Skip to main content

tv   The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer  CNN  October 20, 2021 3:00pm-4:00pm PDT

3:00 pm
didn't do a ding the damn thing. nothing. i mean, nothing, for four year. we can't afford to sit while other countries pass us by. we're going to breathe new life into our workforce. these jobs that we're going to create for people were too often left out and left behind. the vast majority of the jobs in my bill don't require a four-years degree. 98% don't require a four-year degree, but it's the ultimate blue collar, middle class renewal. real, serious work that neither to get done. it isn't enough to invest in our physical infrastructure. we also have to invest in our people, which we always did. we invested in our people. that's why the second bill is
3:01 pm
the so-called biluild back bett plan. america gave us the betts prepared workforce in the world, you saw what happened. think about after world war i and how america moved. we were the best educated overall country in the world. we led in the 20th century. we know 12 years is not enough to compete in the 20th century. the earlier our children begin to learn, the better for themselves, their families and their nation. you all know the statistics and some of your teachers and husbands used to talk to me about this. it was really basic. when you come from a home where the mom or dat have books on the shelves and on the coffee table and read, and you come from a home where mom or dad can't read or has a sixth grade education or has a little difficulty, the
3:02 pm
child coming from the middle-class heard will have heard a million more words spoken than the child coming from a middle-class home -- that's what you all know, you start talking to them when they're in the cradle. you engage them. they're the people who sit at the dinner table and still talk. they're engaged. so many homes, mothers or fathers don't have the capacity or inclination to do that. right now what are we doing? we're lagging behind. today only about half of the 3 and 4-year-olds in america are enrolled in early education at all. germany, france, the uk, latvia, their numbers are over 90%. according to one study, we rank 12th among advanced economies when can tums to the percentage of our young people who have
3:03 pm
attained any sort of post-high school degree. we rank 12th in the world. this plan gets us back on track. we'll make two years of high-imbalance preschool avai -- he quality preschool for every child in america. we increase pell grants for students. we'll increase it by $500, so it becomes $1900. the bill investments in our workforce, providing much-needed breathing room for our families. i remember when we moved to wilmington, we finally after four years, dad could buy a house. we lived in, quote, a development. it's a lovely area, a suburban area, but a 3-bedroom split-level home. we had four kids and my grandpop
3:04 pm
who lived with us, or another relative for all those years we lived there. my headboard -- my bed was up against the wall where my dad and mom's bed was up against the wall. i look back, it was great no us having grandpops and relatives there. i don't know how my parents quite did it. i remember one night in high school. i could feel my dad was restless, i could hear it in bed. i asked my mom, what's the matter with dad? she said, he got bad news. his company is no longer going to pay for health insurance. guess what? my dad said, all we're looking for is a little breathing room, a little bit of extra room. a little breathing room. how do we compete in the world where especially moms can't join
3:05 pm
the workforce because they can't afford child care or elder care, or they have to stay home? here in pennsylvania, the annual average cost for child care is $11,400. it's higher in other places, two-parent family, two kids spent 22% of their income for child care. i was a single dad for five years. i got elected to the senate, got a phone call when i was hiring staff, saying my wife and daughter had just been killed. my two boys were seriously injured. they were hospitalized for a long time. so that's why i eventually started commuting, but i continued to commute, because i could no more afford -- i was making a lot of money then. granted, i was listed as the poorest man in congress for 36 years, but i didn't think my job was to make money when i was in
3:06 pm
congress. this is not a joke. i can't no more afford child care than fly, but fortunately i had a hell of a family. those values i talked about. my sister and her husband, after a little bit, they gave up their home, i came home one night and they had moved into my home, to help me raise my kids. five years later, when i met and married jill, i came home after the wedding, they had moved out. my brother, jimmy, my best friend, my mother, they all helped me take care of my kids. i couldn't have done it. so i understand how in god's name do people make it? if you look at the world of advanced economics, and those with advanced economies, the countries invest an average of each of those countries, an average of $14,000 per year in
3:07 pm
state-sponsored child care. america invests $500, 28 times less than our competitors. you all know it. 30 years ago we ranked seventh in the world among advanced economies. today we rank 23rd. women are becoming, not a joke, better educated than men. if you look at -- and i do, about five college commencements a year, four of those five, the valedictorian from the last ten years has been a woman. if you read the data now, we're worried about the number of men attending college. once again, our competitors are investing, and we're standing still. my build back better plan is designed to get us moving again. it will cut the cost of child care for most pennsylvania families in half.
