how big are the tkpwraourps in acuna? >> they weren't able to give me a number. people are walking up and down the streets everywhere. >> reporter: large groups of migrants are trying to cross into the u.s. some migrant processing facilities have reached capacity. your message to the biden administration? >> are you know, it is time to execute a plan. they've got a plan, let's start executing it. >> reporter: are you doing okay? as for allison and others like her who make a shortstop at this respite center, this time they take their dreams to destinations across america. according to a federal law enforcement source, between 30,000 and 60,000 people are waiting in northern mexico for title 42 to lift, which we now know the biden administration is planning to lift on may 23rd. meanwhile, customs and border

protection ramping up resources. they have deployed 400 agents from other parts of the country here to the southern border. john. rosa flores, thank you very much. and "new day" continues right now. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. good morning to viewers in the u.s. and around the world. it is thursday, march 31st. i'm brianna keilar in washington. john berman is in lviv in western ukraine this morning. a stunning development on the battlefields there in ukraine. listen to the uk's top intelligence officer describing what is happening with russian troops. >> we've seen russian soldiers short of weapons and morale refusing to carry out orders. sabotaging their own equipment, and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft.

>> russian troops disobeying orders. and vladimir putin signing a decree to draft more than 134,000 more russian citizens into the military. the operation clearly not going could, to his plan. they were apparently too scared. >> also this morning, there are signs russian forces are regrouping on belarusian territory. this is after suffering heavy battlefield losses here in ukraine. negotiations with russia, between russia and ukraine ongoing. but president zelenskyy calls them only words. he said russian troops are now concentrating in the east, in the donbas region for a new round of attacks. >> new video shows a bombed-out russian tank on fire in sloboda.

they claimed they were reducing the operations around. ukrainians say they have retaken sloboda, which might block the russians to keep encircling chernihiv. the mayor says attacks are increasing and people are being injured by mines being shot into the city by the russians. ben wedeman is live in mykolaiv. it has been a key strategic error that the ukrainians have been able to protect. ben, what are you seeing there? >> reporter: well, what we know today is that the death toll from tuesday's strike on the regional governor's office has reached 20. two days after that strike. and workers are continuing to pull more bodies from the rubble. somewhere in this jumble of

concrete, bricks and twisted metal are more bodies trapped in the ruins of the office of mykolaiv's regional governor. tuesday morning a russian missile struck the building, killing more than a dozen people, wounding many more. >> they bombard our city. and only civilians are dying here. >> caller: mykolaiv mayor doesn't normally come to city hall like this. but he saw a war coming and prepared himself. >> i thought the war will be like this. everything for me, boots, everything, i bought it a couple years ago. i started to learn how to shoot. i went to a special school for that. >> reporter: hole copters suggest they also saw this

coming. regaining territory lost at the start of the war. 5-year-old misha is recovering from shrapnel wounds to his head. his grandfather shows me phone video of the bullet-riddled car his father was driving with his family to escape the russian advance. russian soldiers, vladimir calls them bastards, opened fire on the car, killing misha's grandmother and mother. as we speak, the air raid siren goes off. taking shelter is an oft-practiced drill. stay calm and carry on. and the city is carrying on. but preparing also for the very real possibility of another russian assault. in fact, what we see here, city workers are going around.

this is one of the main boulevards, cutting down these massive trees. they're going to use the larger trunks to reinforce trenches on the outskirts of the city and to provide firewood to soldiers in the front line. john. >> i've got to see it. look at that. i have not seen that yet. cutting down the giant trees that line the city to buttress the trenches. the russians claim that they are redirecting some of their operations around kyiv and chernihiv. where you are is a separate area from either of those. i'm very curious if there's been any change in the intensity of the russian efforts around you. >> reporter: well, john, what we have seen in the last 10 days, is russian forces have really been pushed back from the city.

