in georgia, where the case rate has more than tripled in the past two weeks and schools are about to reopen, one metro atlanta county decided to start offering cash as an incentive. cnn's natasha chen joins me with more. >> reporter: ryan, the bad news is the number of new covid cases have been rising in the state of georgia. the good news is so has the vaccination rate. the seven-day average of new vaccination doses administered is up 85% since three weeks ago. one thing we're seeing that's working today at this site is that incentives work. they're giving out $50 pre-paid debit cards. we've seen lines of cars even before the event started at 8:00 a.m. today they've vaccinated more than 200 people. we talked to the very first person in line who showed up in a wheelchair. he arrived by public transit. i talked to him about the dangers of covid but here he is, talking about what really drove him to get here today. if you are unvaccinated, you're 25 times more likely to end up in the hospital or die from covid. >> right, right. i've been listening to all of that. but really, like i say

i'm joined by georgia's lieutenant governor, jeff duncan. lieutenant governor, great to have you on. elected officials right now are split on whether to offer vaccine payouts to boost rates. we've heard that the white house is considering up to $100 to get people vaccinated. is this something that you and governor kemp would consider statewide? >> well, certainly if you look at the data, we're in the midst of a pretty significant wave that's beginning. and you know, i look back to the lessons learned from the early parts of this pandemic, and you know, those lessons learned were, you know, that -- try to leave the partisan battles to the side to make good decisions. and you know, for me the majority of folks i talk to that are not vaccinated just have a couple of questions. they have some concerns. you know, somebody last night at dinner told me they said, you know, i keep being told to talk to my health care provider. how do i call and ask a question about the vaccine? there is no vehicle for it. the push i'm making is that we try to flood

let's begin coverage in georgia where new coronavirus cases are up 230% right now. cnn's natasha chen is live dekalb county. one of the new hot spots for covid infections and the surge is already interrupted the start of the new school year at one school, more than 100 kids now in quarantine. bring us up to speed with the latest. >> reporter: right. so the charter school in atlanta started class last tuesday and within a couple of days, they had to inform families of more than 100 students to quarantine and that's because as of friday afternoon, they've had 14 positive cases. that's because they've been actually doing a lot of testing to detect these. employees of theirs required to get tested before the school started and must continue that weekly. students strongly encouraged to test, and so out of about 1900 tests done before tuesday, they detected some positive cases and then a few more after classes started. mostly affected is that sixth grade class. nearly 100 sixth graders in quarantine. eighth graders are the ones having to move classes online because the ei

reporter: jessica, more than 200 people have come through to get vaccinated at this site in dekalb county, georgia, that's more than county officials expected. that's a good thing. there were people sort of skeptical in line about the vaccine but said it was the money being given out, $50 gift cards that brought them here. america is waking up to a new day of increased covid restrictions, president biden says we're likely to see more as cases of the highly contagious delta variant continue to rise. >> in all probability, by the way, had a good day yesterday, almost a million people got vaccinated, so i am hopeful people are beginning to realize ho how essential it is. >> they show the new rate of vaccinations the highest it has been in weeks. just under half the u.s. population is fully vaccinated. the fda says it is pulling in extra help to get covid-19 vaccines fully approved as quickly as possible to ease minds of those worried about vaccine safety. this comes as we learn more from the cdc about just how dangerous the delta variant is. the agency now says 74% of covid cases in one massachusetts

but we begin our coverage in georgia. cases there have exploded in recent days, and health officials say in the last two weeks ago, new cases have risen over 200%. natasha chen is at a vaccination drive in the atlanta area. obviously, there is a big push to get more people vaccinated right now. what are you seeing today? what are you hearing from people who are showing up to get vaccinated? >> reporter: well, jessica, it's clear that incentives actually work. because this is the largest number of people dekalb county has seen at recent vaccination events in the last month or so. that is partially because people are wanting the debit cards that are being given out. $50 debit cards for each person who gets a shot today. the first person in line that we talked to said he definitely came because of that. just now, they told us they reached 200 people vaccinated since this event started at 8:00 a.m. eastern time. we did also talk to some families who brought their young kids here. of course, you have to be 12 or older to get t

she's live at a vaccination site in dekalb county, georgia, with that story. natasha, what kind of incentives are being offered there, and are they working? >> well, boris and christi, this is billed as a back to school vaccination event, so they're giving out backpacks as well as $50 prepaid debit cards. i can tell you, the $50, that is working. because there were people lined up even before this event began. it's been going on for just about two hours now, and they have vaccinated about 100 people. that's definitely more interest than they've been seeing in the past, so something as simple as a gift card could be the trick here. the seven-day average of a new vaccination dose administered, that has also increased just as it has across the country, as you were saying here in georgia. it is 85% higher than it was three weeks ago. that average dose administered to people in the state here. so that is a positive sign. it is a race against time. it is also still a challenge convincing people to come here. we spoke to the first person in line today who actually sh