3:08 pm
no middle-income family will pay more than 7% of their income for child care under my proposal. [ applause ] >> it would help people get bark to work and make ends meet. everybody talks about -- by the way, i'm going to say something self-serving, but i got on pretty well in the senate for a lot of years. a lot of friends, for real. kind of like bobby, they're friends. we used to travel together a lot. here's the deal though. what i was able to do, we passed the american rescue plan in the first month of my administration, which has allowed us to have all the funding for covid. when i started off, there were 2 million people in america that had gone a vaccine. well, guess what? we're up to 190 million. that's how we got it mpaid for.
3:09 pm
but what it meant was, that, you know, right now there's a whole new attitude that's out there. so that act we passed, we provided for a child tax credit. you heard my introducer speak to it. because we were in such dire straits, we were able to put in position a tables cut f-- tax cr middle-class people. we have over 55 corporations in america that don't pay a single solitary penny in taxes. now one cent. they made $40 million a year. but when you talk about a tax cut for middle-class people, by what we did, increasing, making
3:10 pm
a refundable tax cut, the way it works now, if you made enough money to owe more than $4,000 in taxes and you had two kids, you got to deduct it. he here's the deal. the fact of the matter is if you didn't make that kind of money, you didn't get the benefit at all. because you didn't have more than $4,000 in taxes, you know, you still paid. we said, all right, temporarily wield make sure there's a child care tax credit. one kid until 7, $3600 a year, and one over 7 to 17, you get $3,000. we upped it from $2,000. it can the child poverty in
3:11 pm
pennsylvania by 50%. it's a flat-out tax cut for ordinary people. that's what it does. i make no apologies for it. look, folks, there's so many things we can do to change the way in which we work all of this. i realize i'm going on here, but the fact is there's so much at stake, so much at stake. look, the fact is that most of all, who it does is, you know, we have a sandwich generation that exists. many of you are part of that generation. you have a mom or dad that needs help when they get older, and you have a child that needs help if you're going to be in the workforce. it's hard as hell. hard as hell to make it work. you've got to give these folks a bit of breathing room. the single greatest champion for
3:12 pm
elder care is this guy right here, bobby casey. not a joke. not a joke. [ applause ] the way it work right now, if you qualify for medicaid, there are 820,000 seniors or people with disabilities, that are on a waiting list to get home care, which they're entitled to. how many families are living this story? your parents get older, they need help getting around the outs, making the meals for themselves, don't want to put them in nursing homes, not only because of the cost, but because of a matter of dignity. they do better, they live longer if they can stay in their own home, but you also don't have the time or money to take care of them at home. you're looking for an answer to
3:13 pm
your parents can continue to live independently. in in order to get into the nursing home, you have to sell everything you have. you can't have any private property. you have to empty your bank account. you have to do it all to move into a nursing home. i'm not saying they're not valuable. they are extremely valuable, but that's not where -- i remember my uncle was, moved in with his wife into an assisted living center. the folks who had built the facilities. it was a lovely facility, asked if i would come and speak on the opening of it. we're walking out and i said, mom, isn't this beautiful? she said -- she looked at me, and she said this is for old people, joey, not for me. but think about it. for millions of families, this is the most important issue
3:14 pm
they're facing. when bobby fights for something, he never gives up, in case you haven't noticed. so we're going to expand services for seniors, so families can get help, well trained, good professionals, to cook, to get groceries, to help them get around, to installed railings. when my mom moved in with me, we finally talked her into doing it, and guess what? my sister takes her up -- you remember this, jean, talking about this, too. she takes her up to get her prescriptions, driving her back, gets out of the house, and it was a little home off of our home. she wouldn't physically move into the house, even though we had done the whole thing over forrer. she's just standing there, and
3:15 pm
moves and breaks her hip. she didn't trip or anything. she broke her hip. well, guess what? just having a railing, just having a place where she can walk from one room to the help and help her in their ohm home with the dignity they deserved. we found this is more popular than anything else i'm proposing. we all feel that obligation to our parents. we want them to live with dignity, but american people understand the need. it's a matter of dignity and pride. look, that's what both these initiatives are about, and frankly more about giving people a break. they're about positioning our country to compete in the long haul. earlier this year, moody's projected the investments i'm talking about will create for the next 20 years, an average 2
3:16 pm
million additional jobs per year, good payi ing jobs. we can make these investments and be fiscally responsible. the infrastructure bill, the roads, bridges, internet, the whole deal, they represent less than 0.5 of 1% of our entire growth. and the cost of the build back better bill is zero, zero. zero. we're going to pay for it all. in addition to that, half of it is a tax cut. it's not spending money. it's a tax cut for working-class people. it's about time, as i said -- and i come from the corporate state of the world, not a joke, more corporations are registered in my state than every other state in the united states combined.
