of george floyd. moments ago, the court went into a short five-minute recess. this morning, lawyers there going through the tedious work of picking jurors. we will take you live to minneapolis in just a few moments. first, though, that breaking news on the hill, just moments ago, the house finally receiving the american rescue act from the senate, dialing up the urgency to vote on it, unemployment benefits set to end for many americans just days from now. we're going to ask a very simple questions this hour, what's in the bill for you? also this hour, president biden visiting a small business and spotlighting the pandemic's impact on our economy. a key part of this bill is the nearly $170 billion to reopen our schools. a study from one nonprofit system that for 3 million students march 2020 a full year ago might have been the last time they experienced any formal education. coming up, i'll talk to a former education secretary under president obama about our kids who is getting left behind and how we can help them. let's start with that breaking news from the hill about covid relief. garrett haake is at his post for us. also with us is nbc news senior business correspondent stephanie ruhle who has more details about what this bill means for you. garrett, we just got that update that the house is set to vote tomorrow. what do we know about the process? what do we know about the timeline? >> craig, the house will be in bright and early tomorrow morning and plan for this to be their first vote of the day at 9:00 a.m. they have work to finish up tonight, the rule they have to clear the decks here to bring this bill to the floor. this all comes after something like a 70-hour delay transmitting the bill from the senate to the house. it's an analog, 20th century process to get everything put down on paper, line up the versions of the bill and make sure the house gets the final work product from the senate. that has now been done. i came from a news conference with hakeem jeffries, the house democratic conference chairman who told me he is 110% confident they have the votes to pass the bill despite the narrow margins, and he remains hopeful, if not overly so, that perhaps, perhaps a republican or two may join them in this effort tomorrow morning. craig? stephanie ruhle, let's dig into the bill a bit. what do folks struggling right now need to know about what's in it, especially about the relief checks and when they could see them? >> let's talk about that. those direct payments, $1400 for any american making $75,000 or less. now that starts to back off when you get higher than that. you get some relief up to $80,000 but beyond that you will not be getting a check. this is going to impact a lot of americans. we're expecting 90% of u.s. households to get some form of direct payment and relief, but you have to remember it is all about filing your taxes. whether or not you're eligible is determined by how much money you made last year. the relief checks we saw last year, were based on people's tax returns for 2019. given the amount of people that lost their job during the pandemic, there's going to be a whole lot more people eligible and to get that check, you have to file your taxes, people are advised to do it doing direct payment, give your bank information when you file your taxes, you will get that check sooner. one other place to look out for, the expanded childed tax credit going from 2,000 to $3,600 per child for kids under 6. $3,000 for kids up to 18. not just dependent children. when you think about are people going to get support if they have an older child or a senior citizen living in their home that is going to qualify too so make sure the government has all your information and once this thing gets passed you can expect direct deposit of this in the next couple weeks. it should be quick. >> senior business correspondent stephanie ruhle on the streets of new york city. garrett haake, keep us posted on the timing. our other breaking news because just seconds ago, court came back into session in the murder trial of derek chauvin. this morning jury selection is under way. as you know that process was supposed to start on monday but things came to an unexpected halt because both sides were arguing over adding the third-degree murder charge. that issue has not been sorted out but the judge wants to go on with the trial. we have a live picture inside the courtroom right now. but we do want to share we are not going to be listening in to it live. this is deliberate. we do not want to hear or share inadvertently any information that could identify a potential juror. that is why we are looking and not listening. shaquille brewster has been keeping a close eye and i'm joined by paul butler, a law professor at georgetown school of law, former federal prosecutor and msnbc legal analyst as well. shaq, let me start with you on the ground in minneapolis. with the issue of the third-degree murder charge up in the air, any idea when that could be resolved, that issue? >> it may be some time, craig. it's in the hands of the appellate court right now, the court that says the judge needs to reconsider arguments, the push to reinstate the third-degree murder charge. derek chauvin and his attorney is appealing that to the state supreme court and the prosecution is now saying, as that is going forward, let's put a pause on the trial. you have the judge saying is, we can still impanel a jury as that appeals process plays out