but nobody really believes that somehow this is the beginning of the end of the russian assault in this part of the country. there is a feeling that things could easily change. mykolaiv is extremely strategic. they believe one of their objectives in the war is to control the entire black sea coast of ukraine. so if they take mykolaiv, then they can take odesa, which is the main port for this country, effectively creating a landlocked country, which would obviously cripple it economically. so there is an understanding that whatever the russians are saying, there is a very high possibility they will do the exact opposite. john. ben wedeman, great to have you on the ground in mykolaiv. thank you so much for your report. >> really arresting images in ben's report.

joining us is military analyst and retired air force colonel cedric leighton. can you take us mykolaiv and the area surrounding i. >> this is where ben is right here now. odesa is right here. it is not too far-fetched for the russians to go over here through mykolaiv. it is easier to do that and then down to odesa. the reason for that is exactly as ben described. they want to take this port, or they could want to take this port. what that would do is effectively make ukraine a landlocked country. that is a prime economic goal they have. >> that image you are seeing of the trees in ben's report being cut down, i mean, this is -- these cities are being just decimated from what they were by ukrainians in the name of supporting their troops. buff it's really an arresting image. >> it is. what's amazing about this is it shows how much the civil defense aspect of this is important.

you have an entire population that is preparing for war. even if there's no movement by russian troops yet in this direction, it is still very possible. and mykolaiv is the key to the rest of this part of ukraine. . >> and then taking a look at kyiv and chernihiv, there has been some repositioning of russian troops. sit hard to fully understand what's happening there. >> sure. let's take a look here, brianna. this is kyiv, the capital of ukraine, the largest city. there have been major movements in and around this. children heave in the northeast of kyiv, in this part of the country, this is where a significant battle has taken place. and note one big thing here. this is the belarusian border right here. that is really close to where chernihiv is. and the russian forces are of course in the red here. the ukrainians are breaking out or trying to break out here. if they cut the russians here

and circle back this way or do something like this, they could potentially keep the russians at bay. they would have to have a three-pronged motion here. but the basic idea is for them to move the russians back so they can protect what's left of chernihiv. >> talk to us a little bit about what the ukrainian forces need at this point in time. >> so a lot of what they have is things like the javelin, for example. this is the anti-tank guided missile system. and the stinger. they need more of each of these. this is the air defense system that shoots down aircraft, especially low-flying aircraft. they need drones. this is a switchblade drone, a very light drone, easy to use. one person can actually launch this. it can be used both as a surveillance tool but, more importantly, as a weapon. this is the kind of weapon system they need in a tactical sense. they want other things, like fighter jets, mig-29s are still on the shopping list.

but the likelihood of them getting that at this point is probably minimal. >> it may remain on the shopping list. and these have been authorized. they haven't received them yet, as we understand it. so this is going to be incoming here soon. >> exactly. one other thing they have that they have used to great effect is a turkish-made drone. they have used these to great effect. and the turks have provided those or sold those to the ukrainians over the years. and they are probably going to be selling more of them to the ukrainians as well. >> cedric, thank you so much for that. really appreciate it. an emotional chris rock breaking his silence on the slap from will smith. what he said last night, we will ask an audience member who was there. >> were toer president trump claiming ignorance on burner phones. but john bolton said he hurt trump use the phrase numerous times. and actor bruce willis stepping away from his legendary career after being diagnosed with a serious health condition. month or on his battle with

aphasia ahead. >> tech: need to get your windshield fifixed? safelite makes it easy. >> tech vo: you can schedule in just a few clicks. and we'll come to you with a replacement you can trust. >> man: lookgreat. >> tech: that's service on your time. schedu now. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safeliteeplace. ♪ is now a good time for a flare-up? enough, crohn's! for adultsith moderate to severe crohn's or ulcerative colitis, stelara® can provide relief, and is the first approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. you, getting on that flight? back off, uc! stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine.

pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. lasting remission can start with stelara®. janssen can help you explore cost support options. i don't just play someone brainy on tv - i'm an actual neuroscientist. and i love the science behind neuriva plus. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger.