3:17 pm
i represented the state of dupont, as they used to call it, for 36 years. i'm not anti-business, but i'm about just begin to pay your fair share. look, folks, under this proposal i'm -- i guaranteed you that no with you making under $400,000 a year will see one single penny in tax go up. not one. in fact, the plan cuts taxes for working people. by the way, if you know, the way you usually pay for infrastructure, is by gasoline taxes. i wouldn't allow that. that would tax people making under 400,000. i'm a man of my world. now one single penny will you pay if you make less than
3:18 pm
400,000. by the way, you know, during auld crisis we've had with covid, there's an absolute finite number of billionaires we can count in the tax code. you know how much the billionaires made last year collectively? they're not bad guys, i'm not saying that. they made $1 trillion in increase in their collective income. just pay your fair share you have a lower tax rate than a family with a teacher and a fire fighter as the percentage of taxes you pay. 55 of our largest corporations pay zero in income tax. working folks understand that. that's despite the tax misinformation about my plans,
3:19 pm
they're still overwhelmably supported by the american family. they understand when families have a little breathing room, america is in a better spot. as i said, name me a time in american history when the middle class has done well, but the wealthy have not. let me close with this. it's been too long the backbone of this country has been dealt out. it's time to deal them back in. i ran for president, saying it was time to rebuild the backbone of the nation. i was very precise. the middle class is the backbone of this nation. i couldn't have been any clearer. that's why i wrote both of these bills in the first place. i campaigned on them. the american people spoke.
3:20 pm
they have no doubt about what i ran on. both these bills were all what i talked about, but guess what? 81 million people voted for me. more people voted than any time in american history. their voices deserve to be heard, not to be denied, or worse, be ignored. if we make the investments, there's no stop america. i've long said, and i mean this to every world leader i know. i tell them, it's never, ever, ever been a good bet to bet against america. never. never, never. which means it's always good bet to bet on america. that's what they initiatives do. they bet on america. it's about believing in the
3:21 pm
american people, about believer. about blechg. look at the history of the injury of this nation. what becomes clear is this -- given half a chance, the american people have never, ever, ever, ever, ever let the country down. just a fighting chance. no guarantees, just a chance. that's what this is all about. it does not increase the debt. when talk about the number, we shouldn't even talk about the number. it's all paid for, written in the same piece of legislation. you pass the spending, you also pass the tax cuts and taxes that will be increased. scranton, thanks for always treating some he so nicely. i really mean it. god bless you all, and may god protect our troops. thank you.