and that's what you're seeing for the first today. it's a very slow process. we have been in the jury selection process for path hour and seen already one juror questioned and dismissed by the defense after some defense questioning and this is a process that you're starting to see. in addition to the complexities of jury selection where you're asking about potential conflicts, asking about opinions on law enforcement or black lives matter, for example, you're seeing some problems with some issues being raised in keeping these jurors anonymous. the judge said he got a note saying that one of the jurors was visible in some of the plexiglass. that's also something that they're contending with. either way you see some of the live pictures now questioning the second potential juror of this morning's process. >> shaq, we know just one family member for george floyd and one family member for derek chauvin are being allowed in court. yesterday i believe it was bridget. do we know who the person is today for the ford family? >> today it's the cousin, the first cousin of george floyd, but you mentioned, yes, it was bridget floyd, his sister, who was in court yesterday. something interesting that we saw, first only one family as you mentioned is allowed in the courtroom and that's because of the covid protocols that we're seeing play out, but his sister was there as the defense was trying to argue to bring up additional evidence and say they uncovered a chewed up pill in one of the police cars or in the police car that had george floyd's dna. it was a controlled substance and they wanted to bring up some additional evidence in connection to that and that was a point that you saw his sister walk out of court. our colleague gabe gutierrez asked her about that moment and what it's like to sit in the courtroom. listen to that exchange. >> i didn't like the things that they were saying. and i want them to get down to the core, to the root, and what his lawyer was saying wasn't the root. he was bringing up things that did not matter. what we are here for is justice. that's what we need, justice. he needs to be held accountable for his actions. >> and craig, as this jury questioning process continues, you know, one thing that it's becoming clearer especially with that first juror, she said that she heard and she saw a story about the case. she said she saw video of george floyd under the knee of derek chauvin and one thing you heard the defense continue to ask is, despite any opinion that you have of the case and any understanding of that, are you willing to change your mind? that is going to be a continuing theme that we're going to hear throughout this questioning because that's how widespread that video is and high profile this case is. craig? >> shaq brewster, stand by for me. paul, to the point there that shaq made, already hearings the defense lawyer talk about these pills that were in george floyd's mouth, reportedly they are going to talk about drugs that were in his system, how much of a difference is that going to make potentially for the defense? >> so, craig, it's very common in cases in which police officers are defendants charged with using excessive force, that they put the victim on trial. they try to make it sound like it's that person's fault that they were killed by the police and so in this case, we know that one of the defenses will be that this person, george floyd, was a drug user. he had drugs in his system. they will use that for two reasons. first to say that the drugs caused the death of mr. floyd, as opposed to officer chauvin, and also want to say that drugs excited mr. floyd and that made him resist arrest and that the in response was appropriate and lawful. >> he wrote an opinion piece for the "washington post" with the headline the jury for the trial in george floyd's killings must have black members. you wrote in part, quote, there are two competing imperatives. chauvin deserves a fair trial and the impartial jury guaranteed to him by the constitution. black people deserve representation in the process. we know that the jurors have to fill out this long questionnaire, paul butler. one question apparently asks, if they've ever attended protests against police brutality. that's one of the questions. how optimistic are you about the racial makeup of this jury? >> so, craig, certainly officer chauvin has a right to an impartial jury, but the people have a right to a jury that reflects the diversity of the community, african-americans are about 20% of the population of minneapolis. there are only about 12% of the jury pool though. the defense get 15 strikes it can use for any reason other than race and gender. i'm concerned that the honest answers to questions like, do you think the criminal justice system is biased against minorities? do you think minneapolis police used excessive force against black people? the concern is that honest answers to those questions will be used to exclude jurors. that's going to disproportionately impact african-american jurors just the fact that someone's had life experiences with the police that makes them more suspicious isn't a reason to exclude a juror. jurors are instructed when they evaluate evidence they should use their common sense and life experiences of an african-american are as valid as the life experiences as any other juror including white jurors. >> paul, really quickly here, there was this moment on monday where both sides came to an agreement not