>> reporter: debbie blunt is living her dream. and teaching others they can too. >> you made an impact on people's lives. that's why we're here. you're an inspiration. >> well, just doing what i want to do. if that's the case, then awesome. >> reporter: as the student athlete on a golf scholarship, debbie has a simple plan, keep her scores down, keep her grades up. on the course, she's pretty consistent. in the classroom, she's got a 4.0. and she has been nominated homecoming queen. martin savidge, cnn, waleska, georgia. >> what would debbie blunt do? that's what i'm going to ask myself from now on. >> he's telling her story in her own time. i love it. cnn's coverage continues right now. >>> very good thursday morning to you. i'm jim sciutto. >> i'm erica hill. it is crunch time for president joe biden's agenda. hours from now he's set to take questions from voters at a cnn town hall hosted by anderson cooper. the president is sure to be pressed on his ambitious yet unfinished agenda. as he works to bridge the divide within his ow

let's bring in the deputy whip of the congressional caucus, debbie dingell. thank you for being with us. i want to ask you about a $2.1 trillion compromise framework that we're hearing about that is on the table right now between democratic leaders and the white house. what can you tell us about this? >> you know, there are a lot of discussions going on between the white house, senator schumer, and speaker pelosi. and i want to make just a couple of comments. everybody keeps wanting to focus on the division in the democratic party. here is the reality. for our democratic caucus, failure is not an option. we know we have to deliver. there are a lot of healthy discussions, a lot of -- look, it is not been -- i called it at the beginning of the week, a week from hell and it is. i'm going to tell you something different, i'm actually seeing people talk to each other, to listen to each other, to hear different perspectives, to legislating, and i think that's actually a good thing. i don't believe we'll leave here until we do get this figured out, where we come tog

congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz, we appreciate it. you're going to be taking part in the women's march in fort lauderdale today as well. >> absolutely, and we're going to make sure we fight for a woman's right to make her own reproductive choices. i'm proud to bring my 22-year-old daughter with me to our rally today. >> thank you, congresswoman. we appreciate the time. >> thank you. >> of course. >>> let's talk about covid. the u.s. has surpassed 700,000 deaths from coronavirus now, despite the vaccines being wildly available across the country, and right now only about 55% of americans have received their shots. the average number of people getting vaccinated now is at the lowest point since mid august. >> we have good news this morning, though, drug makers, merck and ridgeback say they have developed an antiviral pill that cuts the risk of covid hospitalization and death by 50% according to a study conducted by the companies. if it gets approved, it would be the first oral medication of its kind and could have huge implications in t

i saw the debbie downer and thought the smirk is

debbie downer, the smirk is going. i see both sides, i see the glass half empty right now and highlight those there is a possible pill that helps people when they get sick with covid. the covid numbers are coming down despite the vaccine he is tent people in the country, that there y

neither does debbie dingell. what is the president going to show up at capitol hill at 9:00 going to have. >>> also thorpbgs assistant director of "rust" said he didn't check all the rounds loaded into the gun before handing it to alec baldwin. er hearing from investigators that it was a bullet fired from the gun. as to whether anyone might be held criminally responsible, here's what the district attorney told josh campbell. . >> it's a terrible tragedy. we don't know how the live rounds got there. that will end up being the linchpin for whether a decision is made about charges. >> joining us is criminalologist joey jackson and new york city homicide prosecutor paul callen. how the live rounds in the chamber will be the linchpin to this investigation. why and for whom? for which people involved here? i'm talking about criminal culpability. >> tkpwofrpbg. it has to matter. that's significant. apparently there were people month were very concerned with respect to the safety, the lack of protocols being followed. yo

failure is not an option. >> congresswoman debbie dingell of michigan. appreciate it very much. >> thank. >>> coming up, a troubling new video of gabby petito at a traffic stop and it's raising serious questions about why officers didn't do more to protect her just days before her disappearance and killing. stay with us. your in "the situation room." there is something i want to ask you. oh um... the new iphone 13pro is here, with the most advanced iphone camera ever. and i got it at t-mobile. whew, i thought you were going to talk about... 'forever'. this is a value that lasts forever. because when you get the new iphone at t-mobile, trade-in value is 'locked in'. so we can always have a new iphone? yes, so, what do you say, switch to t-mobile with me? yes! we are going to t-mobile. fall in love with iphone. get it on us now and upgrade every two years forever. only at t-mobile. before we talk about tax-smart investing, what's new? -well, audrey's expecting... -twins! grandparents! we want to put money aside for them, so...change in plans. alright, let'