we start this morning in dekalb county, georgia. natasha chen joins us live. it's where many experts are encouraging people to roll up their sleeves by offering incentives, right, natasha? >> reporter: yeah, boris. they're giving out prepaid gift cards today in hopes more people will come to this spot at a mall and get the shot especially as school districts in this area sometimes a bit early to make up for lost instruction time during the pandemic. in many places across the country, georgia is seeing a rising 7-day average new covid cases and that has a lot of people concerned. >> america's waking up to a new day of increased covid restrictions and president biden said we're likely to see more as cases of the highly contagious delta virus spreads. >> almost 1 million people got vaccinated yesterday. >> cdc data shows the rate of new vaccinations is the highest it's been in weeks. just under half the u.s. population is fully vaccinated. the u.s. is pulling in extra help to get it approved as quickly as possible to ease the minds of those worried about vaccine

arkansas, louisiana, tennessee, mississippi, alabama, georgia. florida alone, now big state, number-three state, right? makes up a huge chunk of the new cases. they have been in the top five for new cases, going back to april. now, if you look, you will see that there's some toxic politics that have gone along with that. don't fauci florida and all this other stuff. and now he's anti-mask down there, the governor. i get the political play. it works with the trump fold but it's making people sick. you could say that, look, they have a big population. okay? so they're going to have bigger numbers. but the positivity is way outpacing the rest of the country. okay? which is why they have more people in the hospital than they did at any time this year. it's a scene playing out across the entire region. it's not just florida. but you have to look at where you have the most cases, and you will see the lowest percentages of vaccination. and the highest rates of transmission. okay? if you focus on that same group of states, you see, it's almost all red do

galvanize voters and produce wins down the road as it did in two georgia senate races this year. as this were happening, they were marching for a 2nd day in texas for a moral march in democracy. it started in george town and expected to end in boston saturday. two of the leaders of the palm beach, former congress mach beto o'rourke and bishop barber join me now. bishop barber, why are you palm beaching? >> well, we're trying to nationalize texas. sema was nationalized to sigh we have to have federal protections. we have to have the end of a filibuster. we have to fully pass the true genres for the people's act before he died. when it's ready and written, we have to pass the restored voting rights act. we need $15 living wage. we need to protect immigrants. you can't litigate your way, mobilize your way. i met with the texas legislators the other day from zoom. they understand that clearly. what's happening it's not just democrats, it's people of all race, creeds, colors, parties, for the organization. my brother down there who said we would march from george town to austin and on

one city is atlanta, georgia. shootings in atlanta have increased by 32%. last week the city shut down all public pools after a teenager was shot and killed at one of them. today they are investigating the murder of a woman and her dog inside a city park. >> it was particularly gruesome. that's how the police are describing it. she was stabbed multiple times. some local reports say she was disfigured. that's how gruesome and violent this crime was. she was walking her dog about 1:00 a.m. in the morning. when her wife couldn't reach her, she went to the park and she found her there. police looking for a suspect. they don't seem to know much at this point. we are still waiting to hear more from police. this all comes on the heels of this report on the council for criminal justice where they looked at violent crime in 22 cities. what they found is that compared to last year there's a rise in homicides. 16% rise in homicide. in 2019 there's a significant rise of 42%, of course all of this having to do with guns. they also say that gun assaults are higher this y

. >> in georgia, one of the states seeing more than 50% increase since just last week, only 40% of the population is fully vaccinated. the unvaccinated are prolonging this pandemic. the unvaccinated are accelerating this pandemic. the main reason the cdc says it was compelled to change its mask guidance and essentially punish the vaccinated was because of cases among unvaccinated. the surge risks a new hit to the economy. risking a smooth reopening of schools. risks the reopening of workplaces. and speaking of schools, it's risking the health of children. >> children's hospitals in arkansas reporting a record high number of children hospitalized with covid. that is the reality here. children, yes, they have been largely spared by severe covid cases, but that's clearly not the case with this delta variant. one more thing to point out here, while the reasons certainly vary for not getting the vaccine, one obvious one, a big one, is the political and consperitorial efforts by the right wing and social media. according to a new survey, 46% of republicans who most trust far right news refus