to refer to anyone as a, quote, victim or, quote, accused during the proceedings. i found it strange bs but maybe it's not so much, how common are these kinds of agreements and what do you think would be behind this particular one? >> it's very unusual. again, we could certainly understand how that would favor the defense to not refer to mr. floyd as a victory, but he is, in fact, a victim. the concern is, a series of rulings like this that seem to favor the defense. we've already had the judge decide to server the three co-defendants from this trial and the judge throw out the third-degree murder charge. with this other favor for the defense. some people are going to be concerned that the fix is [ inaudible ]. like it or not this is a trial of the criminal justice system as it is of mr. chauvin. >> on so many levels. thank you. shaq brewster has been on the ground in minneapolis in the wake of george floyd's death and he will be there for the duration of the trial. new details on this tuesday morning about how that monster winter storm in texas made things even worse for people recovering from covid, including knocking out power to breathing machines. we'll dig into the new cdc guidance for people who have gotten their vaccinations. why the cdc is recommending those folks don't travel. check this out, though. one of the new guidelines says vaccinated grandparents can see their grandchildren if no one is at risk of severe illness and a lot of grandparents are taking full advantage of that change. this is the wright family in orlando, florida. both grandpa floyd and grandma norma are fully vaccinated. they just had their first visit with the grandkids since thanksgiving 2019. there's also 85-year-old lucy constano from massachusetts. she's gotten both doses of the vaccine and can't wait to see her grandkids without staying six feet away. >> i've been dying to hug those kids. especially our little 3-year-old. she was only 2 when this started. the sun is incredible. it makes our lipton tea leaves better. which makes the smooth tea taste better, and time together even better. and drinking lipton can help support a healthy heart. lipton is a proud sponsor of the american heart association's life is why campaign. among my patients i often see them have teeth sensitivity as well as gum issues. lipton is a proud sponsor does it worry me? absolutely. sensodyne sensitivity and gum gives us a dual action effect that really takes care of both our teeth sensitivity as well as our gum issues. there's no question it's something that i would recommend. riders, the lone wolves of the great highway. her grandkids without staying . her grandkids without staying their only friend? the open road. i have friends. [ chuckles ] well, he may have friends, but he rides alone. that's jeremy, right there! we're literally riding together. he gets touchy when you talk about his lack of friends. can you help me out here? no matter why you ride, progressive has you covered with protection starting at $79 a year. well, we're new friends. to be fair. eh, still. for nearly a decade, comcast has been helping students get ready. we've connected 4 million low-income students to low- cost, high-speed xfinity internet. we're working with hundreds of school districts across the country to sponsor free internet and laptops. and parents are seeing an impact. and now we're turning 1,000 community centers into lift zones - wifi enabled safe spaces to study. so more students can be ready for anything. i'm trying to do some homework here. we're back with some more good breaking news in the fight against covid in new york. governor andrew cuomo just announcing moments ago the state will now be allowing anyone over the age of 60 to get the covid vaccine, anyone over 60, that lowers the cap from the age of 65, and get this, it goes into effect tomorrow. here are the other latest facts in the pandemic at this hour according to the "new york times" teachers in all 50 states are eligible for vaccinations as the biden administration urged states to make vaccinating teachers a priority. president biden will mark the anniversary of the pandemic with a prime time address thursday night, his first as commander in chief and comes a year to the day the world health organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. we're also getting a clearer picture of why the cdc has yet to issue travel guidance for vaccinated americans. so far their guidance released monday only mentions gatherings and safety measures. this is what cdc director told rachel maddow monday night. >> here's what we know about travel. we know right now there are a lot of variants here in this country. some have brought in from travel, others have emanated from inside the country. we know that after mass travel, after vacations, after holidays, we tend to see a surge in cases. so we really want to make sure with 10% of people vaccinated we are limiting travel. >> from dr. walensky to dr. gupta, a pulmonologist and global health policy expert and also an msnbc medical distributors and dr. gupta, right now to her point, beaches in florida, seem to be packed with spring breakers and as it gets warmer people will want to travel. i was in an airport yesterday in minneapolis, packed. your advice for our viewers and listeners on radio, since the travel guidance isn't specific? >> good morning, craig. always good to see you. while we're talking, i'm hoping your team can reference a chart that i've