. >>> i'm going to be speaking to congresswoman debbie dingell about how they plan to break the stalemate as the president is set to visit her state tomorrow to make the case. there she is right there. >>> and later, covid cases finally headed in the right direction in the u.s. this is good news. why does the cdc's new holiday guidance sound like it's from 2020? we'll see. we welcome change? we can make emergency medicine possible at 40,000 feet. instead of burning our past for power, we can harness the energy of the tiny electron. we can create new ways to connect. rethinking how we communicate to be more inclusive than ever. with app, cloud and anywhere workspace solutions, vmware helps companies navigate change. faster. vmware. welcome change. you have always loved vicks vapors. and now you'll really love new vicks' vapostick. it goes on clear and dries quickly. no mess. just the soothing vicks' vapor for the whole family. introducing new vicks vapostick. it's another day. and anything could happen. it could be the day you welcome 1,200 guests and all their devices. or it could be the

here is what debbie dingle, a democrat from michigan, had to say. >> i think a lot of people wish that they had known what's being dealt with, but i think the speaker is really -- there's no better legislator. she thought he was working with an agreement that was $3.5 trillion, but this is a woman who takes the -- what's been handed to her in lemons and makes sure it gets made into the lemonade. >> reporter: the big question mark is surrounding john manuelian, the moderate from west virginia, who said $1.5 trillion was his number and after hours of negotiations with fellow democrats, leadership, as well as white house officials last night in his hideaway, he came out around 10:00 p.m. and told reporters $1.5 trillion is my number. the fact they are discussing potentially $2.1 million, if they can't get manchin, that framework won't work. that is a number included by leadership and the white house but the problem all along is you have to get the moderates on board. right now joe manchin is a holdout. i don't see necessarily that breaking loose in the next couple of hours. >> john harwoo

earlier on "new day", we spoke with congresswoman debbie dingell about the negotiations and the prospect of a deal. >> legislation is the art of compromise. compromise isn't a dirty word. you bring everybody to the table. y people with weak stomachs shouldn't watch sausage or laws being made. i haven't seen the sausage making this difficult, making you sick to your stomach. we're not done. we don't know what's in it. let's hear what the president says. >> we are hearing the president is going to the hill with something. the white house has something that they obviously hope gets democrats over the finish lean. this is all happening right now. this is developing as we speak. in the next couple hours, we could know whether democrats have a deal to pass this or not. cnn's lauren fox is there. they are waiting for the president's arrival. they are waiting to see if he gives them something they can agree on today. >> reporter: well, john, such a consequential moment and a big gamble for the president as democrats are a weighting his message this morning. the expectation, according to sources

. >>> and i want to bring in congresswoman debbie dingell of michigan. the deputy whip of the congressional caucus. will good to see you. first off, you told me sunday it was going to be the week from hell. was it even worse than you expected? >> no, it is good to see you. it is good to be with you on this saturday night. it was the week that i thought it might be. but i actually think, while everybody else is running around doom and gloom, i think what finally happened at the end of the week is it became clear exactly what the president wants, we know where we stand with the reality of two senators that are going to keeping things and are only going to agree to certain things, though we have to keep them at the table and keep working with them. but i do think that what you miss is that democrats are unified that failure is not an option. and it is not. we have to deliver for the american people. i suspected we were going to see the kind of -- whatever the creativity of something last week. but i ended up, this is what legislating is. people are talking

i saw the debbie downer and thought the smirk is going. i see both sides, i see the glass half empty right now and there are a lot of things going right. >> such as? >> well, such as there is a possible pill that helps people when they get sick with covid, that the covid numbers are coming down despite the vaccine hesitant people in this country. that there may be a deal, it looks like a deal is in the works when it comes to infrastructure in this country and that will help. so i think there are some good things. and also on the other side i think the concern should not be whether republicans love trump. we know that, duh. i think the concern should be with joe biden's approval ratings at an all time low reflects 58% to 38%. >> you have to see the relationship between the two. >> i don't see the relationship. one is looking at a reality. there is a president in office. people aren't happy with the job he's doing. other is a hypothetical. what would happen if he gets back, what have you. there is a difference between an approval rating i'm