new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today.

get ready for next level entertainment. apple tv+ is now on xfinity. howdy y'all. with new apple original series and movies added every month... ...there's always something new to discover. and right now, you can get 3 months of apple tv+ free when you sign up. just say “try apple tv+” to get started. it's a movement. with xfinity, it's a way better way to watch. when it comes to cybersecurity, the biggest threats don't always strike the biggest targets. so help safeguard your small business with comcast business securityedge™. it's advanced security that continuously scans for threats and helps protect every connected device. on the largest, fastest, reliable network with speeds up to 10 gigs to the most small businesses. so you can be ready for what's next. get started with internet and voice for $64.99 a month. and ask how to add securityedge™. or, ask how to get up to an $800 prepaid card.

(music throughout) comedian chris rock making his first public experience since will smith slapped him at the oscars. he briefly addressed the incident saying, quote, i'm still kind of processing what happened. so at some point i'll talk about

that s word and it will be serious and it will be funny. but right now i'm going to tell some jokes. alex attended the show last night at boston's wilbur theater. you were at one of these shows, alex. can you tell us a little bit about what he said, how that struck you what he said about what happened at the oscars? >> yeah. so like you said, he didn't -- he kind of said he was still processing the event. and it really seemed he didn't want to touch on it too much. yeah. it seems like he is trying to avoid any controversies or a anything like that. i don't think he wants it to be a super big deal. it's just what i got from what he -- >> it seemed to you that he hadn't absorbed what happened

and all the fallout from it? >> yeah. he, like, as everyone saw that night, he seemed pretty in shock about that. a and, yeah, he definitely didn't seem like he was ready to talk about it. >> i understand he got a lot of support from the audience. obviously they were there to see him. but a lot of support, probably an outsized amount of support because of what happened at the oscars. what was the mood there? >> yeah. like, the beginning, there was a standing ovation that lasted for at least over a minute. he actually addressed it. he said thank you, thank you, but can i get to my jokes? and the audience definitely was very supportive. like, people really were -- liked the show it seems like. and, you know, yeah. people were yelling things about

will smith and stuff like that, but he kind of ignored it. >> really interesting. alex thank you so much for being with us, being our eyes there, telling us what this was like where chris rock appeared for the first time after the oscars. we do appreciate it >> thank you for having me on. so joining me now is criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor and the owner of the new york comedy club caroline's on broadway, caroline hirsh. i wanted to ask you about something we've learned, which is the academy says after will smith slapped chris rock they asked him to leave but he refused. he didn't want to go. and so he stayed. obviously, they have security at an event like this. i'm just wondering what you think about how the academy handled this. >> you know, i think the academy doesn't want to appear as complicit or in competent,

right? i'm thinking about the situation and how it unfolded. that was a pretty long walk to the stage he took. i think people were thinking it was an off-script moment, a viral moment. they have been struggling with membership. security didn't approach will smith, but they should have. this idea that now, three days later on wednesday -- this happened on sunday. the academy said we asked will smith to leave, and he refused. i've got to question that. why was that not, one, included in their initial statement on monday. it would have been the first thing i would have said if i were the academy, and they didn't. my question would be how did you ask him to leave? did you ask him directly or his handlers and was it forceful

enough. i'm very skeptical in believing they actually asked him. >> maybe in the way you're describing. very good questions there. caroline, i know for you this raises a whole host of issues about safety for performers for comedians. >> well, i hope that this incident doesn't mislead people to think that this might be acceptable behavior. i think this is something that just happened of course in the spur of the moment. i really feel that it was wrong. and i feel bad for will smith. i'm sure he really wishes he could take this back. and i feel bad for chris for what had happened. and the look on chris's face, he was in total shock. but he still carried on and he performed the duty that he needed to do to be there. and thank god he was surrounded by a lot of his grit friends, which is amy schumer and wanda

sykes. these are people he works with all the time. actually, he met wanda when she was performing at my club. she was an opening act for chris years ago. >> but you worry about copycats? >> i don't know if we're that worried about copycats. but we want to make sure comedians feel safe on stage. and that behavior of -- even heckling at certain point is really not tolerated in my club. we try to put an end to that. we have security around always. and, you know, people are asked to leave or to be quiet or sometimes we just take them out and say you have to leave right now because you are making too much noise and you are bothering whoever is on stage. >> behave, children, right? okay. yodit, i wanted to ask you -- we just learned something from chloe melas, who went to both of chris rock's shows last night.

