this morning a brand-new wide-ranging interview with stephen breyer. justice breyer responding to constant criticism of the nation's highest court and a commission that has been looking into potential reforms, including calls to increase the number of seats on the bench. >> i've seen the court over 27 years. to try to explain a little bit of its history so that people understand that it's always been controversial. and how difficult it is to get people to accept rules, decisions that they think are really wrong. yet, if they don't, we won't have a rule of law, and it will be harder to hold us together. before people make changes in the court, i would like them to read or otherwise understand what i've written and to think about it pretty deeply. and it is an institution. i'll just repeat this. it's an institution that fallible though it is, over time has served this country pretty well. >> and joan is with us now to discuss her interview with the justice. this is an embattled institution. and he's sort of taking a different tack than some of the other

justice stephen breyer isn't going there publicly. he is mainly saying this is a time to have faith in the supreme court and to know that it is always been controversial and we will survive this period. >> all right. thanks so much. >>> also in our politics lead today, focus on the positive that was clearly the president's theme as he spoke on the pandemic this afternoon. president biden touting rising vaccination rates, covid cases going down. despite the progress, there are clear setbacks and the white house scrambling to address them. >> we are in a very critical period. as we work to turn the corner on covid-19. >> reporter: president biden attempting to reassure the nation. >> case rates are declining in 39 states and hospital rates are declining in 38 states. >> reporter: focusing on numbers moving in the right direction while those going in the wrong one are still plaguing the white house. >> we have critical work to do, but we can't let up now. >> reporter: americans' confidence in the president's handling of covid-19 has drop

. >>> coming up, a brand-new interview with supreme court justice stephen breyer. his response to protesters calling on him to retire. >>> plus, a former white house press secretary naming names. peeling back the curtain on the former president and first lady. does melania really believe the big lie? what does she think about trump's alleged affairs? also, who is known as the slim reaper? as someone who resembles someone else... i appreciate that liberty mutual knows everyone's unique. that's why they customize your c insurance, so you only pay for what you need. oh, yeah. that's the spot. only pay for what you need. ♪ liber, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ ♪ i've always en running. to meetings. errands. now i'm running for me. i've always dreamed of seeing the world. but i'm not chasing my dream anymore. i made a financial plan to live it every day. ♪ there was a dream ♪ ♪ and one day i could see it ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com i strip on public

liberty. ♪ >>> supreme court justice stephen breyer shrugs off liberal pressure for him to resign. it's nice that people are talking about him. now we know what briere thinks about all of this because twice in the past ten days the justice sat down with our supreme court analyst, i call her justice joan. that in itself is news and sitting down is not established precedent. joan is with us now. let's hold for a moment why he's talking, and let's listen to him on this pressure to resign. >> the truth, i think, is i think there's always -- you know, you can always hope for your more mature self which is there sometimes. it's far from the worst thing in the world to have people say mean things or nice things or this thing or that thing about you. >> that's the old diva rule from the reagan white house. as long as they are that you canning about, you, it's a good thing. it has to bother him, but he doesn't want to say so. is that the right translation? >> he doesn't like to be asked about retirement. he's out there trying to promote this book but, of course, it's relevant when he's goin

when i was on capitol hill, i met a man named stephen breyer. he has been a justice of the supreme court for 27 years. i had a conversation with him about his future in the future of the court. i have to start with the question on everybody's mind. why is this book you have written so small? it is a small book, i am used to bigger books. why didn't you get a bigger book? justice breyer: this is the constitution and it is smaller. david: a lot of justices of the supreme court carry around the constitution all of the time. is that because you are going to forget what is in it? do you just like to remind people and read it over and over? justice breyer: you never know when somebody is going to ask you a question. somebody says, what does article three, section 19 say? they expect you to know. so you have it here. david: your book, this is an interesting book in the sense that it came from a series of lectures you gave named after somebody who was an ideological opponent of some of your views. that was justice scalia. were you a friend of his even t