what did debby dingle till, she's never seen sausage making so messy? >> she said she's never seen it like this. coming from someone like debbie dingle, that's big. >> uncle george said, you know why god gave us family? so we wouldn't have to fight with strangers. this is a family fight. it's more painful. what makes this important, this is a colossal package for the middle class and for climate. the biggest thing we've seen in the century being passed with the smallest margin we have seen in a century. it's really -- seriously, historians will look back at this, with a margin of two or three votes, biden was lucky to preserve the status quo. oh, no, he completely reinforced the fading middle class. this is historic. it is painful. it is. every single person in that house, every single democrat, that is, and every single democrat in the senate, as biden said to anderson the other night, is effectively their own president. >> jess, there's always negotiating and there's always, i guess, fighting. but this is a little different. i mean, you have some memb

is setting up a parent reunification point at the center for performing arts locateed at 1110 west debby and officers will be at the scene and students will eventually be bused to that location after the school is completely secured. one thing i will say is arlington police, they are getting this information out quickly, and it does seem in a methodical way to communicate at least the steps that, unfortunately, you and i have -- all of us have become accustomed to when these very scary situations play out. the lockdown, the police heading into the building and then a reunification point being set up, anthony. >> yes, yes. like you just said, them getting this information out is a crucial part of an incident like this. >> there's always a part of this, anthony, that we kind of dissect the posture of the police. this is a local affiliate. this is live coming in. let's listen in. >> they weren't getting a lot of information. they couldn't tell me much. as a matter of fact, they were asking me what was going on. >> they just knew they were locked down? >> they just knew they were locked down

i spoke with debbie dingle, she said as most failure is not an option. we're going to find a way to get to a deal. not an option politically, but still a possibility? as you talk to members, do they have a path order? >> reporter: not at the moment. the negotiations need to continue. the democratic leadership has set a new deadline, that being october 31st. the end of the month after they were not able to get a deal on friday to move that infrastructure package. remember these are two separate -- $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, and the larger expansion of the social ♪. t -- social safety net. there's disagreements between progressives and moderates about the size and scope. joe manchin on the moderate aid is wants about $1.5 trillion, and the progressive side, they are pushing for somewhere close to $3 trillion. then never mind the decisions over this policies within them. nevertheless, democratic leaders are pushing to get a deal between those factions within their -- in their caucus in the house and senate. chuck schumer, the senate majority le

we're going to bus them to the mansfield school district center of performing arts on debbie lane. we ask that all parents please report there and your children will get off the buses and then you can see them there. we have got several of the students that we have interviewed that were witnesses to this incident. so we're going to hold onto those children. hopefully my detectives will allow them to call their parents, and i'm sure there are many, many of the students that have reached out to their parents and ensured that they are safe and they are locked in rooms, and police are going room by room, ensuring that everybody is safe and no one else is a suspect or person of interest in this area. >> it's a big school. any sense of how many students are in there today? >> i don't. i don't. >> has the families of the victims already been contacted? that way parents know if they didn't get a call, their children are fine? >> i don't have that information, but i would suspect, yes, the parents have been contacted and been asked to report to see their loved one, to be with them at the ho

and debbie, you're the best in the world. you and john have been friends of mine for so so long, you've stepped in and taken over in a way that i think is -- had to be both emotionally difficult, but you've done an incredible job, and i consider you one of my great friends. thank you. and dan, you're okay, dan. you ain't quite like the woman sitting next to you, but all kidding aside, dan, you've done great, i really mean it, you're always there for everything that's important to your constituents, and you understand, i'm going to talk about it a little bit later, the way we built from the country is the bottom up and the middle out and not the top down and you get it. and andy, as my dad would say, you got good blood, kid and thank you for what you're doing. thank you for stepping in, and thank you for the great job you do. cast some really important votes to keep things moving, and of course it's great to be here with my friend. we've become friends, out standing governor, one of the best governors in the united states of a