and chris rock had basically said he is weighing what to do. what does that tell you? could he press charges? what do you think? sorry. i wanted to ask about the legal ramifications of this. >> the idea of having criminal charges i don't think is going to happen. i don't think chris rock wants to hurt will smith in any way. i don't think he wants this dragged out any more than it already has been given what your previous guest has stated, the audience member. how chris rock was wanted to move on. i don't think he wants to have this thing dragged out more than it has been. the l.a. city attorneys office won't actually prosecute without a police referral. we know from the l.a.p.d. chris

rock refused to create one. there is civil action he could take, the mental anguish and pain. he struggled with childhood trauma of violence. he still sees a therapist. it could be damaging to him physically, mentally. i still don't think that's going to happen. i think what he may be suggesting there is what to do about his relationship with will smith, how he perceives addressing this moving forward. he's still going to be going on comedy tour, how he addresses the situation going forward. >> yeah. obviously he's going to speak about that. i think he made that very clear. you both seem to be in agreement there that no charges will be pressed there. caroline, yodit, thank you to both of you. take a look at video.

this is what is left of a kindergarten in kharkiv, demolished in a russian bombing. (driver 1) it's all you. (driver 2) no, i insist. (driver 1) it's your turn. (driver 2) nope, i think it's your turn. (driver 1) i appreciate you so much, thank you so much... go. (driver 2) i appreciate your appreciation. it fills me. (burke) safe driversrs save money with farmers. (bystander) just for driving safely? (burke) it's a farmers policy perk. get farmers and you could get a safe driver discount simply for having a clean driving record for three years. (driver 3) come on! (driver 1) after you. (driver 2) after you. (drivers 1 and 2) safety first! (burke) get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. ♪we are farmers.bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum♪ this is the new world of work. each day looks different than the last. but whatever work becomes, the servicenow platform will make it just,low. whether it's finding new ways to help you serve your customers, orchestrating a safe return to the office... wait. an office? what's an office? ...or solving a workplace challenge that's yet to come.

wherever the new world of work takes your business, the world works with servicenow.

♪ ♪ ♪ "how bizarre" by omc ♪ no annual fee on any discover card. ♪ ♪

i visited a refugee shelter in a village outside lviv and met pwraeufl ukrainians with mark and his mother natalie who fled the kherson region. this is part of that region. what happened to you with when the war started?

>> in february 24 at 4:00 a.m., we just woke up, me and mom, because we hear the big explosions. like serious explosions. and we saw smoke through the dark. it was so scary. i came to mom and i tell her, mom, it's war. floor and roof just shaking. when you are feeling that through your heart, absolutely it's terrible. >> it's hard to find the words. >> yeah. >> did you think your life might be at risk? >> yeah. definitely. >> and then what did you do?

>> we just decide to leave, just run away. we think it is just a miracle because we run away to the bus station. >> how long after you left was the city occupied? . >> i don't know. we sit in bus until 9:00 a.m. after that, 10:00 a.m., our city was total occupied. >> at 10:00 the city was occupied? >> yes. >> you got on a bus from lviv to here? >> yeah. it was just a miracle. on our way, our road when we were driving, we're praying with mom and like i take -- i put her hand every time.