there were nearly 50,000 people in the georgia dome and billions of people watching. just think for simone biles's olympics the whole world is watching. there's not an audience there to help with the adrenaline rush. there's no family. there's no friends in the stands. so it's a lot for this young 24-year-old to take on. and let's not forget how outspoken she has been about the culture of the sport of gymnastics and how much it needs to change. she's made it it very clear that she's the only survivor of the larry nassar scandal on the floor, and that's a lot of weight for a young woman to take on. >> and even, you know -- it's even beyond that. yeah, it's beyond that because what she has to do if she messes up, it can cause really serious injury. it's easy for people to understand a physical injury. but she has a mental block happening. it's called the twisties. right? have you experienced that? can you tell us what that is like? and what she's been going through with that? >> i experienced the twisties -- i never knew it had a name until now. but in the '90s. we call

this time the georgia congressman couldn't walk away without answering. >> i want to ask you this. they were asked the question by several of our colleagues, including ms. cheney, about statements that you made saying that the january 6th violent insurrection against congress was akin to a normal tourist visit. and those officers said they weren't tourists, they were terrorists. do you stand by your statement that they were tourists? >> i would like you to quote my exact statement. not your interpretation of my statement. >> okay. watching the tv footage of those who entered the capitol and walked through statuary hall show people in an orderly fashion staying between the

you're in atlanta, georgia, the map looks orange and red. maybe it's a high transmission area. where are you back to wearing a mask indoors, or are you? >> we are. we've kind of been doing it throughout. back in may, the guidance came out that, you know, if you're vaccinated, you don't need to wear it indoors. in part, i think, because i work at a hospital, i'm wearing a mask all day. but grocery stores, indoor public areas, we were sort of doing it. practically speaking, you get a lot of funny looks sometimes when you do that. and, you know, that can be uncomfortable. my girls and my wife have been doing it. if you go to a place, where everyone will be vaccinated, a friend's house, we won't wear masks in those situations. we won't wear masks outdoors. i think viral transmission outdoors has not been a big deal. but indoor public areas where transmission is high, and it is substantial in our area, that has caused us to keep wearing masks. >> sanjay, thank you. >>> as we talk about the country divided on the question of the unvaccinated and the vaccinated, we'll talk a mother wh

congresswoman marjorie taylor greene, who of course represents congressional district 14, which is in northwest georgia. and she tweeted that this is called segregation. will you be testing everyone at the door for the flu, strep throat, stomach bugs, colds, meningitis, aids, hep a, hep c, staff infections, croup, ringworm or any other con contagions. tell what you say that response has meant for you? >> well, first of all, i would like to say everyone is entitled to their own opinion. i've certainly been guilty of not so civil discourse regarding this. really we're trying to put our people back to work. hard-working georgians looking forward to re-entering society and being able to make an honest living. unfortunately that this particular tweet is hindering that -- their ability to do that but putting them under unnecessary stress of infection and threat. >> how are you going to enforce this rule, armando? >> well, to be honest, the sign does a lot of the heavy lifting for us. i don't do -- i don't have the staff to check every vax card at the door. and i hope it really never comes to that. what we ar

. >> and yet gwinnett county in georgia and clark county in nevada will now require masks for all students. of the largest 20 school districts in the u.s., all are requiring masks except get this through districts in florida and texas. two states that happen to have the highest infection rates and republican governors who have banned mask requirements. >> more on all this as the hour progresses. >>> china spotted expanding its nuclear arsenal, what researchers say the new evidence shows, cnn live in beijing. thank you. that was fast! one call to usaa got her a tow, her claim paid... ...and even her grandpa's dog tags back. get a quote. i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! [sighs wearily] here, i'll take that! woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one gram of sugar, and now with two new flavors! open talenti and raise the jar. to gelato made from scratch. raise the jar to all five layers. raise the jar to the best gelato... you've ever tasted. talenti. raise the jar. i don't just play someo

the city's of province town, massachusetts, of course in the middle of tourist season, savannah, georgia, st. louis as well, announcing new requirements for indoor masking. florida is now the epicenter of the surge we are seeing. cases have more than tripled in the past few weeks, and every coin county in the state has high levels of community transmission. cnn went inside one florida hospital where covid patients are pleading for vaccines after contracting the virus. >> we're getting ready to intubate the patient, putting them on a ventilator, and they say if i get the vaccine now, could i not go on the ventilator. so they are begging for it. >> bad? >> yeah, i cannot breathe good. i have shortness of breath. i feel sorry about not getting a vaccine. >> you're sorry you didn't get the vaccine. do you think you would be here if you had gotten the vaccine? >> no. >> all right. joining me now is politico reporter, gary fineout, who has spent the past two decades covering florida politics. it's tough to hear from patients in the jacksonville hospital. it's tough to see the numbers right now

