, they they are past their breaking point, and they are exhausted beyond words dealing with this on the front lines, and the problem that they are up against sheer that many people in this community particularly, they just dont want to get vaccinated. One doctor who we spoke to, he told us that he had a conversation with a patient, a noncovid patient, telling her that she really needed to get vaccinated because she had a number of health factors that put her at greater risk if she were to get sick. She told him she would rather die than get vaccinated. The doctors here, they are hoping that anyone, each just one person, will see this, see what they let us see, listen to what they had to say and change their mind about getting vaccinated because they are really desperate here. I met one Icu Nurse who is leaving the Icu Floor because shes been in the Covid Icu Ward since the pandemic began and she says she simply cannot do it anymore. I also spoke to a Respiratory Therapist on the floor and she talked about the final minute. They want people to know if they have questions about getting vaccinated its okay to ask them, but you have to ask them to reputable people, to positions, to nurses, to Respiratory Therapists who see this up close, who are specialized in this, not trust random things you see on the internet because if you go that route, what they are seeing happen now and what they think they will continue to see is people ending up in their icus and begging for their lives to be saved. List toep what that Respiratory Therapist told me about the minutes before patients are intubated when they are able to communicate. You really are with these patients every minute when youre working. Mmhmm. What are they when they can speak, what are they saying to you . Do they regret it. Please dont let me die. They regret not taking the vaccine. Ive had multiple people tell me that they wish they would have taken it. Weve had a Patient Say tell my wife that she needs to take the vaccine and that he wished he did. Reporter there are three hospitals in this health system. This is one of them. Across the system 90 of the hospitalized covid patients are unvaccinated. Garrett . Just so heartbreaking and so frustrating to hear interviews like that. Thank you. Dr. Benjamin, i want to ask you about the Breaking News we just mentioned out of california. How big of a difference does something like that make, a Vaccine And Testing requirement for School Staff . Thats going to help considerably. The stepwise progression is to get the vaccine into the people for whom it was prioritized and School Staff are certainly part of the early prioritization of the vaccine. So that will help, but fundamentally whats needed in the schools in order to protect the children and the adults is to have universal masking in place until we can get 80 or 90 of the School Population vaccinated. I want to talk to you more about masking in a second, but its a good opportunity to bring in dasha where its the first week of school in tennessee where you are, and those kids are going Back To School without a Mask Requirement at all. What are you seeing down there . Reporter garrett. Ive been spending a lot of time in the appalachian Highlands Area talking to Health Workers saying what they are seeing among Kids Sun precedented. The major Hospital System in this system says yesterday 29 of their positive covid tests were among those under the age of 18, and here in washington county, where schools have only been open just over a week, they have already seen 50 positive cases among students and staff and 194 in quarantine, and despite these numbers, garrett. There is not a Mask Requirement here, no social distancing requirements, and no strict protocols for quarantining of a student is exposed at school. In fact, as weve been reporting today. I just heard on twitter from a mom local to this district who says shes been watching our coverage and says shes just got a Letter Today from the district saying that her child was a possible close contact. The last day that have contact was seven days ago. Shes just hearing about it now. You can imagine the frustration she herself is a Cancer Patient so she is at high risk and you can imagine how scared some parents might be to send their kids to school in this environment, particularly if youve got a child who is immunocomp priced like this mother that we spoke to here. Take a listen to what she had to say. Whats running through your head after you drop your kids off at school . Im excited for them because im happy that they get to be around their peers and experience, you know, all the Stuff It A they should in school, but i am also anxious and a little nervous that im going to get that Phone Call or they are going to wake up and be sick so its its scary. Reporter garrett, at the same time as you have parents like nana here, you also have parents who would be very upset with a mask mandate. This is a region where the virus has become very politicized. Theres been a lot of misinformation in this area. I spoke to the superintendent here who says that the priority is going to be making sure that this is a local decision and he emphasized personal choice for parents here. Garrett . Dr. Benjamin, you are the expert on this. Youve written in the New York times about universal masking in schools. You just said you think its the most important way to protect kids. What do you think when you hear this, and if youre a parent and your School District has a requirement, is it enough to send your kid in a mask, or does that just not cut it . So its really unfortunate to hear the progression here in this particular school distribute. Its up thing to not require masking. Its yet another to take it a step forward and say not only are we not going to require masking, were not going to require quarantining. Were not going to Investigation Posed Children tested, and were not even going to inform parent that their own children might be at risk or that their own children should get tested, and so this stepwise progression towards more dangerous decisions as it relates to Public Health is really asking for disaster. The now, in those communities as you mentioned 12 and older, for those families its very simple. You can protect your own child simply by having them vaccinated. Now the chance of severe disease really really is much less than on the order of 1 per million as far as death is concerned, so go ahead and get that child vaccinated. For children under 12. Having them put on a mask by themselves simply does not protect them in that type of environment from covid19. And so for those families, if you dont have a Mask Requirement in place under 12, you really want to advocate for making sure quarantine is in place, transparency in communication and transparent communication as far as whats happening in cases in the school and the risk to your own child. Dr. Danny benjamin, thank you. Thank you all. We know the way out of this, folks. Get the shot. Get the shot for your kids and do it now. Ayman mohyeldin picks up our coverage next. Ayman Mohyeldin Pr Coverage next. Took advantage of any american senior, or worse, that it was some way to take your home. 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Luckily, you brought extra crayons in Case Anyone needs one. If that falls flat, we go with armpit farts. Spend less, smile more, when you shop backtoschool at amazon. Good afternoon, everyone. Im Ayman Mohyeldin in New York. A short time ago we heard from New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul one day after governor Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation in 13 days before she become New Yorks first woman governor. She used the first public event from Cuomos Announcement to separate herself from her soontobe predecessor. People will soon learn my style is to listen first and then take decisive action