we were two days without food. >> mark and natalie finally arrived at a shelter called "hope for ukraine." they're not refugees here. instead, they say -- >> you are our family. >> natasha and her family are from the same town at mark and natalie and now living at the same shelter. >> you might feel lucky and grateful you found this community. >> translator: of course. we are in a safe place. my kids are very well fed here. they are in a warm place. >> safe, warm, and fed, for now. but these families have little idea of what will come next. do you want to go back home? do you think you'll go back home? >> i don't know. we're always in, like, our condition always changing.

we continue to pray. we are praying that god will tell us go here or stay here. okay. we trust in god. i don't know, like -- >> translator: destiny. >> you don't know your destiny. how could you. what do you want in your heart? >> i want to see ukraine free. that is my dream. but it's -- >> big dream. >> it is my big dream. and i hope it will be my testimony. i never appreciated my country before war. but right now i saw how a lot of people just support us, and we

appreciate it so much. >> how are you feeling? >> translator: our lives separated like before and after. we should forgive our enemies, but it's so hard. we know the bible says you should forgive your enemies. how how we should forgive our enemies if we saw how people and kids died. it's hard. we continue praying even for ouour enemies. >> they continue to pray. in the last 24 hours, ukraine's second largest city of kharkiv has come under heavy shell fire. hit 47 times by russian troops, according to the region's governor. even a kindergarten was destroyed. watch this. >> this is the sleeping room

where children were sleeping. and it was on fire because the russian rocket hit this exact room right here on this wall. the nearby residential houses are also heavily destroyed. >> my next guest spent weeks in a bomb shelter in kharkiv before escaping with her mother. anastasia joins me now. thank you for being here. i'm sorry you had to see the pictures on of that kindergarten there. what is it like to see the devastation in your city? >> actually it's kind of hard to believe it is happening because i know these places. i've been there. and it's really hard to see how they changed through the war. >> the bomb shelter, when you were living there, what was like that? >> it was a bomb shelter which prepares for my friend.

we were there with people with children. we were staying there together. it was frightening. each time we had to get out to get the food. like we were hearing bomb shelling and bombs and sirens. we were afraid but we had to survive somehow. but staying in the bomb shelter is not really easy in comparison to normal life. . >> no. it's hard. you came here, which is all the way to the other side of the country. but your boyfriend is back there. and he's fighting for ukraine. >> yes. he's in territory defense of the city. >> how is he doing? >> actually, we can't talk on the phone. but we text sometimes. actually while i was on my way

to the train, i received a text message from his brother that their place gotbaumed and andres is in the hospital. he's fine now. he went back to fight. >> he got out of the hospital and is back fighting. yes. >> you are not going to leave. why not? >> because i'm home. and i don't want to leave it. and i do feel that here i can do something for people. i have been volunteering at the train station. and i feel needed here and people need me. and i don't want to leave my country. that's kind of painful to leave, to cross the border. because i don't want to leave my home. >> this is your country. . >> yeah. >> you should be able to stay. anastasiia, thank you for being with us. we are thinking about you, your family and your boyfriend.

be well. new intelligence out of the united kingdom that russian soldiers have been sabotaging their own equipment even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft. the latest from the battlefield ahead. and pack in the united states, the former president says he has, quote, no idea what a burner phone is. but our next guest says he knows firsthand that that's a lie. it was a tragedy. with knockoff batteries, little miss cupcake never stood a chance. until, energizer ultimate lhium. who wants a cupcake? the number one longest-lasting aaattery. yay! case closed. does daily stress leave you feeling out of sync? new dove men stress-relief body wash... with a plant-based adaptogen,

helps alleviate stress on skin. so you can get back in sync. new dove men. a restorative shower for body and mind. [ joe ] my teeth were a mess. i had a lot of pain. as far as my physical health, my body was telling me you got to do something. and so i came to clearchoice. your mouth is the gateway to your body. joe's treatment plan was replacing the teeth with dental implants from clearchoice. [ joe ] clearchoice has changed my life for the better. it's given me my health back. there's an amazing life out there if you do something for your health now. ♪ limu emu and doug.♪ and it's easy to customize your insurance at libertymutual.com so you only pay for what you need.