. >> reporter: the end of the term will bring more speculation about whether justice stephen breyer who turns 84 in august intends to retire while democrats hold both the white house and the senate. >> pete williams outside of the high court. pete, thank you. >>> well, we have new video tonight of the terrifying moments onboard a spirit airlines plane when an engine burst into flames. we're now hearing from the passengers onboard. >> reporter: a take-off turned terrifying. this spirit airlines flight lifting off in atlantic city yesterday when a bird slammed into its engine. deep, black smoke, rising flames, and fear. >> started from the back screaming, fire, fire. >> fire. >> fire. >> there appears to be fire under the red engine. >> the flight to fort lauderdale aborted and the desperate scramble for safety. >> i remember thinking this cannot be happening. >> this man and his 98-year-old mother the last two people to escape. how did it feel knowing you had to get your mother off the plane >> i had a moment of panic like i have to protect my mother and if it means that we're going -- t

i think the bottom line is right now stephen breyer can stand the heat and he's not leaving the bench. >> he likes to keep us hanging on that front. joan biscupic, thank you very much. good interview. >>> when we come back, how he worked with hids late family's money and then pocket the l layout. at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, money and then pocket the layout. i late family's money and then pocket the layout. s late family's money and then pocket the layout. tools and a personalized plan that helps you build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. it's sleep number's fall sale on the sleep number 360 smart bed. it helps keep you effortlessly comfortable by sensing your movements and automatically responding to both of you. and, it's temperature balancing to help you stay comfortable all night. it even tracks your circadian rhythm, so you know when you're at your best. in other words, it's the most energy-building, wellness-boosting, parent-powering, proven quality night's sleep we've ever made. don't miss our weekend special. save up to $800 on sleep n

justice stephen breyer, pushed by progressives to retire last summer mince nod words on the texas decision in an interview with cnn last week. >> i thought they were wrong. >> reporter: the conservative justices have been pushing back. the newest justice amy coney barrett appeared at an event with mitch mcconnell and declared "my goal today is to convince you that this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks." justice samuel alito was more forceful in a speech at the university of notre dame, at times blasting the media portraying the conservative leaning court as a dangerous kabal, deciding important issues in a novel, secretive and improper way in the middle of the night. alito calling the criticism the court was acting in a way that was sneaky or dangerous very misleading. all of these competing comments come at a time when the issues are set to get more divisive. the texas abortion law was decided strictly on procedural grounds but the court will hear a case on the merits involving abortion december 1st, a mississippi law that restricts abortion after 15 weeks. of course, t

nothing in the direction of the liberal justices other than perhaps stephen breyer who they want to retire and get out of the way -- [laughter] so joe biden can appoint another liberal justice. but the supreme court is obviously much more complex than it's being made out to be right now, and the hope is that the new justices -- kavanaugh and barrett -- will not be intimidate by the pressure that is being brought to bear on them to rule the way the left wants them to in those cases. paul: kyle, about a minute left. what are a couple cases you're looking at? >> well, one is that school choice case out of maine, it's called carson, and essentially about half maine school districts don't run their own high schools. parents can choose to send their kids to an area high school and the school district picks up the tab, but in maine those parents are not allowed to use that for religious or sectarian schools, and parents are saying, hey, have you heard of the first amendment? so i expect the roberts court which has been very strongly in favor will have liberty to rule in favor. another thing to ke

justice stephen breyer who had been pushed by progressives to retire last summer minced no words on the texas decision in an interview with cnn. >> i thought they were wrong. >> reporter: the conservative justices have been pushing back. the newest justice amy coney barrett appeared at an aerks vent with mitch mcconnell and declared my goal is to convince you this court is not comprised of partisan hacks. justice alito was more forceful in a speech yfresterday, blasti the media for the more conservative leaning court as a cabal. alito calling that criticism very misleading. now all of the competing comments come right before the start of what is likely to be an explosive supreme court term. in early november, the justices will hear a case involving a new york gun law and then december 1st, that's the case on the mississippi law that restricts abortion at 15 weeks, a case, of course, that is leaving people wondering, will the court ultimately overrule roe v. wade. >>> cnn obtained more body cam video footage from the altercation between gabby petito and her fiance. we'll talk about this

this is justice stephen breyer questioning abu zubaydah's attorney david klein. >> why don't you ask mr. zubaydah? why doesn't he testify? he was there. why doesn't he say this is what happened? they won't deny it, i don't think if he is telling the truth. >> you're talking about mitchell or jessen? >> i'm saying the person who was there. isn't he your client? >> abu zubaydah cannot testify. >> why not? >> because he is being held in comedic auto in guantanamo -- incommunicado. >> the words were active combat operations against taliban fighters, apparently going on in afghanistan. they are not anymore. why is he there? >> that is a question to put to the government. >> have you filed a habeas to get him out? >> there has been a habeas pending in d.c. for the past 14 years. >> you just let it sit there. >> personally i am not handling that proceeding. my understanding is that we have done everything we could to move it forward but it simply has not moved forward. amy: that is an excerpt from the oral arguments in the sipping court -- in the supreme court arguments -- we are joined by