3:22 pm
i'm wolf blitzer, here in "the situation room," we want to welcome our viewers here and around the world, we've been listening to president biden promoting his economic agenda. he's been speaking in pennsylvania, as he works to finally close the deal with fellow democrats. i want some analysis and some reporting are dana bash is with us, or senior white house correspondent phil mattingly is with us. phil, the president seemed to be upbeat, potential optimistic that his two pieces of legislation will passed. he looked at the journalists and said you've been predicting failure, but he said, i think we're going to surprise them. what is the assessment? >> i think it was the sentence that immediately stuck out after that. he said, i think people are beginning to realize what is at stake. this is the public push,
3:23 pm
something that white house officials have been hoping to get the you want out to do. to a degree where most people didn't know the details under yesterday. they just started to leak out over oval office meetings. what is at stake is a reflection of what we're hearing more and more on capitol hill, a req any there are disagreements, yes, this package will be scaled down in order to secure the requisite number of votes to secure of house and the senate. >> this is the end game, the only tune that doesn'ts have to pass these two significant pieces of legislation, in total n nearly 3 trillion, and the recognition of those stakes that the presidents has focused on. really seems to be settling in
3:24 pm
with those on capitol hill and in large part driving some of the momentum we have seen come to the forefront. >> it certainly is, and dana, as you know, scranton a very meaningful place for the president. how effective was he as he tries to get this plan through in the next few days. >> this kind of speech, not talking about the numbers, the top lines, intra-party fighting, but what exactly is in this extremely large package they hope will finally come to fruition in the coming weeks. a lot of democrats admit that that hack lost. the reality of the policies that the president campaigned on, that democrats in congress campaigned on form that is, in
3:25 pm
part, for some of these policies, it has been unclear what's going to stay in and stay out, but what the president tried to focus on today were some of the fundamentals he knows are absolutely going to be in, like the idea of putting money out there for the first time in an aggressive way, to help people take care of people in their households who need it, whether it's their parent or their child, and they come out of the workforce to do that. things like universal pre-account. he obviously went to scranton to try to connect himself, his misdemeanorle-class roots that he's talked about for decades, to what he wants to do here, and it's obviously something he'll talk about in his town hall
3:26 pm
tomorrow night here on cnn, and as the differences begin to abate inside the party. >> we'll see how he does. it's a critical moment indeed. he will need all 50 senators to support this compromise, including senator seinema. they're really word about her right now, even if senator martialing supports this compromise. you can see president joe biden will participating in a cnn town hall, an exclusive town hall tomorrow night. anderson cooper will be the moderator, the president will be answering questions from the american people, atomorrow nigh at 7:00 p.m.
3:27 pm
steve bannon is a step closer to being held in contempt of congress with a full house vote of the resolution scheduled for tomorrow. cnn's senior legal affair analyst paula reed has details. >> reporter: lawmakers urged fellow representatives to find steve bannon in contempt of congress, after he defied a subpoena. >> we're not asking to talk to steve bannon on a whim. we believe he has firsthand specific not that the congress needs to have to conduct our investigation. >> reporter: cnn has learned the gop leaders are recommending a no vote on the referral and trump allies, saying the investigation is an attempt to distract from biden's failures. >> you can't talk about inflation, real wages gone down, give me a break, this is a political theater, i don't know
3:28 pm
what is. >> but fellow republican and vice chair liz cheney reminded lawmakers why they need to talk too trump allies. >> they believed what donald trump said, that the election was stolen and they needed to take action. >> she specifically referenced bannon comments made on january 5th. >> all hell will break loose tomorrow. it's not going to happen like you think it's going to happen. >> and he was right. ask the over 140 capitol police officers who fought for hours and we are injured. there is no doubt that steve bannon knows far more than he says on that video. >> reporter: laid tute tuesday, committee voted unanimously to send proceedings to the house floor. of the dozens of witnesses contacted by the committee so far, bannon is the only one that
3:29 pm
refusing to completely not participate. trump also seeking to block the committee, filing a late-night request tuesday, seeking an injunction to stop the national archives from turning over some of his white house records. >> they suggest that president trump was personally involved in the planning and execution of january e6. >> reporter: a vote by the full house is scheduled thursday. if it succeeds, the matter will be referred to the u.s. attorney in washington, d.c., but the decision on whether to proceed with prosecution ultimately lies with merrick garland. it's not clear which way he will go. it's also not clear if these toefr efforts to hold bannon in content are having the intent. his lawyer said at this point
3:30 pm
his client is not willing to comply. >> congress adam kinzinger, thanks as usual for joining us. why is bannon's testimony so important to your select committee you're willing to go all the way to justice department, potentially, with a criminal referral. >> all you have to do is look at the history of steve bannon with donald trump. you see his comments the day before, and there's a lot of other information out there, but i think the key is this. you know, you can't resist a subpoena from congress. congress has the same authority, in essence, as a court. you can't recyst a subpoena from court. while we hope and expect the justice department will take up
3:31 pm
the contempt, when we need it. some will not resist subpoenas to this level. it's very costly to do that, as it should be, because consequence -- this isn't the january 6th committee or the congress. it's the american people demanding transparency and accountability. >> a lot of your republican colleagues will vote against this referral. you know that. >> yeah, sadly it's not surprising. i hope it's not just two of us voting for it. i think you can look back at a lot of statements where the house held eric holder in contempt. it will be interesting to compare those speeches to today, and this is a direct assault on the u.s. democracy in the capitol. >> liz chen aye even suggested that bannon might have been, in her words, personally involved
3:32 pm
in planning the attack on the u.s. capitol on january 6th. is there any evidence that he was directly responsible? >> i don't want to get into the evidence we have or don't have. obviously we're going to continue to find out who we need to find out. but you played the sound bite, saying tomorrow will be wild. either he was clairvoyant, or he knew something. i predicted violence on january 6th, but i never expected it would be to this level, that they would sack the capitol. steve bannon seemed to know something, and we wanted to know what -- we have an opportunity for a nonpartisan commission
3:33 pm
made up of former members, he had an opportunity to seat republicans. he pulled them, so that's -- i think if they're whipping against, as i've heard they are, against this vote for contempt, yes. look, the day after the insurrection, kevin mccarthy said that donald trump holds the responsibility for this. two weeks later, he went down and recent receipted his political life when he met with him in mar-a-lago. since then he's done nothing but doing donald trump's bidding. look. people have to stand up and say this is wrong. if you think about the heroics on flight 93, it wasn't todd beamer alone. it was everybody standing up saying we've had enough, we're going to sacrifice ourselves, and right now we need more republicans to stand up, and lead your people. tell them the truth.