isn't that right limu? limu? limu? sorry, one sec. doug blows several different whistles. doug blows several different whistles. [a vulture squawks.] there he is. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty♪

if you're a small business, there are lots of choices when it comes to your internet and technology needs. but when you choose comcast business internet, you choose the largest, fastest reliable network. you choose advanced security for total peace of mind. and you choose fiber solutions with speeds up to 10 gigs to the most small businesses. that's virtually everywhere we serve. the choice is clear: make your business future ready with the network from the most innovative company. comcast business. powering possibilities™. this is xfinity rewards. our way of showing our appreciation.

with rewards of all shapes and sizes. [ cheers ] are we actually going? yes!! and once in a lifetime moments. two tickets to nascar! yes! find rewards like these and so many more in the xfinity app. the house select committee investigating the january 6th insurrection is looking into whether former president trump used so-called burner phones during a seven-hour gap in official call records during the attack on the capitol. in response trump said in a statement, i have no idea what a

burner phone is. to the best of my knowledge i have never even heard the term. joining us is national security adviser john bolton. sir, what do you say to that? >> well, i can't understand what the former president is saying because i heard him use the turn burner phone a number of times. it's hard live like it is some obscure, highly classified set of words. criminal gangs in the united states use burner phones. terrorists around the world use burner phones. as i say, i heard him mention it. so you'll have to guess what the reason for his statement is. >> he said, quote, burner phones in conversation? >> he did, yes. it was a term he kind of liked. he would say, they have these burner phones. the former president's acquaintance with the truth is

often very casual. this is a good example of it. . >> did he have a burner phone? >> well, i don't know. you know, he didn't come down to the oval office typically until late in the morning. he made calls up from the residence. i certainly spoke to him up there many times on regular phones, on the secure phones or regular land line. what else he was doing up there, i certainly don't know. >> what do you make of this seven-hour gap in the call log? >> well, i think it's very hard to believe that anybody redid the log to purge information from it. these are routinely made. that i not subject to high-level scrutiny. so if there was interference with it, it would be great extraordinary. i think it means the former president made a deliberate effort not to use oval office phones or government phones during that period. i don't know how else to explain

it. we know from what others said, he did have phone conversations with him that day that are not outside the gap, period. >> you think it's possible that he was purposeful live not using the white house switchboard or the white house phones the way he might normally use? >> i don't know what other explanation would make any sense, frankly. >> why would you do that? >> well, because he didn't want a record of the calls. and what he was saying in those calls is anybody's guess. some people say they have received calls, they have described what the subject of the conversation was. so we know he was making calls. what other calls he made at this point we don't know. >> yeah. we know he made calls. he was on the phone with kevin mccarthy. he called senator lee looking for senator tuberville. i want to ask you about ukraine. it turns out that the russian military is not so good. and u.s. intel really

overestimated the ability of the russian military. why do you think that is? >> well, i think we overestimated the ability of the russian military, underestimated what the ukrainian military forces could do. and i think the russians made many of the same mistakes. now, there's this business out yesterday of u.s. and uk officials saying that the military in russia was misleading putin. i don't buy that analysis. biff the way, they're not putting out information. they are putting out analysis of the information. i don't think there's a government in human history that i'm aware of where one of the top leaders advisers was not perfectly prepared to say another top adviser had make a complete mess of things. i think they've got the information. i think their calculations prove to be as inaccurate as u.s. intelligence or french intelligence that predicted there would be no invasion. the head of french military

intelligence reported by bbc to have been fired this morning. >> some of the intel that has come out as well is that the russian military isn't following orders. we heard this from uk intel chief. they are sabotaging its own equipment. in at least one case shot down one of its own planes. does that surprise you? >> well, i think part of the problem here may be continued corruption in the russian military despite decades of effort to improve it and modernize it. corruption is so rampant across russia. it's a racketeering organization not a government. a lot of this was going on. and top-level defense officials may not have realized it. when put to the test of actual combat, all of this showed up. i think the disastrous performance of the russian military has caused such a reputational blow that it is an added reason why putin has no