. >> congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz is a key member of the democratic caucus and the former chair of the democratic national committee. and she spoke earlier with cnn about the difficult but necessary legislative process that was unfolding. >> democrats were elected to make sure that they could pass transformative infrastructure policy as well as family improvement policy. that's why we were given the majority by the american people. why joe biden was elected, why we have majorities in both the house and senate. because americans want folks on medicare to be able to have coverage for hearing, dental, and vision care. they want to make sure they don't have to choose between working and paying for child care. they want to make sure that they can have universal access to pre-k and real comprehensive health care coverage like we don't have in my state, because republicans have blocked it for years. so we need to do both, and the key thing is, we have support for both. i've been a legislator for a long time. and the legislative process can be messy. they talk about, you know, you don't

here is what debbie dingell said this morning about the landscape on the hill. >> look, it has not been -- i said it would be a week from hell, and it is. i'll tell you something different. i'm seeing people talk to each other, to listen to each other, it hear different perspectives, to legislating, and i think that's actually a good thing. i don't believe we'll leave here until we get this figured out. >> reporter: now, there will be a key moment in just about an hour at 10:30 a.m. eastern time, house democrats are going to be huddling in a caucus meeting, this is a chance for the house democratic leaders to brief their members on the latest progress of the negotiations, also to take the temperature of their members and what progressives think about the new proposal being floated, can they -- are they okay with that potential $2.1 trillion new proposal, so a lot still up in the air. and so much still left to be determined if they can get over the finish line. >> everybody waiting and watching. president biden, we know his agenda is on life support. are we going to see a little bit more

your colleague debbie dingle was on our air yesterday morning prior to this meeting with the president, and she said she had never seen the sausage making this bad in washington. with so much mistrust out there publicly within the democratic caucus, how much of a focus is repairing that within the party? >> look, it's always been a big tent. i don't know that it was better or worse now than it was ten years ago when we passed health care. it was ugly at times then. so, you know, i think you have to build a day at a time. the fact that the president came to us a second time on this, progressives seemed to be, you know, willing to accept that, gives me hope here. we recognize as time goes on, you know, this is critical to the biden administration. it's critical to what we heard in the last segment on your program, show the rest of the world that we can function. that's extremely important not just for our economy but for our national security and our relationship with the rest of the world. >> to your point, back here at home, right, we know the president had said yesterday it's not hype

. >> what would debbie blunt do? that's what i'm going to ask myself from now on. >> he's telling her story in her own time. i love it. cnn's coverage continues right now. >>> very good thursday morning to you. i'm jim sciutto. >> i'm erica hill. it is crunch time for president joe biden's agenda. hours from now he's set to take questions from voters at a cnn town hall hosted by anderson cooper. the president is sure to be pressed on his ambitious yet unfinished agenda. as he works to bridge the divide within his own party and secure a deal on his sweeping economic package. >> right now progressives and moderates still debating that multitrillion dollar spending plan. those negotiations also critical to the fate of the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. there does appear to be progress. the president is working closely with moderate senators manchin and sinema. their votes key. both of whom, though, have wildly different sticking points. despite all this, he struck an optimistic tone as he pitched the plan

debbie dingell told us she's never seen sausage-making quite so difficult at this point. she said it made her sick to her stomach, it has been so difficult. but, you know, i want you to handicap this for me. 1 to 10, what are the chances there will be a deal today, 10 being definitely? >> well, i don't want to say 10 definitely today. but i will tell you 10, we're going to pass these bills within the near future if not today. we know we won't get the cares act bill signed into -- passed today because it needs to be put in legislative language now that we have hopefully an agreement. but the infrastructure bill is ready to go and i hope that passes today. >> majority leader steny hoyer, thank you so much for being with us. we can see the toll this has taken on democrats as you try to work this out. >> thank you very much. >>> we have brand-new detalils n the deadly shooting on the set of alec baldwin's movie "rust." the round that killed halyna hutchin was a real bullet. authorities collected three weapons and 500 rounds of ammunition, blankz s and what i e expected to be