shared with them and this chart should hopefully help explain it. this is various scenarios of deaths, expected deaths, cumulative deaths, from the pandemic in the united states by july 1st. that worse scenario, the top line graph, that's what happens if the variants take greater hold, if we change their behavior and start to travel while vaccinations are ramping up. that's an additional 70,000 deaths than what we expect to happen which is that green line, about 570,000, that's total by july 1st. what am i saying? i'm saying there's -- we have a chance to limit the total death toll here and that means for all of your viewers out there, especially with spring break on the horizon for college students, that means hold off on travel for the next three months. i know it's hard and we're exhausted with this. we're looking most every single forecast shows the end of this pandemic is near with vaccination ramping up, but it's going to take three more months and that's the key piece. >> dr. gupta, on a personal level, i mean the cdc guidelines that came out, are they changing your day-to-day decisions about your safety and family's safety, how you interact with people at all? >> no. in public i continue to wear the highest quality mask i can find. i'm still very vigilant. we are avoiding travel until further guidance from the cdc. i will say for every viewer out there, these are living guidance documents here. this is going to change rapidly as vaccinations increase more high risk individuals, so when people are sitting here frustrated with that guidance, know it's going to change, know there's going to be a version two, as more people get vaccinated and the key piece is the variants and mobility. as those take root and we change our behavior that death toll climbs. >> it still seems like one of the biggest unanswered questions out there about this guidance is whether people who are fully vaccinated can still transmit the virus to other people? what are you hearing about that? when can we expect some sort of definitive research and conclusions on that? >> so when it comes to -- what we're seeing out of some studies from israel and elsewhere is that certain vaccines, for example, the pfizer vaccines, looks like it is very effective at halting transmission of the virus, so all these vaccines against all the variants will keep you out of intensive care but some of these vaccines look especially [ inaudible ] against -- [ no audio ] >> i think we just lost dr. gupta's signal? did we lose him or have him back? okay. we'll get dr. gupta back at some point here in the near future. meanwhile, this morning we are getting a devastating new look at what happens when this pandemic collides with another crisis, the power outages that crippled texas after a winter storm there. many texans are still dealing with the toll of that storm. but imagine adding to it health setbacks for covid survivors who didn't have power. that's exactly what happened to one man who nearly lost his life. nbc's morgan chesky joins me now with more on what would seem to be really a worse case scenario, morgan. morgan teamed up with the texas tribune to share this story. morgan, tell us what happened and why it almost cost this man his life. >> yeah. ma reese yo's story is tough enough. he spent weeks fighting covid, making peace with the fact that virus would take his life, even said goodbye to his family and when he finally did recover to go home, doctors gave him strict instructions, do not compromise your immune system, stay connected to oxygen, and most importantly, don't get cold. at the time he didn't think anything of it but when the blackouts went into effect the temperature plummeted to the near single digits outside and the breathing machine he relied on, went out. they only had a couple tanks of oxygen that would last a couple hours and that's what he and his wife in a situation, essentially, facing death yet again. take a listen. >> suffocating. that's the worst experience because when you don't have air coming into your lungs, i can remember when i was at the hospital you start feeling like you are shrinking. you can feel your nails, your muscles, everything like you are sucking the air from a plastic bag. you can hear every organ in your body start stopping. >> and maurice tells me that he told his wife goodbye a second time inside his own home. she put out a plea on facebook for anyone with oxygen to try to help them out. this is right in the middle of the worst of it. fortunately a friend across town drove on those icy roads, delivered that oxygen tank, to keep maurice breathing until the lights could come back on. what we've heard from medical experts is that there were problem thousands of these patients who had been released over the course of january in the weeks leading up to the storm, about 15,000 texans were hospitalized at that point in time with covid-19 and what's saddest of all is that he has a doctor's appointment set up to see if he has permanent damage to his lungs from the time that he was not on that machine and exposed to those brutal conditions that so many people had to endure. craig? >> let's hope and pray for maurice that's not the case. morgan chesky, there in texas for us, thank you. another potential crisis on the southern border. a huge spike in the number of unaccompanied kids crossing into the united states. what the biden administration is trying to do about it next. also, making it harder to cast a ballot