3:34 pm
you notice the truth. is there any chance, congressman this criminal referral will prompt bannon to starred cooperating with the select committee? >> i think it's certainly the case, particularly if you see real movement in the justice department. after tomorrow, it will be out of our hands. we have other tools in our tool kit, but our focus on this don't resist consequence. you don't have a right to resist congress. this is of the people, by the people and forthe people, governance of this kung. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> take care, wolf. up ahead, we'll talk about major plans to make conselling, as he tries to find a deal for
3:35 pm
his -- pramila jayapal is here with us, next. wealth plan that covers everything that's important to you. this is what it's like to have a dedicated fidelity advisor looking at your full financial picture. making sure you have the right balance of risk and reward. and helping you plan for future generations. this is the planning effect from fidelity. i was not expecting to learn about my heart health from my genetic reports. but now that i have this info, it feels like i can take even more control of my health. do you know what the future holds?
3:36 pm
3:37 pm
3:38 pm
3:39 pm
are you a christian author with a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! breaking news this hour, president biden speaking moments ago in his hometown of scranton, pennsylvania, trying to sell his sweeping agenda to working-class voters, as they appear closer and closer to reaching some compromise. let's discuss with congresswoman jayapal. thank you so much for joining us. i know you've been talking extensively with president biden. it looks like he's ready to make some imagimajor concessions to o get some of these through.
3:40 pm
parental leave, scaled back climbed measures. do you think the progressive caucus will back these compromise proposals in order to get the deal? >> wolf, thanks for having me. you're right, we have been in deep conversation with the president around the fire priorities that the progressive caucus put out five months ago. what i'm very happy to say is all five of those are still on the table in a significant way. what we said to the president when we realized even though we have 98% of democrats in the house, the senate and the president with us on the build back better act that we marked up, the reality is that's not enough. with the two senators we had to cut back the price tag. the way we did that is just shorten the time frame for some
3:41 pm
of these investments. so that is where we are. all of our priorities are included, and let me just say, wolf, what that is is we would provide child care for every family in the united states so that no family provides more than -- paying more than 7 percent of income in their child care. pre-k across the country, making sure we're investing in care for our seniors with home and community-based care. making sure we're taking on the climate crisis. this, of course, is tricky. we're trying to figure out how to cut our carbon emissions. we're looking at the different ways to see that and still keep all 50 senators on board. then, of course, investing on housing and taking on immigration and medicare expansion. all of those things are on the table, wolf. >> a hypothetical question, it's a serious one, though. say democrats don't have the 50
3:42 pm
votes they need in the senate to pass it, the vice president of the senate would cast the breaking tie, if senator kirsten ci cis kyrsten sinema, for example, does support the 1.2 infrastructure package, do you thing you and other progressives would vote for the infrastructure package, and leave with that, as opposed to getting nothing? >> wolf, we're going to get both bills across the finish line. i'm very confident of that. >> what if senator sinema votes -- >> that's nowhere we are. i believe she's negotiates in good faith. i believe we'll do both bills. wrong it's going to happen we'll l lose. i can assure people the president has been terrific on this. i myself met with him for an
3:43 pm
hour and a half, just the two us of on monday morning. i met with him yesterday with a group of progressives. i know he's doing the same with others. let me just say, this is a good thing that's happening right now. we have all talking to each other. i talked to senator manchin good today. i met with them the other day for a couple hours. this is all good. this is what should be happening. i'm proud of the progressive caucus for keeping this all together, keeping us in the fight, to really leave nobody behipped. we're going to get it done. i really believe it. >> the president said the same thing, i think i'm going to surprise them. congresswoman jayapal, thank for you joining us. >> thank you, wolf. a stunning announcement from the fbi, human remains have been discovered during the search for brian lauren rest. laundry.