savannah, georgia, made that change just today. joining me now is savannah's mayor, van johnson. thank you. i appreciate it. this is an important conversation we're going to have. >> absolutely. thank you. >> you're requiring masks in all government facilities as well as savannah city schools and early childhood centers. was this a tough choice for you? >> it was a tough choice, but it was a necessary choice. don, our community transmission index has tripled. on july the 12th, we were at 84. today we're at 289. our percentage of positive tests have gone up from 5.7 on july the 2nd to 12.2 on july 23rd. our seven day rolling average has increased from 8.3 on june 8th to 80 now. our vaccination rates are still very low, 42%. we have 40 folks in our hospitals here where a couple of weeks ago we had no one. so obviously we have to do something. >> yeah. we've seen how controversial mask mandates have become. the thing is, is that, you know, police officers or people say, how do you enforce that? my thing is how do you plan to enforce this because to say you have a mandate and then do

not something akin to tourism, as one georgia

one is georgia but it hasn't stopped atlanta from joining boston, pittsburgh, challicago,w orleans, and d.c. from requiring masks in schools. >>> the georgia governor's emergency order restricts schools from requiring masks but doesn't ban schools outright. in person classes are scheduled to start in atlanta one week from today putting parents on edge. >> i worry she'll say nobody is wearing masks. mask mandate at school because i know my child can't be vaccinated yet. >> in march the federal government announced $10 billion to help states conduct covid testing in k through 12 schools. now some health officials are trying to figure out how best to use the money and what type of testing, if any, they need to perform. >> the cdc and fda are exploring multiple options for a third vaccine dose for people with comprised immune systems. 99% of deaths are among those unvaccinated but if vaccines do start to wear off, further exposing kids who aren't eligible for a shot yet, that could change the game. >>> overseas vaccine passports are gaining support as a way to lopefully create an incentive

. >>> coming up, i'll talk to the georgia congressman arrested over a peaceful protest about voting rielghts. his arrest comes as at least 18 states pass laws that make it harder to vote. you're live in the cnn newsroom. s your skin's ceramides and strengthens it against dryness for softer, smoother skin you can lovingly embrace. renew the love for your skin with dove body wash. try our new scented oils for freshness that lasts. crafted to give you amazingly natural smelling fragrances, day after day... ...for up to 60 days. give us one plug for freshness that lasts. ♪ someone once told me, that i should get used to people staring. so i did. it's okay, you can stare. when you're a two-time gold medalist, it comes with the territory. this past year has felt like a long, long norwegian winter. but eventually, with spring comes rebirth. everything begins anew. and many of us realize a fundamental human need to connect with other like-minded people. welcome back to the world. viking. exploring the world in comfort... once again. tums vs. mozzarella stick when heartburn hits, fight back fast wi

was stolen, that it will, therefore, mean it was stolen in other states, like pennsylvania or else -- georgia or elsewhere that he needed to win. >> so, the -- so, the former president is going to -- to arizona tomorrow. the -- this audit, obviously, has been ridiculed as a sham. it's not an official audit, at all. it's, still, going on, anyway, behind you. and arizona republicans are still clamoring to get onstage tomorrow with the former president. what do you expect to happen tomorrow at the rally? >> well, we're expecting to hear the former president say exactly what he's been saying in the statements. he is going to perpetuate the big lie because he wants it to be true, even though it is not true. even though this audit, which has been maligned by federal-election officials, independent auditors, independent people who run these audits, legitimate audits, say that this is completely a sham and a show and an exercise. so, we're expecting him to -- to p perpetuate that myth, anderson. but that's not stopping a number, a very long list of 2022 republican candidates for arizona governor, for

trump literally told people in georgia don't go to the polls, don't vote. but when they need voters to show up in a midterm election, they need these low-propensity white voters who trump brought out of the woodwork. are they going to show up when it's harder for them to vote, too? >> it's also something that the white house does feel like it has to counter. you've seen them focus more on the issue of voting rights, especially as they have faced some calls from civil rights activists who really use the bully pulpit and also mobilize democrats around the issue of access to the ballot. vice president kamala harris, this is really a dominant theme for her. and she's been holding these listening sessions with election workers, pollworkers and officials, as well as black civil rights leaders and also the private sector. because they do feel like because voting rights legislation is stalled in congress, one of the ways to kind of counter the republican messaging is to try and get democratic voters to also care about this issue going into the midterms and hope tha