perspective to negotiate. if his military is to have any effect in terms of threatening other countries, he has to have some military victory he can point to. he certainly does not have it yet. i don't know what it is in prospect for him. so the bad news is i think actually this failure contributes to their determination in the kremlin to continue this conflict until they can achieve some success that justifies then inn einvasi the first place. >> senator mitt romney called kasie hunt that nato countries will be worried about their security, right? they might consider other alliances if president trump succeeds in winning another term as president. what do you think nato countries will do? do you think nato will fall apart? >> well, i think if trump were to get back into office, which i don't think is going to happen. i don't think, among other things, he will run for the

nomination in 2024. i think, as i feared in a second term if he had been re-elect indeed 2020, that he might well withdraw from nato. i think this would be a catastrophic strategic decision for the united states. but i don't think it's unreasonable for other nato members to worry about it. it is another reason to try and put trump in the. -- rear-view mirror. >> really appreciate you being with us. ambassador, thank you. . >> thanks for having me. christiane amanpour will joan us next from kyiv. the russian military is disobeying orders, according to new intel. plus -- >> welcome to the party, pal. >> bruce willis is stepping away from acting because of a severe brain disorder. we have dr. sanjay gupta here to explain the science. when we found out our son had autism, his future became my focus. lavender baths calmed him. so we made a plan to turn bath time into a business.

♪ ♪ find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com i know there's conflicting information about dupuytren's contracture. i thought i couldn't get treatment yet? well, people may think that their contracture has to be severe to be treated, but it doesn' if you can'tay your hand flat on the table, talk to a hand specialist. but what if i don't want surgery? well, then you should find a hand specialist certified to offer nonsurgical treatments. what's the next step? visit findahandspecialist.com today to get started.

why are you listening to do someone 100,000 miles away? we're here. nobody down there can help us. if we don't get this job done, everybody's gone.

>> legendary actor bruce willis announcing that he's going to step away from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, which is a condition that affects cognitive abilities and can be caused by a stroke, a head injury, a brain tumor or a disease. joining us now is cnn chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. i think really telling in here sanjay, yes, bruce willis announced this, but it was actually his daughter, because he doesn't have the ability to tell us what is happening. >> yeah. i mean, you know, we don't know how long he's been dealing with this or if any of those things you just mentioned are the cause of this. but aphasia is what has been described, and this is sort of a more general term than maybe people realize, brianna. really affects your ability to communicate. and when we say communication, i mean that could be speaking, that could be writing, but it also is the receiving of communication. the ability to understand someone's spoken word, the ability to be able to read.

so aphasia can be broadly, you know, those things and it can be caused by damage to certain areas of the brain, as you mentioned, for different reasons. sometimes treatable, depending on, again, what exactly is causing this. but let me show you something here. when you look at the brain itself, brianna, there is typically who different types of aphasia. we're not sure what bruce willis is dealing with, but brocha, closer to the front of the brain, that area, that typically interferes with someone's ability to express themselves. to be able to speak or to be able to speak in some sort of comprehensible way, same thing with writing. wernicke, someone may be speaking fluently, but they're not understanding what, again, the spoken word is or what writing is and things like that. so whether that is affecting his cognition or there was something in the -- affecting his cognition before that, that was then causing this sort of aphasia, we're not sure. but that would very much dictate exactly what they would do to help treat him.