3:44 pm
options? plans we can build on our own, or with help from a financial consultant? like schwab does. uhhh... could we adjust our plan... ...yeah, like if we buy a new house? mmmm... and our son just started working. oh! do you offer a complimentary retirement plan for him? as in free? just like schwab. schwab! look forward to planning with schwab. >> tech: when you get a chip in your windshield... trust safelite. this couple was headed to the farmers market... when they got a chip. they drove to safelite for a same-day repair. and with their insurance, it was no cost to them. >> woman: really? >> tech: that's service the way you need it. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪
3:45 pm
3:46 pm
3:47 pm
3:48 pm
we're following breaking news in the manhunt for brian laundrie. i want to bring in randi kaye as well as paw canon. randi, tell us more about what they found today. >> reporter: wolf, authorities were ought here early this morning. they found what happened to be human remains, according to the fbi, as well as a backpack and notebook they believe belongs to brian laundrie, gabby petito's fiance. this is an area that had previously been under water. now the water has receded.
3:49 pm
they were able to search areas they hadn't been able to get to before. they had been out here searching since september 17th. the fbi has response teams on here looking at the evidence, processing the scene. the fbi was out here earlier and spoke with reporters. here is what they had to say about what they found. >> earlier today, investigators found what happens to be human remains, along with personal items, such as a backpack and notebook belonging to brian laundrie. they were found in an area that, up until recently, had been under water. our team is using all forensic resources to process the area. >> reporter: we understand from the laundrie family attorney, wolf, that brian laundrie's parents were at the reserve when what appear to be human lee mains were discovered. they caught the fbi in
3:50 pm
this area of the reserve and this park leading into the reserve had been closed, previously. it just opened to the public yesterday. so they were out here this morning, along with law enforcement and made that discovery, wolf. >> yep. randi, stand by. paul, the fbi, as you heard, says it did recover some personal items belonging to laundrie including his backpack and a notebook. could these items provide investigators with -- with potentially some long-awaited answers? >> well i think circumstantially, the proximity of these personal items to the human remains make it highly likely this is brian laundrie. i think dna testing in the next few days will confirm that def definitively. if it turns out it's a suicide, it's the final cruel act of brian laundrie because he will never be publicly held accountable, and we'll never know what really happened. but, you know, only time will tell after a coroner has a look at this at those remains. >> paul callan, thank you very much. randi kaye, thanks to you as
3:51 pm
well. coming up, i will speak with nba legend kareem abdul-jabbar about kyrie irving's refusal to get vaccinated. stand by. er for longer. hey derrick man, you gonna be much longer? it's gonna be a minute minute. hey derrick, quit playin. derrick! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ we're carvana, the company who invented car vending machines and buying a car 100% online. now we've created a brand-new way for you to sell your car. whether it's a year old or a few years old.
3:52 pm
we wanna buy your car. so go to carvana and enter your license plate answer a few questions. and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds. when you're ready, we'll come to you, pay you on the spot and pick up your car, that's it. so ditch the old way of selling your car, and say hello to the new way at carvana. ♪ ♪ there are beautiful ideas that remain in the dark. but with our new multi-cloud experience, you have the flexibility you need to unveil them to the world. ♪ ♪ your new pharmacy is here. to make sure you don't run out of meds here. and with amazon prime, get refills and free two-day shipping.
3:53 pm
who knew it could be this easy? your new pharmacy is amazon pharmacy.