you saw what elizabeth showed you down here, georgia at 38%. alabama, 34%. mississippi, 34%. oklahoma, 40%. this swath here and out here we see the lightest green. those are the states way behind the pack. now, look at this, this is the cdc's map, this is now. this is a couple of weeks ago of transmission. couple weeks ago we knew we had a problem. want to be blue or yellow. blue is low transmission in your community. yellow is moderate. orange and red are bad. come over here now. look at how much more orange and red there are and look where it is. that's significant. elizabeth walked you through the vaccination problems here. vermont, maine, new england, a lot of the best vaccinated states in terms of percentage are up here, they tend to be yellow or blue, blue and yellow here. the red is in the places across the country where the vaccination rates are low. it is just indisputable at that point. let's bring in for expertise and insights, dr. carlos del rio at emory school of medicine. thank you for being with us. i want you to listen before we begin the conversation, the gov

in georgia, the public health directive, it expires this weekend, which did create it to be mandatory to wear masks. and now virginia officials are saying it's all up to every single district. they do have strong guidance, though, that elementary students should still wear masks because they're not eligible to get the vaccine. but, don, this is not over. there's another meeting in august. and i know what you're wondering. did anybody, any parent say they wanted masks? well, according to our affiliate who was there, there was one parent who phoned in saying that they were in favor and in agreement with the board that masks should be worn. >> jean, you'll be covering it. thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> thanks, don. >> and thank you for watching. our coverage continues. - had enough? - no... arthritis. here. new aspercreme arthritis. full prescription-strength? reduces inflammation? thank the gods. don't thank them too soon. kick pain in the aspercreme. -hey. -hi. whoa, nice car. thanks, yeah. i actually got a great deal on it too, although my interest rate is awful. have you ch

marjory taylor greene, for instance, of georgia repeatedly declares that hipaa prevents her from telling us whether or not she has been vaccinated. which isn't 100% true. but they just say it's a personal choice whether they want to reveal that. but when you talk to many of these lawmakers privately, both republican and democrat, they really point to the political repercussions. in some of these heavily red districts that voted overwhelmingly for the former president donald trump the vaccines remain unpopular. not just hesitancy here. there are people that truly believe the vaccine is a big problem and as a result these republican politicians don't want to in any way, shape or form endure the wrath of their constituents by admitting they've been vaccinated. there's a good chance that many of them actually have been vaccinated but they've chosen not to do so because of their constituents. and just one example, anderson, is the house minority whip steve scalise. he's the second ranking republican. he waited until just last week to get the vaccine and didn't really have a good explanation a

but now the forecast, watch the smoke move into georgia, alabama, and then it hangs out for a while. the smoke will stay where the winds are calm. and you will notice it more or less with a hazy sky and sunrise and sunset. but, jim, this is what we do not want. precipitation does look heavy for the desert southwest. but temperature-wise, all of north america will see higher temperatures in the next several days and the weeks to come. that heat dome which has been moving around in the northwest. this will be a bad year. >> tom sayer, thank you for that. tonight the biden administration is hitting cuba with new sanctions in the wake of historic anti-government protests there in the islands. a national security correspondent is joining us with details. give us an update. >> reporter: yeah. so the state department today, secretary of state blinken said these were to go after those violently repressing the protesters in cuba. there were two groups named today. specifically the minister of the revolutionary armed forces and then this elite cuban forces group. they are a group that has been

buddy carter, georgia republican, he's a doctor, he's been pushing people to get the vaccines and he was asked on cnn whether he would push back on marjorie taylor greene whose twitter account was recently suspended for spreading misinformation and he said, well, she has the right to her opinion even though i disagree with it. >> an opinion? >> it's not an opinion. >> she doesn't have the right to her own facts. >> exactly. everyone is entitled to their own opinion, not their own facts. you think a doctor would get that. it raises the question, though, at what point if they're trying to turn around this ocean liner of disinformation, at what point will they actually start trying to punish or call out members of their caucus who are still spreading this disinfo? >> well, i think you have seen from minority leader mitch mcconnell, he was pretty fed up this week. i saw his strongest statement yet and he talks about vaccines a lot. polio survivor, this has been an issue he cares a lot about, but he basically said there's no excuse at this point for not getting a vaccine. you saw some rep

who got out of prison. 22 bipartisan criminal justice bills in the past three years in states like georgia and mississippi, tough places where we've been able to get red, blue, black, white, and brown together to get stuff done. i think jeff bezos saw that and said listen, if you can actually get people together maybe these problems can debt solved. the key is to believe that ordinary people are a lot smarter than the people who get paid to yell at each other on tv or washington, d.c. and empower them with the ability to solve their own problems. >> the word he's named is courage and civility. it's an interesting combination because a lot of folks pretend they have courage on cable news who are yelling and shoving their opinions down people's throats and telling people what to do, who to vote for, how to think, and then there's a lot of people who are just listening to other people's ideas and seeing what works and trying to bring people together. that's something both of you have always done. >> i always say that we need to build longer tables, not higher walls. we saw through this pandem