in georgia, one bill at a time. ing gain flings, their laundry smells more amazing than ever. ah, honey! isn't that the dog's towel? hey, me towel su towel. there's more gain scent plus oxi boost and febreze odor remover in every fling. gain. seriously good scent. love the scent of gain flings? then you'll swoon for long lasting gain scent beads. (vo) starting today, nobody has to settle for less than the very best. because only verizon gives you 5g from america's most reliable network at no extra cost. and plans to mix and match, so you only pay for what you need. the plan is so reasonable, they can stay on for the rest of their lives. aww. (vo) and on top of that, nobody gives you more entertainment you love like disney+, hulu and espn+ on select unlimited plans. we can binge that stuff all day. you even get a galaxy s21+ 5g when you buy one. only from verizon. - [narrator] at southern new hampshire university, we're committed to making college more accessible by making it more affordable, that's why we're keeping our tuition the same through the year 2021. - i knew snhu was the place for me when i saw how affordable it was. i ran to my husband with my computer and i said, "look, we can do this." - [narrator] take advantage of some of the lowest online tuition rates in the nation. find your degree at snhu.edu. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home. if you smell gas, you're too close. leave the structure, call 911, keep people away, and call pg&e right after so we can both respond out and keep the public safe. if you see wires down, treat them all as if they're hot and energized. stay away from any downed wire, call 911, and call pg&e right after so we can both respond out and keep the public safe. a growing crisis on the u.s./mexico border means a record number of unaccompanied migrant children are being held in facilities meant for adults. it could be the first big crisis the biden administration faces. two sources tell nbc news customs and border protection has detained some 3200 unaccompanied children. nearly half have been there beyond the three-day legal limit. nbc's geoff bennett is covering this story for us. help us understand what's behind this surge, to we know? >> yeah, we know, craig. you have a number of migrants fleeing poverty, violence, devastation, and they're heading north and many are assuming correctly they will find better treatment and conditions under biden than what they found under president trump. the trump administration had a policy where they were immediately deported. president biden reversed that policy for unaccompanied children. the other factor here is the pandemic. the way it typically works is if an unaccompanied child crosses the border the child is picked up by border control and within three days the legal limit is supposed to be paired with a shelter run by the department of health and human services but because of the pandemic there is limited capacity at the shelters and you have a situation where as you mentioned you have 3200 kids i'm told now being held in these border patrol facilities that were never meant to accommodate children. you can make the argument and some have that they weren't meant to accommodate really humans for an extended period of time. these are concrete cells with metal benches and don't have beds, more than half of the kids being held have been there longer than the three-day legal limit. now jen psaki got this question earlier today during "morning joe" and here's what she had to say about this. >> now we're in this tough spot where we need to be able to find facilities, shelters, where these kids can have access to educational resources, to lawyers, to doctors, and we are also in a circumstance where we're dealing with covid. a lot of these facilities have smaller capacity. that's the challenge and that's what we're confronting. >> reporter: i would add to that i'm told that close to 200 of these children are under the age of 16 and again, they're being held in what they refer to as ice boxes. these border patrol facilities because there is not the capacity right now at the shelters run by hhs. >> i mean, the crisis doesn't seem to be slowing down, geoff. what can you tell us about what the administration is trying to do proactively to keep it from getting worse? >> one of the things they're trying to do, trying to increase the processing time. i'm told by immigration advocates a number of kids when they get here they arrive with a phone number of a family member or a family friend and so the desire is to match them with that family member or family friend as quickly as possible in a way that's responsibly done. the other thing they're trying to do is ramp up capacity at the shelters. they're considering using military bases and sort of retrofitting certain areas to house these kids for a longer period of time. look, there are no easy answers. i mean this infrastructure was really not meant to house children. it was meant mostly for adult men coming from mexico illegally across the border. i'm told that biden administration has as its sort of guiding principle to handle this in a way that is humane, which is a vast departure as we know now from how the trump administration handled it, craig. >> geoff bennett for us, thanks as always. thank you. a bill restricting absentee voting may be one step closer to becoming law in georgia. that's because the republican controlled state senate passed the measure known as s b241 