3:54 pm
introducing fidelity income planning. we look at how much you've saved, how much you'll need, and build a straightforward plan to generate income, even when you're not working. a plan that gives you the chance to grow your savings and create cash flow that lasts. along the way, we'll give you ways to be tax efficient. and you can start, stop or adjust your plan at any time without the unnecessary fees. talk to us today, so we can help you go from saving...to living. constipated? set yourself free with fleet. gentle constipation relief in minutes. little fleet. big relief.
3:55 pm
try it. feel it. feel that fleet feeling. there is breaking news in the battle against covid-19. the fda has just authorized booster doses of the moderna and johnson & johnson vaccines. the agency also gave the green light for boosters to be from a different brand than your original vaccine. the u.s. centers for disease control and preventions vaccine advisers, the advisory committee on immunization practices meets thursday, tomorrow, to decide whether to recommend the fda's authorization to the american people. and then, the cdc director will decide whether to sign off. meanwhile, we're also following another covid controversy rocking the nba. charles barkley -- yes, charles barkley slamming nets star kyrie irving for refusing to get vaccinated. joining us now to talk about the
3:56 pm
controversy, the nba legend, kareem abdul-jabbar. he's written about it at kareem.substack.com. kareem, thanks so much for all you are doing, thanks for what you are writing. i want you and our viewers to listen to exactly what charles barkley had to say. listen to this. >> you don't get vaccinated just for yourself. like adam said, you get vaccinated for your family, first. you get vaccinated for your teammates, second. i really am proud of the nets for putting their foot down, for saying no, we're not going to deal with this half on, half off. the only thing that bug me, he still going to make $17 million sitting at home. >> what do you think, kareem? you agree with charles barkley? does it bother you that kyrie irving is collecting the significant paycheck while leaving his team to play without him? >> well, wolf, the financial aspect of it is not as important to me as the health aspect of it.
3:57 pm
people are getting sick and dying from this. and having to spend a long time in the hospital, near death. this isn't a joke. and being, you know, on the fence about it, going back and forth, is not helping. you know, i -- if he is making $17 million while he is doing this, god bless him. you know? but getting our community protected is the key issue here. and that's what i want to focus on. >> and i just want to be precise. that 17 million that he is going to make is for the away games even though he might not play with the team on the away games. he is not going to get paid for the home games in new york in brooklyn because he refuses to get vaccinated. i want to read something you wrote about vaccinated players who seem to support the idea that getting the shot is simply a personal choice. you wrote this on substack.com and let me read it to our
3:58 pm
viewers. this tepid kid-glove handling from players who have all gotten the vaccine appears more an attempt to preserve a congenial working relationship than true support for making asinine choices. can you, kareem, elaborate on that for us? >> well, you know, it seems to me that the public image of the league and the public image of the individual players involved is a lot more important than public safety. and that's absurd. i mean, we -- we've got to -- it doesn't matter who you are, you are at the same risk as everyone else. and you should be treated and expected to comply with the safety measures that protect all of us. >> how much responsibility, kareem, do kyrie irving and other professional athletes, for that matter, have as a result of their huge platform? >> well, i -- i think people who
3:59 pm
are followed -- who have a huge platform like that -- have a responsibility greater than just the average citizen. young kids, especially, look up to kyrie. and -- and are trying to model their lives after his. and become great athletes. and his stance on this is, you know, it -- it -- it's backwards. and he has to understand that. he has to be a good teammate. what he is doing is making him a bad teammate. it is making him someone who doesn't care about the other guys. if you -- if you bring the covid virus into an environment where people get sick, some people could get sick and die. so, you know, we -- we have to recognize that and act accordingly like we have some sense. >> well said, indeed. kareem abdul-jabbar, as usual, thank you so much for joining us. thanks for all you're doing. >> no problem, wolf, nice talking to you. and to our viewers, thanks
4:00 pm
very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. you can always follow me on twitter and instagram @wolf blitzer. tweet the show at cnn sit room. and the situation room is also available as a podcast. look for us on cnn.com/audio or wherever you get your podcasts. "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. outfront next, breaking news. the fbi just confirming that a pair of human remains were found in a florida nature reserve along with brian laundrie's belongings. is laundrie dead? and will gabby petito's killer ever be brought to justice? plus, she said a january 6th insurrectionist went to the capitol for, quote, one man. now, she is the judge who will decide whether trump's presi presidential records stay secrets. d.c. attorney general going after mark zuckerberg in a lawsuit. the first attorney general to do it. he is my guest. let's go out front. and good

68 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on