you have justice stephen breyer is 83 years old, justin thomas is 73. but they have been traveling. justice alito was in indiana yesterday giving a speech. but the court has been very careful here, jim. >> quite a fiery speech, in fact, at the court. thanks so much. >>> today more vaccine mandates are going into effect around the country. this is some very encouraging data showing that these mandates are working. one of the largest hospitals in rhode island said it vaccinated more than 95% of its workforce in new york, 92% of nursing home and hospital staff have received at least one dose so far. >>> across the country, vaccination rates appear to be on the rise. more than 77% of adults have had at least one dose. nearly 67% now fully vaccinated. joining us to talk through more of this, the director of the vaccination education center at children's hospital of philadelphia and a member of the vaccine advisory committee. always good to have you with us. good morning. as we look at that number of adults who had at least one shot, i think it's interesting, too, of eligible americans, t

and the third is stephen breyer. is he really going to retire at the age of 83 while the senate is still in democratic hands? he seems to believe he's perhaps the only person who believes that the supreme court is an apolitical institution so you shouldn't retire when your party is in power. we'll see if he sticks to that. >> on gun control, where do you see the court leaning? >> in a very clear way. even more than on abortion. the conservatives on the court, including john rockets, who sided with the liberals on abortion in recent years, there are six votes i think pretty clearly to tell state legislators you cannot regulate guns as much as you thought you could. i think all signs point to a relaxation of the rules on guns directed by the supreme court. . >> and then i wonder what else people should watch for this term? . >> church and state issues is -- another big conservative project has been allowing religious institutions to get money from state government. you know, it used to be that the metaphor was there is

but the surprising turn in this, hallie, was that three supreme court justices, stephen breyer, neil gorsuch, and sonia so so toe sonia sotomayor, will the government make him available. justice sotomayor said we want a clear answer. bryan fletcher, the acting attorney general, said that's not my decision to make. abu zubaydah has been under defense department control and his lawyers say in essence he's being held incommunicado. >> pete, talk about some of the bigger picture pieces of this depending on which way this goes. >> the case is about the state secrets privilege. the government's position here is, if the cia director says, as has been done here, that revealing something would harm national security, that basically should be the end of the matter. not quite that extreme, but that's just about what the government's position is. the lawyers on the other side say, no, judges ought to be able to make these decisions, they ought to weigh, what's the government's interest in keeping something secret, what's the need for it on the other hand by the person who is trying to keep it. t

but the justices are being very careful because keep in mind someone like justice stephen breyer, he's 83 years old, so they're taking a lot of precautions. >> absolutely. quite the photo of justice kavanaugh in that race. glad to hear, though, that he is feeling well. but this is the world that we live in now and a lot of questions on what we all do with these breakthrough cases. thank you for the reporting, aryan. appreciate it. >>> more breaking news on the pandemic. merck announcing this morning it has produced an antiviral pill to treat coronavirus infections. merck says its clinical trial has shown that the drug cuts the risk of hospitalizations and deaths in half when given to high-risk people early in their infections. merck has stopped its trial and plans to seek emergency use authorization from the fda as soon as possible because they say of the positives outcomes they're seeing. it would be the first antiviral pill for covid. >>> also big breaking news on vaccines. the cdc is now reporting that more than 77% of adults in the united states have gotten at least one covid shot.

justice stephen breyer denied emergency requests to stop enforcement of maine's mandate. but in a brief order, breyer said challengers could try again. after it rules or fails to act at all on october 29th. health care workers are contesting the order because it does not include exemption. for the first time in more than a decade the court is accepting a major challenge in existing gun laws. it will review a new york law uphold by the lower courts that requires individuals to obtain a license to carry a concealed gun outside the home. gun safety reform is among the most contentious issues in the country. and our next guestization the supreme court is positioned to put politics ahead of violence prevention. joining us now that guest, director of department of health and mets. jonathan metzl. thank you for joining me. this is to test how far states may go regarding whether an individual may carry a gun outside the home. how significant do you expect this to be? >> a case at stake now is a case on the books right now -- basically -- you could be in new york -- actually has t

stephen breyer said basically that was the whole defense case in the sentencing hearing. elena kagan said this is a jury question, not a question for the judge. but it did seem like a majority of the court disagreed and thought the judge made the right call here, that there were no living witnesses to what happened in waltham two years before the bombing, that the evidence was undependable, and it would simply confuse the jury without adding much to the question of who carried outer the bombing. >> can you explain, pete, what seems to maybe be some dissonance between the biden administration looking for the death sentence but at the same time a moratorium on that type of thing in place? >> in fact, amy coney barrett did ask that very question today. the biden administration is taking the same position the trump administration did, defending the death sentence for dzhokhar tsarnaev. this is a moratorium on federal executions, not the federal death sentence. and what the lawyer told the court today is that while this is still on moratorium, who knows how it's going to work

