school in person. federal health officials now say students need to remain only 3 feet apart as opposed to 6 feet as long as everyone is wearing a mask. that is a major policy change of interest to so many parents and so many kids who are eager to close the laptop on telelearning and get back to the classroom. we'll have much more on that in just a moment. the president's visit to atlanta was originally scheduled as part of the white house's help is here tour, touting that $2 trillion rescue plan, and although the main focus of the trip has turned to the aftermath of that deadly shooting rampage, the president and vice president will meet later this afternoon with asian american community leaders to discuss the escalating threats and violence against asian americans since the start of the pandemic. we're also learning a lot more today about the victims of those shootings, not only their names and their ages, but their stories. like delainie yan who went to the spa for massages with her husband. he escaped, she did not. here's what her sister told my colleague blaine alexander. >> she didn't deserve what happened to her. >> what do you want her children to remember about their mom? >> how happy she was, because that's what's going to keep them going. it's thinking about their mom and the memories that she left behind. >> joining me now from atlanta is nbc news white house correspondent jeff bennett and nbc news correspondent kathy park. kathy, we hadn't heard a lot about a lot of the victims. we're getting a little bit of reaction now from some of the family members of some of the victims like the sister we just heard from there. what more can you tell us about the stories of those who lost their lives? >> well, katy, the fulton county medical examiner's office just released additional names of four korean women who were tragically killed in the two spas in atlanta. i'm going to read those names off for you. they include soon park, 74 years old. hyun grant, 51 years old. suncha kim, 69 years old, and yong yue, 63 years old. just a few moments ago, i had a chance to speak with randy park, who is the son of hyun grant. i have to say, katy, i was struck by his poise and strength in the wake of this senseless tragedy. he is obviously being bombarded by media right now to speak, and he was very respectful and we hope to speak with him a little bit later on today. but just to give you a sense of how intertwined the korean american community is here in duluth, i was just told that he was the manager of the bakery behind me here. and i spoke with the owner of the bakery, and she told me in korean, basically saying she's heartbroken for him, she's heartbroken for the asian american community here, and that is a sentiment being echoed across georgia, across the country in the wake of the violence that we have seen just displayed over the course of the past year. they are outraged at the fact that the officials early on said this was not racially motivated, and they are looking for justice, and they want change. katy? >> so as you're seeing on the left-hand side of your screen, that's joe biden at the cdc, that's rochelle walensky, the head of the cdc who is speaking from notes to him right now. jeff bennett, the entire point of this trip initially before this shooting, these shootings, i should say, was to go down and tout this rescue plan, was to visit the cdc as well. now biden has another stop. what can you tell us about what's on his agenda? >> well, this trip, as you rightly point out, was entirely transformed in light of the series of attacks that took place earlier this week here in atlanta. so it begins with this visit to the cdc. you see vice president kamala harris and president biden. the white house says they will get a briefing from their medical and health teams about the overall fight to beat back the pandemic, and there are two major announcements on that front today. one, the cdc announcing that 3 feet of physical distance is safe within schools, which could effectively allow for the return of more students to in-person instruction in schools across the country, and then the biden administration surpassing its self-established goal of getting 100 million shots in arms within the first 100 days of his presidency. the biden administration is doing that about 40 days early. we heard president biden say he will now set a new goal, potentially making that more aggressive, potentially doing 2 million shots a day. after they have this meeting at the cdc, the white house official tells me that the president and vice president will also meet with the two democratic senators, those two newly elected senators warnock and ossoff. they'll meet with the mayor, they'll also meet with stacey abrams on voting rights. but the cause of their trip right now is meeting with asian american community advocates, elected leaders, and then beyond that, president biden will speak in the 4:00 hour. earlier today he released a statement, a statement that really served as a reminder of some of the work he's already done on this issue. he said he condemned in the strongest possible terms xenophobia, anti-asian hate. he talked about the memo he released in his early days in office to that effect and talked about how he had directed his department of health and human services to do more of that work, to really articulate what it really means to -- anti-asian hate really means. people have a better sense of what anti-black racism is, anti-semitism is, but anti-asian discrimination can be more pernicious, so expect the president to talk more about that when he addresses reporters later this evening, katy. >> let's take another beat on the shooting story and the victims and the community in atlanta before we get more on the president who is going to speak about schools and the cdc. kathy park, you've been covering this now for a few days down there. how is the community reacting, and how does the community feel about the initial law enforcement response? >> reporter: katy, i can say that i've spoken to a lot of people. some people are on edge. the entire community, i can tell you here, especially in duluth, they're on high alert. they've asked for more resources, especially for asian-owned businesses, because they don't know when the next attack will be. but they're also just outraged, as you mentioned. the first press conference, one of the officials initially came out with some really insensitive remarks, and that's what they're saying. you know, it should be focused on the victims, not so much the suspect, and they are outraged. they want justice. they also need a lot of healing because they feel like it really just took a tragedy for this turning point in the asian american community to witness this show of solidarity and support to condemn the rise in anti-asian crimes, practically all across the country, katy. >> jeff bennett and kathy park on that topic. let's now go to actor, author and activist george decay. i know you've been fighting for more eyes on this issue. how frustrating is it for you that this is where we had to get to to bring this story to the forefront? >> it's particularly enraging to hear that sheriff in georgia claim that this is sexual addiction issue. americans have fit asian americans to their convenience. it is systemic racism to have personified sex in the form of asian women. we have a history of asian women being the symbol of sex. we've celebrated that in movies and broadway musicals, titles like "the world of suzie wong" or "miss saigon," tremendous hits. asian women personify sex. after all the wars in asia, we had american g.i.s roaming the back streets of tokyo, seoul and saigon. asian