on monday. among other things it limits absentee voting to voters aged 65 and older and also those who have a physical disability or if someone is out of town. the senate also included measures for more i.d. requirements. opponents argue it unfairly targets black and brown voters. the bill heads to the republican controlled state house which has passed similar measures. we are one year into this pandemic which for some kids has meant 12 months, 12 months, of remote learning. i'll talk to president obama's former education secretary about why it's been so frustrating for parents and for kids and why experts are legitimately concerned about potential long-term setbacks. why so many parents are desperate to get their kids back in the classroom as a result. >> how does it feel seeing him go back to school today? >> it's amazing. it's amazing. >> packing her things and i started crying from this overwhelming feeling of joy and relief. d relief we made a promise to redefine everything a truck can be. ♪ and while we've made good on that promise by winning back to back to back motor trend truck of the year awards, the work is never done. ♪ hi, i'm a new customer the work is never done. and i want your best new smartphone deal. well i'm an existing customer and i'd like your best new smartphone deal. oh do ya? actually it's for both new and existing customers. i feel silly. but i do want the fastest 5g network. oh i want the fastest 5g network. are we actually doing this again? it's not complicated. only at&t gives everyone the same great deal. like the samsung galaxy s21 5g for free when you trade in. is now a good time for a flare-up? enough, crohn's! for adults with moderate to severe crohn's or ulcerative colitis... stelara® can provide relief and is the only approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. you, getting on that flight? back off, uc! stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection... flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. lasting remission can start with stelara®. if you've been financially impacted by covid-19, janssen may be able to help. you love your pet...but hate wearing their hair. did you know that your clothes can actually attract pet hair? with bounce pet hair & lint guard, your clothes can repel pet hair. one bounce mega sheet has 3x the hair fighting ingredients of the leading dryer sheet. simply toss into the dryer to bounce out hair & lint. look how the shirt on the left attracts pet hair like a magnet! pet hair is no match for bounce. it's available in fresh scent & unscented. with bounce, you can love your pets, and lint roll less. 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's see what we can adjust. ♪♪ we'd be closer to the twins. change in plans. okay. mom, are you painting again? you could sell these. lemme guess, change in plans? at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan. it has now been a year of remote schooling for kids all over this country and means a year filled with challenges. students from pre-k through college have been spending eight hours a day every day staring at a computer screen. many of them unsurprisingly feel isolated from their parents, even their tooench teachers and have been tough for black, brown and low income communities. how has this pandemic affected our country's next generation of leaders? to try to help answer that question, we bring in former education secretary in the obama administration, secretary john king and also want to bring in naomi martin a reporter for the "boston globe's" team covering race and equality and public education. naomi, let me start with you. your team at the "boston globe" wrote about a gallup vare of massachusetts high school students how they're doing this in person or hybrid model but it found that 33% of high schoolers learning remotely or in hybrid models, 33%, feel left behind academically while that number was 8% for kids doing in person learning. walk us through what else you found? >> thank you. we know that kids learning remotely also felt less excited about what they're learning and less challenged in a good way. they feel less motivated to care about their schoolwork and these are all kind of troubling indicators for their futures because, you know, they're missing out on material now, some students who are at the age of getting jobs have turned more to jobs supporting themselves, and that could lead to a higher dropout rate and so more students would not have the education they need to, you know, pursue the careers they would dream of. >> secretary king, what do you make of this disparity in learning for online versus in person? how big of a problem are we looking at long term? >> it's a big problem. if we look at some of the recent studies, for example, from mckenzie we see suggestions students of color may have lost as much as 6 to 12 months of learning and it's really unfinished instruction, it's not their fault, but a result of students not having internet access, some students having to work, students who are struggling with the impact of the health consequences and economic consequences of covid so we need to have a massive national effort to make up for this time. here's the other part, how much of it also is a result of some kids don't learn well that way? it's not as effective for one kid to learn through a screen compared to, you know, to another kid? >> well, there's no question that online learning is no substitute for in