he's wearing a helmet, gas mask, a kevlar vest with a patch that looks like the country of georgia. he launches at an officer, pepper spray and launches into the crowd. in this video, the female officer who he attacked is seen grabbing her face in pain, being helped by other officers. in this clip, watch the officer in white. officials say this is mckeller hitting a d.c. police captain in the head with a flag pole. the captain was cut near his left eye. these battles took place in the inauguration staging area outside the capitol, the scene of some of the most violent combat that day and where the police line eventually collapsed. the man who officials say attacked the officers so viciously served in the army for 23 year, spending time in the special forces and was deployed twice to afghanistan, twice to iraq, according to the pentagon. federal judges ordered him to stay in jail while his court case progresses. he is charged with 12 federal crimes, including felonies for attacking police. he has pleaded not guilty. >> very disturbing video. all right. brian todd, thank you so much f

most republicans believe would have trump, the big lie, what happened in georgia. he lives in another world. zbh he creates that world in many ways be i the media he consumes and the people he puts around him. he ignores facts that are not in line with what he thinks in many cases. he may believe that the republicans would have lost eight more seats if he was not involved. he has a very difficult time taking responsibility for anything that goes wrong or anything that doesn't go his way. but based on the different kinds of media he consumes and the people he puts around him, he's able to create his own world and ignore the reality on the ground. and that's allowed and some dangerous things to take place. one thing that's interesting about the books is how many people he has surrounded himself with that have been close to him have flipped and said you know, we do not support the president in the way he operated a lot of times they're not doing that on the record but they're doing it in significant ways to show how crazy things were inside and how close we got to the

marjorie taylor greene is in georgia. look, i think these speaking tours and rallies, trying to get attention. marjorie taylor greene doesn't have committee assignments back in congress, gaetz is under federal prosecution. so they're doing rallies. i can just see them fundraising off of this. i think for them this is just going to feed into their narrative that the left is canceling them. unfortunately as we have seen with the fundraising reports, being extreme and being outrageous san effective fundraising tool. >> to be sure. we saw their supporters take to the streets after the cancel cancellations. is that why these cancellations are a political benefit to them, not just the fundraising numbers but raises their notoriety? >> in some ways makes them martyrers. you saw their supporters rallying in the streets. they have been on twitter talking about this. for them, it's no skin off their backs. >> liberals say orange county kind of pretty purple, historically conservative, and they cancelled on them, but maybe they want

congressman buddy carter of georgia joins me from savannah. you're a pharmacist and you represent one of the states that has one of the lower vaccination rates. why did you and your colleagues in the medical field feel it was so important to put out this message even though many republicans may not be open to it. >> well, vaccines are the single most life saving innovation in the history of medicine. thanks to operation warp speed, we have a number of vaccines to come on the market in less than a year. i encourage people to get the vaccine, because it is safe and effective. however, i do not think we should be mandating it. this is a decision that should be made by individuals in consultation with their doctor and their families. i believe in the vaccine and i believe it's safe and effective, so much so that as a health care professional and a member of the doctors caucus in congress, i myself went through the clinical trials. i c to set a good example. i'm glad i did. i do believe it is safe and effective. however, i have to stop short of say

when you take a look at what's happening in georgia, where they're talking about erasing 100,000 people from the rolls on the pretense, well, they didn't vote in the last election or so. when you look at what they're doing to try to eliminate early voting days, when you're looking at what they're doing that makes the lines longer and try to say to us who would try to make people comfortable by giving them water in line that that somehow would be against the law. this is a dangerous time for our democracy. this is a dangerous time because trump who served as the president of the united states for four years has basically led this country to a point where he's got believers and supporters who thinks that he is the president and he should be the president. and somehow it's been stolen and it's got to be taken back. so january 6th may not be the only thing that they do when they invaded our capitol, when that insurrection took place. they may be organizing again. as a matter of fact, on my way to the christening of the john lewis navy ship, on that road leading into where the ships are bein