>> sometimes it is transient, i know, sometimes it passes, sometimes it doesn't. what is the prognosis here if you could? >> that's exactly right. is this something that is going to be sort of permanent and progressive or is this something that is more transient? and, you know, if somebody had a head injury, for example, brianna, that could be a more transient thing, someone fr recovers from the head injury, they recover from the symptoms as well. all we know about bruce willis is what you read. we don't know what caused this. is this something that is progressive, associated with some sort of dementia, he may be young for that, he's 67 years old, but once -- i'm sure his doctors have a much better idea of what exactly is causing these sorts of symptoms, that would give you an idea of prognosis, but also treatment. >> all right, let's hope. let's hope this is something recoverable. i'm not ready to have seen my last bruce willis movie, that's for darn sure. sanjay, thank you for walking us through that. >> you got it. with headlines out of

hollywood demanding our attention this week, it is easy to have missed president biden's $6 trillion announcement. john avlon joining us now with a reality check. >> that's right. look, i know it sounds crazy, but we spend a lot more time talking about celebrity scandals like a slap on the face at the oscars than we do about a nearly $6 trillion budget that could determine the trajectory of our country. now, look, i get it, folks, scandals are easier to pay attention to. let's see if this gets your attention. budgets aren't a bunch of numbers, they're philosophical documents that tell you what our government actually thinks is important. and this week's proposed budget by the biden administration shakes up a lot of stereotypes. especially when compared to the one four years ago from president trump. here is the big question, will it change perceptions of the democratic party's prioritys? let's dig into the data, we're not afraid of the wonk here. the biden budget would increase pentagon spending by $31 billion, citing challenges from russia and china, while investing in new technology, nato, cyberdefense and nearly 5%

pay raise for military and civilian defense department employees. on the home front, faced with concerns about rising crime, president biden is doubling down on his commitment to refund the police, with more than $32 billion to fight violent crime. and that's not all. there is more money for pandemic preparedness, education, rural development, investing in climate change, cancer and opioid addiction. all and all, president biden is proposing a 7% increase in federal spending, but the white house says this proposal would reduce the federal deficit by more than $1 trillion over the next fiscal year. how does he pull this off? here is a concept, by actually paying for the spending. primarily through tax increase on people worth more than $100 million, billionaires and corporations. all of this comes with the basic caveat that congress determines federal spending. this is a vision spatatement op to debate. they can't be allowed to ignore the fact that four years ago

president trump's midterm budget proposed adding $7 trillion to the federal deficit over a decade, while proposing cuts to programs like medicare, food stamps and agencies like the epa. yeah, you heard that right. biden's budget would reduce the deficit, while trump's increased it. we should all know by now that it is only matters when a democrat is a president, right? honestly what interests me is despite biden putting forward a centrist budget, they will be targeted as a far left party n january, a poll found nearly 60% of americans found that democrats were too extreme in their positions. but that's despite the fact that more people actually agree with democrats than republicans on key policy issues acording to the same poll. gripe all you want, but democrats really need to deal with the perception, they have what liberal strategists call a common sense problem. on a whole host of broad value issues like equality of opportunity rather than outcomes

or patriotism, they seem to be out of step with the majority of americans. but here's the other deal, a new nbc news poll shows the most broadly popular position for candidate this year includes support for funding the police, and increasing oil and gas production. those positions are not exactly out of the dsa playbook. but interestingly, they're also followed by support for biden's bipartisan infrastructure law, lowering healthcare costs, prescription drug prices, supporting roe v. wade and doing more to fund ukraine. a reminder that we are not an ideologically extreme nation, just that professional partisans distort and dumb down our civic debates. so here's an idea, cut through all the spin and actually look at the president's budget. might just shake up your stereotypes, but at the very least might ground our political debates in actual policy rather than fear-filled prejudices. and that's your reality check. >> actual policy, say you, john avlon. >> i'm a crazy dreamer. >> that is a dream indeed.

john avlon, thank you for that reality check. "new day" continues right now. this is cnn breaking news. >> good morning to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. it is thursday, it is march 31st. i'm john berman in lviv in western ukraine. brianna keilar is in washington. breaking news, two critical new developments that suggest russia's war on ukraine is not going according to plan. first, listen to the uk's top intelligence officer describing what's happening with russian troops on the battlefield right now. >> we have seen russian soldiers short of weapons and morale refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment, and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft. >> russian forces disobeying orders, sabotaging