classroom learning. it's one of the reasons we have to do everything possible to get students safely back to school as quickly as we can. i'm glad the administration has prioritized vaccines for teachers that will help us get quickly back to school. we know students learn best when in classrooms with great teachers and their peers, where they're learning in community with other students. >> this pandemic has seen an unprecedented number of students who have gone missing since march of last year, missing. "the washington post" reports in detroit, quote, some of the children on the list had worrisome numbers of absences this early on in the school year but there were 3,000 students the district couldn't account for at all. boston globe found, quote, two out of five high school juniors and seniors in boston public schools were chronically absent from school in the fall, a sharp rise from pre-pandemic absentee rates. how can it be that kids just are going unaccounted for? how do we fix that? >> this is a national embarrassment. we failed as a country last year to make sure that every student had access to the internet and access to a device. as a result we have kids that haven't logged in to online school since last march. we really need now to invest in reconnecting students with school. the $1.9 trillion package that congress is working through will provide resources districts can use to create mentoring relationships to reconnect kids, programs that will blend academics and arts and other enrichment activities to get kids back reconnected and tutoring. we need to mobilize a national core of tutors to help students make up academic ground and create the positive relationships that will help them feel better about school and more engaged with school. >> naomi, based on your reporting have you seen any creative solutions to this problem? any districts or schools or teachers having success with retention during the pandemic? >> yeah. we actually have a district in our area it's called brockton. it's about 40 minutes south of boston. they're a large urban district, majority black students, and they've mobilized a large tutoring program, similar to what the secretary was speaking about, but they've had it in place the whole time and their superintendent there says they've had great results with it and used their [ inaudible ] money to -- part of it to pay for overtime for teachers to do one-on-one tutoring sessions with students and haven't seen as dramatic losses as they expected to during this time. maybe that's something that other districts can think about doing as well. >> naomi, massachusetts school officials announced schools can postpone statewide testing because of the pandemic and it comes just weeks after the new administration announced that states must continue with annual testing, but can apply to be exempted from certain accountability measures tied to the results. from your reporting, do you think that kids feel ready for these kinds of statewide tests, these major tests? >> i don't think kids ever loved these tests to begin with. i remember hating them as a kid myself. but, you know, i think no, the pandemic obviously hasn't made it better. i think teachers feel and i've heard this from students too, they have too much material to cram into the limited screen time and attention span that any kid can take online right now. so to try to cram in more test prep is sort of demoralizing to a lot of teachers and students but i understand on the flip side people are saying we need to understand how big the gaps have grown because we all believe that the gaps have grown wired between the pandemic between affluent students and lower income students and so let's just, you know, take the pulse of that as the argument for doing these tests. >> naomi martin, thank you. john king, thanks to you as well. naomi thanks to your reporting. we should talk more about the idea of deploying a cadre of tutors to make up for the lost time. thank you both. still ahead on as tuesday morning, a father, a grill master, and a man who would come home on his dinner break, just to ask his wife to dance. we're going to take a moment to remember remember one of the more than 520,000 americans that we have lost to a virus. >> he wanted no one to worry about him. he was still worrying about everybody and not himself. g abo everybody and not himself. i am robert strickler. i've been involved in communications in the media for 45 years. i've been taking prevagen on a regular basis for at least eight years. for me, the greatest benefit over the years has been that prevagen seems to help me recall things and also think more clearly. and i enthusiastically recommend prevagen. it has helped me an awful lot. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. t-mobile is the leader in 5g. we also believe in putting people first by treating them right. so we're upping the benefits without upping the price. introducing magenta max. now with unlimited premium data that can't slow down based on how much smartphone data you use. plus get netflix on us, and taxes and fees included! you won't find this with the other guys. in fact, you'll pay more and get less. right now, pay zero costs to switch! and bring your phone -- we'll pay it off! only at t-mobile. riders, the lone wolves of the great highway. all they need is a bike and a full tank of gas. their only friend? the open road. i have friends. [ chuckles ] well, he may have friends, but he rides alone. that's jeremy, right there! we're literally riding together. he gets touchy when you talk about his lack of friends. can you help me out here? no matter why you ride, progressive has you covered with protection starting at $79 a year. well, we're new friends. to be fair. eh, still. (deborah vo) i was hesitant to get the hearing aids because of my short hair, but nobody even sees them. (vo) discover the exclusive, new miracle-earmini- a nearly invisible hearing aid from the brand leader in hearing aids with over 70 years of experience. (deborah) when i finally had miracle-ear and i could hear for the first time, i started crying. i could hear everything. new miracle-earmini. so small and comfortable that no one will see them, but you'll notice the difference. call today to start your 30-day risk-free trial at your local miracle-ear. ever notice how stiff clothes can feel rough on your skin? for softer clothes that are gentle on your skin, try downy free & gentle. downy will soften your clothes without dyes or perfumes. the towel washed with downy is softer, and gentler on your skin. try downy free & gentle. this week, it is officially -- it's officially been one year since the world health organization declared coronavirus a pandemic. so we want to take a moment every day to honor the more than 528,000 americans we have lost to this virus. one of the lives cut short is henry county georgia sheriff's deputy nicholas howell. according to his wife, jasmia, deputy howell was a god-fearing man, a protector, and full of love. both of them came down with covid-19 in december. she slowly recovered. he was hospitalized and only got worse. now, he leaves behind the community he protected and a family he loved deeply. this is how we should remember nicholas howell, in the words of his wife. >> he just felt a strong need to serve his community and to give back in the best way he thought to give back was to become a cop. he woke up in the morning, the first thing he did was fall to his knees and pray. the last thing he did at night was fall to his knees and pray. he loved to grill. he was the family griller. every monday, he would bring me flowers and fruit to the room upstairs, to our room, just to see me smile. he loved to see me smile. he would come home on his lunch break, because he works the night shift, so he would come home, and we would dance every night at 9:00 p.m., to whatever song he would find that would come on. at first, we didn't tell the kids when he went to the hospital, we didn't even tell his mom, because he wanted no one to worry about him. he was still worrying about everybody and not himself. he finally told the kids that he was in the hospital and we got in the car and we stood in the parking lot and had him look down from the room on christmas day and then the day after christmas, december the 26th, he was put on a ventilator. and he died january 3rd. it's just hard to believe that he's not here. he was a fighter. he did not give up >> deputy nicholas howell was his name. and our thoughts and are prayers are with jasmia and her family, as well. and that, by the way, is just one story of the 528,445 americans we have lost in roughly a year to the coronavirus. that's going to do it for me this hour. everything for me. she had these awful blisters on her back. i don't want shingles when i'm your age. actually, if you're 50 or older, you're at increased risk that's life, nothing you can do... uh, shingles can be prevented. shingles can be whaaaat? prevented. you can get vaccinated. where? at your pharmacy, your doctor's - hold on! don't want to go through that! 50 years or older? get vaccinated for shingles. now. with relapsing forms of ms, there's a lot to deal with. not just unpredictable relapses. all these other things too. who needs that kind of drama? kesimpta is a once-monthly at-home injection that may help you put this rms drama in its place. kesimpta was proven superior at reducing the rate of relapses, active lesions and slowing disability progression versus aubagio. don't take kesimpta if you have hepatitis b, and tell your doctor if you have had it, as it could come back. kesimpta can cause serious side effects, including infections. while no cases of pml were recorded in rms clinical trials, it could happen. tell your doctor if you had or plan to have vaccines, or if you are or plan to become pregnant. kesimpta may cause a decrease in some types of antibodies. the most common side effects are upper respiratory tract infection, headache and injection reactions. dealing with this rms drama? it's time to ask your doctor about kesimpta. dramatic results. less rms drama. (vo) starting today, nobody has to settle for less than the very best. because only verizon gives you 5g from america's most reliable network at no extra cost. and plans to mix and match, so you only pay for what you need. the plan is so reasonable, they can stay on for the rest of their lives. aww. (vo) and on top of that, nobody gives you more entertainment you love like disney+, hulu and espn+ on select unlimited plans. we can binge that stuff all day. you even get a galaxy s21+ 5g when you buy one. only from verizon. good day. i'm kristen welker in for andrea in washington, where president biden continues to make covid relief his top priority with that nearly $2 trillion legislative package days away from reaching his desk. now that the house of representatives has received the bill from the senate, this hour,