and according to cnn analysis there are seven states, arizona, georgia, iowa, south carolina, texas, utah and vermont have banned schools from requiring masks. in california k through 12 students are to wear masks but it would be enforced by the local school district. so have you made a decision about what families can expect in your state? will it be required that kids who are not eligible to be vaccinated wear masks? >> right now in our last school year and during summer school children are required to wear masks in school under my executive order. we are looking at the latest cdc recommendations. our health team is looking at it. we will be making recommendations i think in this coming week about what we ought to be doing. you're not going to see us say you can't do it because we know that masks, particularly for children who are under 12, we know that they can't get vaccinated yet. so we know that they may be vulnerable. we have to find ways to try and protect them. we're going to be announcing that strategy in the coming week or two as we approach the school year. but we know th

is your hearing in georgia going to change that? >> we've seen a concerted effort across the country -- you know this, dana -- over 400 bills introduced, 28 signed into law, including this really bad one in georgia, that not only denies voters water when they're standing in line, but also reduces the run-off time to 28 days. and guess what? you have to register 29 days before. this is clearly a focus by the republicans in georgia on limiting people from voting. so we're doing this hearing, yes, to build pressure, to pass basic federal voting rights. that is the for the people act. the john lewis bill. you name it. if we were just to concede and say, okay, we have one vote. the republicans blocked it so we're taking our marbles and going home. that's sure not fair to the people of georgia. that's sure not fair to the people of texas. we're not giving up. there are many ways to proceed here, including the upcoming infrastructure packages that were just discussed with senator portman. i'm happy to answer. i think we need a deadline tha

. >> here in the state of georgia where i am they literally threw out doses the other day because they didn't have the demand for it. with the low vaccination rate overall particularly fully vaccinated africans, what is the outlook then for vaccine doses to get to african nations in the necessary amount? and why is it so difficult to get? is covax working? >> covax is working, but covax has been met by the brutal immoral force of rich nations. i think what happened is covax had actually had a pipeline, and this pipeline was dependent on the production capacity of the world. and if you go around and then the rest of the village is angry. this is the issue here that covax is working. it's not production pipeline. it's mechanism for supplying them to our nation. so covax is working, but the supply pipeline is being released by the rich nation. so africa is looking at covax continuously and also looking at the african union through the task people, and we are actually in many countries practicing through the african union, but this needs to be accelerated. we need to accelerate to sacve li

members of congress to step up and pass this necessary legislation to protect voting rights in texas, georgia and across the country. >> my understanding is that some of your colleagues tested positive for covid here in washington. you did not. >> negative. all of our -- >> everybody here on hand for this interview. >> i just tested before i walked in here. >> what's happening there? is everybody staying safe, keeping safe? do we know how this happened? >> absolutely. all of our members in our delegation are fully vaccinated. the three members who tested positive are feeling well, not showing symptoms. you had dr. fauci on earlier, it's really important that folks get vaccinated because we know that covid-19 vaccine prevents serious illness, even from these new strains. but, we knew this quorum break would bring risk. we have members of our delegation left behind sick loved ones. >> i'm at risk of losing my seat in the state legislature and brought health risk because there's an active pandemic. many of the members are over the age of 65. this is so much bigger than one politician. it's so mu

earlier today, i spoke with georgia u.s. senator of georgia, john ossoff about the role social media plays in stoking the fears about the coronavirus vaccine. >> misinformation is dangerous and there's a lot of misinformation is out there. i think politicians should be cautious about demanding certain forms of speech and expression be removed from public platforms. my principle concerns about social media platforms are route r ed in their invasion of privacy. i try to build support across the aisle for a new privacy legislation to ensure that the data of american citizens is not exploited against our will. right now, using these platforms, they learn so much about us, who we are, what we like, where we go, who we spend our time with, that data is exploited and monetized and we lose control of that. i think we need strong privacy legislation at the federal level to protect our privacy. >> you've heard critics of the president's comment saying that the white house should not be interfering with private enterprise. what's your

senator john ossoff of georgia about the issue. i'll ask about what the president said yesterday on covid and that facebook and the misinformation on facebook and other social media outlets are killing people. this is what the president had to say. >> they're killing people. i mean, really, look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated. and they're killing people. >> he is referring specifically to facebook. do you agree? >> look, misinformation is dangerous. there's a lot of misinformation out there. i think that politicians should be cautious about demanding certain forms of speech and expression be removed from public platforms. my principal concerns are rooted in their invasion of our privacy. one of the things i am working on now is trying to build support across the aisle in the senate for new privacy legislation to ensure that the data of american citizens is not exploited against our will. right now, using the platforms, they learn so much about us, who we are, what we like, where we go, who we spend time with,

they've made it so much more difficult to vote by mail here in georgia. pushing more people to voting in person. at the same time they've reduced the period when folks can go and vote early in elections here in georgia. and all of this is based on lies. this is cynical use of legislative power, abuse of the force of law to make it more difficult for people to vote in order to gain a partisan edge in elections. >> let's talk about legislation that now you as a member of congress and the senate are trying to get passed now. this weekend, you and your colleagues in the senate are working hard this weekend to try and fine-tune what is to be a bipartisan infrastructure legislation. how are you doing that? >> theis is a historic moment. we have a generational obligation to address climate change, to make long-deferred investments in the maintenance and construction of american infrastructure so that america can continue to lead the world, so that we can confront this environmental crisis. the question before us is whether or not we will assert american vision a