stephen breyer said you have an attorney general who thinks it is a pretty good statute. he wants it defend it. why can't he come in and defend it and the chief justice said the situation changes when the deck is shuffled after an election. so based on that, it seemed likely the supreme court will give him a chance. now, even if he gets that chance, all he gets to do is ask the 6th circuit court of appeals to hear the case. they might say no or might say yes and still rule against the state and, of course, at that point he presumably could appeal it to the supreme court. >> okay. let me talk to you about texas now. we heard a little bit of the response we read in the introduction. talk about next steps there. is there any chance that the texas law does not make it to the supreme court? is that not where it is headed? >> it is definitely headed to the supreme court one way or the other. footnote, it is already there. a separate lawsuit was filed within the state. the one in the court of appeals now is brought by the justice department. there was a state challenge as well,

basically the same criticism that stephen breyer had for this idea. but they're more supportive of the idea of 18-year term limits. they say that nearly all the states either have term limits or mandatory retirement ages for their judges on their state's highest courts. and they say that the u.s. is the world's only major democracy that doesn't have either one of them. under the system that the court -- that the commission discusses, every president's term in office would produce two supreme court nominations, making the court more responsive to the people, the report says, and reducing the tendencies of presidents that every younger nominees who can stay on the court for 30 years or more. one note, they say, the average time on the court for justices has been about 26 years since 1970, but before that, it was about 15 years. the commissioners say this current system gives political parties an ability to shape the direction of the court that's out of proportion to their record of success at the ballot box. the commissioners say that commissioners migh

we had justice amy coney barrett, justice clarence thomas, and justice stephen breyer all take to the stage to tell us that the court is not composed of partisan hacks in the words of justice barrett, which suggests they are really feeling the heat. they've had their lowest public approval ratings over the last couple of months. people are really beginning to believe that the court is not a neutral institution but rather because of this change in the court's composition, the addition of these three new conservative justices, that things have really shifted and different kinds of legal theories that previously had been off the wall are now on the wall and the court is moving in a more conservative direction. so one thing i think we can say from this breakneck speed and the expedition with which this has been doctored, suggests that the court knows it has to do something, at least has to be seen as doing something in this moment, that optics matter. i think that's one of the reasons we had such a quick turnaround on this. >> it's important to keep all of that in mind, but as reverend fo

. >> i have to ask you about this interview from just stephen breyer with cnn. it was published this morning. as you know, liberals dug in on this idea that he should step down while democrats still have the majority in among and president biden is in the white house. in an interview this morning he admitted quote, people say mean things related to this topic. do you read this as essential will he democrats maybe should accept he's not going to leave and this pressure campaign is not going to go anywhere? how did you see the comments from him? >> he said it every way that he can, that he is not going the retire until he is ready to. he said all of this publicity is good. he said that tongue in cheek. he is trying to promote a book. >> thank you for your perspective. thanks to all of you for watching yet another busy hour of hallie jackson reports. find us on twitter. see you tomorrow, same time. we will be back in washington, though, on friday. "deadline: white house" starts right after this quick break. right after this quick break ♪ there are beautiful ideas

justice stephen breyer who is handling injunctions for the region denied an emergency request to stop enforcement of the mandate. but in a brief order, breyer said challengers could try again, after a federal appeals court rules on the issue. or if it fails to act by october 29th. health care workers are contesting the order because it does include a religious exemption. >> it's interesting mississippi and other states that were bragging pre-covid about how they had the highest vaccination rates in america, for vaccinations we've all been taking for 50 years, they don't even allow a religious exemption, because they thought it was people using as an excuse to get out of the vaccines. that's before leaders in mississippi made fun of people on the far left of being vaccine hesitant. >> meanwhile, at least two dozen lawsuits have been filed across the u.s. demanding that covid patients be treated with ivermectin. to date, the clinical trial used to deworm animals is even safe for covid treatment. joining us state attorney for palm beach county dave arenberg. >> dave. it's good to have yo