joining me for perspective is democratic congresswoman from michigan debbie dingle. thank you for being here. if everyone seems to think this is a critical week again when it comes to these bills and the biden agenda, i don't see progress, not that i'm in the room, but do you see progress? >> so first of all, let me say something, failure is not an option, period. it's not about next year's elections, it's not about anything but we have to deliver for the american people. this was a vision that joe biden laid out in advance of being president. he need roads and bridges, internet in the cities and rural areas. we need to get lead out of water pipes across the country and a lot of things to deliver on. i've been talking to a lot of people these past few weeks. i think it's going to be good we'll be back. everybody needed to take a deep breath. it was tense when we left. but different people represent different parts of the country that have different things that they really need. people know we have to come together. i saw that movement over the break, and i believe we

. >> we know this is part of the process but even congresswoman debby dingell said she's never seen the sausage-making this bad. you've got senator sanders telling house progressives not to vote on infrastructure. congresswoman jayapal is a no, and i say where does this end, not just for the president but frankly for the american people? >> look. they are trying to keep their leverage. don't forgot. these are democrats arguing with democrats. it's not like these are democrats arguing with republicans and joe biden went up there today and effectively did what ronald reagan used to do which is to say, look, just win one for the gipper. we've got to get this done. it's not hyperbolic to say my entire presidency is on the line here, and yet -- and yet there are still problems, and, you know, this was a high-risk thing for biden to do, and it's not over. the question that i would ask is what's the alternative here for progressives? would progressives rather have nothing to take back to -- to voters in the mid-term elections, or would they rather have something to take back to voters, and i t

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just this morning congresswoman debby dingell said speaker ploegs learned of manchin's $1.5 trillion ceiling only last week. i mean, how can that possibly be true? >> well, there must be better communications between the senate and the house, that's correct. i'm all for better communications, but i tell you, this is never an easy task. as i said you have different folks from different walks of life that have different priorities, but that's exactly what makes the democratic caucus a strong caucus, that i'm able to hear from somebody whose main interest is agriculture or tax reform and for me, for example, it's public transportation. it's help for day care and immigration rights. that's what makes our party strong. we will come together and we will make sure that we have a successful meeting of the minds and pass both of these bills. >> my understanding is just as we've been speaking we got twhoord presword that president biden is heading to capitol hill to have conversations with key lawmakers to try to bridge this divide. what do you need to hear from the president and what does he

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reporter: every day is election day for more than a month now that's been true in virginia, which is why debby weber is greeting voters outside the county election office. >> hi there. how are you? >> reporter: and fielding questions about early voting. she is a gop volunteer and is getting an earful from many fellow republicans. >> they question the -- are these dominion voting machines? and as far as i know, no, they're not. okay? but that doesn't lessen the concern they have that voting machines in general can be tampered with. >> reporter: that concern is unfounded, yet this is the irony in the nail biting virginia governor's race. as republicans are scrambling to urge their supporters to take advantage of early voting. after casting as perfections on it for the last year. democrat terry mcauliffe and republican dplen youngkin have already cast their ballots early. >> we did it. >> along with more than half a million virginians and counting. it is a critical part of both campaign strategies despite deep skepticism alive and well in the gop. >> they used covid in order to cheat with all of

we're joined by democratic congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz for a look at where things stand now. >> it's okay if you hit him, and i understand if he hit you, we want to know the truth if he actually hit you. >> new details in the case of gabby petito, the new body cam footage revealing what she told police about

which is why debbie webber is greeting voters outside the county election office. >> hi there. how are you? >> reporter: and fielding questions about early voting. she's a gop volunteer and is getting an earful from many of her fellow republicans. >> they question the -- are these dominion voting machines? as far as i know, no, they're not. okay? but that doesn't lessen the concern they have that voting machines in general can be tampered with. >> reporter: that concern is unfounded. yet this is the irony in the nail-biting virginia governor's race. as republicans are scrambling to urge their supporters to take advantage of early voting. after casting aspersions on it for the last year. democrat terry mcauliffe and republican glenn youngkin have already cast their ballots early. >> we did it. >> reporter: along with more than half a million virginians and counting. it's a critical part of both campaigns' strategies, despite deep skepticism alive and well in the gop. >> they used covid in order to cheat with all of these ballots and all of this early voting and late voting. >> r