. >> so you know, we spoke with georgia senator jon ossoff's office who said the office has gotten thousands of calls about these passport delays and request for help. and he told our frederica whitfield moments ago that the state department isn't moving faste enough. here he is. >> looks to me like a failure to adapt to the circumstances. there were certain changes made to procedures at the passport offices in response to covid-19, and that's fine because it was necessary from a public health response to protect folks who go to the passport office, to protect those who work at the passport office. we're now a year and a half into this pandemic, and providing passport services is a vital function of the government. it's a vital consular service we provide to citizens, and the state department needs to take action to reduce these delays. >> do you agree with those comments? do you think the state department really needs to step it up? i mean, especially if they're having shortage in staff? >> yeah. i absolutely agree. i mean, we know this moment was going to come. it's -- it is difficult. we

. >>> plus, mounting anger over the death of a journalist in the nation of georgia. local tv stations have joined the calls for the prime minister to resign. we'll explain. stay with us. dad, why didn't you answer your phone? your mother loved this park. ♪ she did. >>> the funeral for haiti's assassinated president jovenel moise has been set for next friday. we also learned the fbi is in haiti and has begun its own investigation. that's because some of the key suspects in the plot appear to have connections in florida. the country's acting prime minister said if it was meant to topple the government it failed. haitian authorities say dozens of police are being investigated over their possible roles including some who were at moise's home at the night of the attack. >>> in the country of georgia, there are growing calls for the prime minister to step down after journalists were viciously attacked while covering a protest in the capital. the death of a cameraman several days later has galvanized the position of the prime minister with several tv stations calling for

legislatures to be reprimanded or to be rebuffed across the nation, who pass similar laws, including georgia, than to have the united states congress to act. so, they do have resolve, don. they are going to stay, and they will block this legislation. let me just make one point. they were there, in austin, to work in a democratic process, to be able to contribute to the writing of the legislation. to amend the legislation. to make the legislation less onerous. and by the way, as the president said, 150 million people voted. this is about every voter in america. >> all right. listen, before we run out of time here, um, i want to ask you about the filibuster. okay? the president did mention it in his speech yesterday. you say the filibuster has to go but that you are willing do do a carveout. senator joe manchin wouldn't commit when he was asked about -- about that, today. what happens if democrats can't come together on this? >> well, first of all, i want to give senator manchin time. i want him to be able to study what this means and to actually -- >> with all due respect, though, how much ti

we know georgia. we know about texas, and it keeps going and going. so as a black woman in this country, who we've delivered. we deliver and we deliver and we deliver for the democratic party. we really demand that the democratic party deliver for us because history has shown us we're not going back to the '40s and '50s, not without a fight. so we're going to be on capitol hill on thursday for a day of action, for a day where we're pulling together over 40 organizations, many led by black and brown women and others to stand up and show up. we're going to continue to stay there. we're going to go to the district -- >> melanie, just let me jump in and ask you. i've got one more question for you. listen, black women have been the backbone of the democratic party, really helped with the elections substantially. will you keep showing up because you're saying -- you're kind of saying you're sick and tired, right? you want some action. are you going to keep showing up if nothing happens, if this doesn't go the way you want it to go in. >> history is a great

especially if he was asking for votes from those members of congress in the deep south, in texas and georgia and mississippi. and yet because of the courage shown by everyday americans including a 24-year-old john lewis crossing the edmund pettus bridge in 1965, they were able to find the presence of power to get the job down. so, anderson, i believe we do have the votes. we have 51 votes in the united states senate. and if those democratic senators will take a page out of the book of those democratic statehouse members from texas, who though they're in the political minority were able to stop voter suppression legislation, then they'll be able to summon the courage and political will necessary to amend the filibuster. not abolish it but change it as it has been changed before to allow the passage of election law matters or voting rights matters and pass the for the people act. so this is impossible until it gets done. and i think these texas statehouse democrats just made it a little more possible by their display of courage yesterday. and i hope they will stay the distance in d.c. and cont