in an opinion by justice stephen breyer, the court opted to provide only general guidelines for how lower courts should approach off-campus speech cases in the future. first, the court declined to foreclosure the application of tinker off campus speech in every instance, holding that the reasons justifying tinker do not, quote, always disappear when a school regulates speech that takes place off campus. some circumstances potentially calling for regulation of off-campus speech might include bullying classmates, threats aimed at teachers or other students, cheating or otherwise breaking the rules on school assignments, and breaches of school security devices. then in the crux of the opinion, the court identified three features of off-campus speech that in the court's words diminished the strength of the unique educational characteristics that might call for special first amendment leeway to regulate speech. the first of these three features is that, quote, off-campus speech will normally fall within the zone of parental rather than school-related responsibility. and this point, by the way,

in an opinion by justice stephen breyer often fond of balancing, the court opted to provide general guide license for how lower courts should approach off campus cases in the future. the court declined to close the application of tinker in every instance. holding the reasons justifying tinker did not always disappear when a school regulates speech that takes place off campus. the court suggested without limiting itself to the examples offered some circumstances potentially calling for regulation of off campus speech might include bullying classmates, threats aimed at teachers or other students, cheating or breaking the rules on school assignments, and breaching of school security devices. in the crux of the opinion the court identified three features of off campus speech in the court's words diminished the strength of the unique educational characteristics that might call for special first amendment leeway to regulate speech. the first of the three features, off campus will fall in the parental. this point was emphasized in cato's brief, which argued that punishment should be left entirel

the new york times notes a recent interview with stephen breyer who said he was wary of increasing the number of justices, saying that doing so could erode public trust in the court. " think twice. if a can do it, b can do it." jerry is in broadway, virginia. caller: if it ain't broke don't fix it. at that is why this country is indeed terrible shape it is in now. this administration is trying to fix everything that is not broken and it results in tragedy after tragedy. they do not obey the the supreme court anyway. the supreme court ordered them to reinstate the mexico policy. have they done it? caller: first of all, it should be six years and you are gone. no lifetime appointments. clarence thomas doesn't do anything. six years, you're gone. also, you have to show your work report. i can't imagine anyone getting to sit there and do nothing. these are not respected, wonderful people like we used two think. they were -- to think they were. they have to be held accountable for the work they do. six years, you are out. when you get to be 80, think about the shortness of your mind. we all

let me show you recent comments made by justice stephen breyer that he did on an interview on fox, his own perception of how the american public views the court. here is a portion of that. [video clip] >> is the public acceptance of the court in jeopardy? >> hard to say. i don't think -- i am an optimist. so i think people understand to some degree why it's a good idea what hamilton thought. he thought the court should be there because there should be somebody, somebody who says when the other two branches of the government have gone outside the confines of this document, who is that? the president? he was a little worried the president might say whatever he did was right. congress? well, some countries do have that, and a member of congress knows what is popular. if he didn't know what was popular, he wasn't be there or she won't be there for a long time. but this document is made for unpopular people just as much as for popular people. >> i am curious, do you carry a quopy of the -- copy of the constitution with you or just for tv? >> no, not just for tv. it's always in my pocket and

let me show you recent comments made by justice stephen breyer that he did on an interview on fox, his own perception of how the american public views the court. here is a portion of that. [video clip] >> is the public acceptance of the court in jeopardy? >> hard to say. i don't think -- i am an optimist. so i think people understand to some degree why it's a good idea what hamilton thought. he thought the court should be there because there should be somebody, somebody who says when the other two branches of the government have gone outside the confines of this document, who is that? the president? he was a little worried the president might say whatever he did was right. congress? well, some countries do have that, and a member of congress knows what is popular. if he didn't know what was popular, he wasn't be there or she won't be there for a long time. but this document is made for unpopular people just as much as for popular people. >> i am curious, do you carry a quopy of the -- copy of the constitution with you or just for tv? >> no, not just for tv. it's always in my pocket and

justice stephen breyer rejected the appeal but left the door open to try again as the clock ticks on maine's mandate. they will enforce that october 29. amin in temple, texas. caller: good morning. you know, it is so sad when trump and the republicans made the spending go up to $12 million and there is not a thing in their for us americans -- t here for us americans. it said it they could give ceos a break, they could give companies a break but nothing for us. now that $12 million is on the books. they have the nerve to say we can't get $3 trillion for the american people who work for these companies? the republicans are really acting bad. what happened to the good republicans? the ones that voted in watergate, that knew wrong was wrong. these republicans now are so pocket hungry and greedy as long as they can get money they don't care about the needy. god is going to make them pay for that. thank you. host: virginia, grover is up next. caller: how president trump could spend $12 million on his golf course and paid $2 trillion in afghanistan and don't even want to give the american p