women personifies sex, but it's convenient for that georgia sheriff to have a simple sex addiction case because it fits the convenience. it becomes more complicated when it becomes a racial case. but law enforcement has got to face the reality, it is visibly, obviously racial. it is clear. and for him to try to sell it as a sexual addiction case is ignorant and hypocritical. >> those two things are intertwined, which is what people have been saying and screaming from the rooftops now for days. george, how do we adjust our preconceived notions? how does this country get past the stereotypes that it's put on asian americans and asian women in particular? how do we do better? >> it's a leader issue. president biden has exhibited that last week when he made that speech. this is racism, and it is intolerable and it's got to stop. and it is in dramatic contrast to the has been gone president who continued to play to the ignorant and the racist in america by continuing to refer to the coronavirus as the china flu or kung flu. so it happens with leadership. some are led by the masses. others truly lead and educate and enlighten, and that's what president biden is doing. but it's also coming from the community itself. the service organization in the various asian american communities throughout the country are now organizing, and on the community level recruiting young volunteers to escort our vulnerable elderly asian american seniors on their trips to the grocery store, or if they just want to exercise. and it's not just asian american young people, it's african-american and latino young people who are volunteering to do that. so it's from the top, the leadership, as well as from the community itself. >> how bad did it get after former president said kung flu? how bad did it get when he started labeling it the china virus and a lot of his allies would go out and say, it's just a joke, stop being so sensitive? >> immediately it's a chill that goes out into the community, or worse. it's a frigid cold that goes out. i mean, i'm not likely to be targeted, but we have grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and we are -- my grand-niece just entered brown university away from the family there in rhode island. immediately we have become concerned. it's a chill that goes out throughout the country. >> yeah. george takei, thank you so much for coming on. again, i'm sorry this is what it took to get this on the front pages and as the lead story on all the broadcasts, including this one. george, thank you for being with us. >> it's an important role that the media plays. >> we will try to do better. george, thank you again. as we've been watching on the other side of the screen, on the left-hand of the screen, president biden is in atlanta. right now he's at the cdc before he's going to go and meet with the community and address this shooting. but this afternoon right now, he is there where they are talking about the new guidelines that will make it easier for schools to reopen. >> last week the journal of clinical infectious diseases published a study that looked at covid-19 in 251 massachusetts school districts over a four-month period of time. it found that physical distancing of at least 3 feet between students could safely be adopted in school settings when everyone, students and staff, wore a mask at all times. >> after a year of 6 feet being the golden rule for social distancing, the cdc now says that kids in school only need to sit 3 feet apart if they are wearing masks and are in an area where the risk for community spread is low. the president is also being confronted with the variants right now. that's what they're talking about with the cdc. let's listen in for a moment. >> -- partners were able to reach persons. if you look at our third slide, they were able to reach persons with underlying medical conditions, essential and front line workers in addition to health care workers, but restaurant and grocery store workers, construction workers, farm workers, and they were able to reach immigrants and migrants and also to be able to engage early on with faith-based organizations. so because of the level of community engagement, there was increased language access by translating materials, and we translated our presented messages into dozens of languages at this point. also by using methods and spokespersons who were known and trusted. and then the national organizations and the academic partners were there to ensure that the information was both medically and scientifically sound. i'm sure you're aware that cdc just announced that we will be awarding $2.25 billion to address covid-19 health dispariies and communities at high risk of infection and severe illness. the lessons we've learned through these projects can be applied to both enhance and accelerate reducing these severities in underserved populations. >> one of the things that caught my attention, i think we talked about this very early on, within the first six weeks of the virus becoming aware to everybody and people starting to get sick and some of them dying. i got a call from a mayor, a really great guy, real hard-working fellow in detroit saying to me, mr. president, you don't understand. this is even before -- i wasn't president then, actually. he said, i don't think people understand. my community is now about 80% african-american and we're dying and getting sick at a much higher rate than the white community here or any other community. i brought that up initially before i put together the group that you're meeting with, and nobody wanted to hear it. we had trouble getting your predecessors to track it, but what you're doing really makes a difference. it makes a gigantic difference. the vice president knows better than anybody, it really, really makes a difference, so thank you. >> dr. walensky? >> do you have a question for us? >> no, but why are you all standing? that's the first one. you don't have to stand for us. why don't you sit for real. get comfortable. they have chairs. that's the first question. and the second question is why did only one person clap? you know what i mean? [ applause ] >> as the doc knows, we're all too serious here. we owe you a gigantic debt of gratitude, and we will for a long, long, long time. because i hope this is the beginning of the end of not paying attention to what's going to come again and again and again and again. we can build all the walls we want, we can have the most powerful armies in the world, but we cannot stop these viruses, other than be aware where they are and move quickly on them when we find them. and the one thing -- the reason i am so happy to have been able to -- anyway, to have doc here, is that science is back. all kidding aside, think about it. for the longest time, not just to the cdc, but science was viewed as sort of an appendage to anything else we were talking about. but it's back. and i just wanted you to have some confidence that it's not only the vice president and i and the whole team and the whole covid team at large committed, but the american people have moved. the american people have moved. this is a bipartisan effort now. it isn't showing itself in the way senators and congressman vote, but the public, the public. we were talking about it on the airplane. the public in a bipartisan way, when i came up with this $1.9 billion for this whole covid and the economic relief side as well, we were told that it could never pass, we would never get any help. well, we didn't get any help in the senate or the house. but 55% of republicans in america are supporting it, 90% of the democrats. the point is the public is thankful to you, because it's about science. that's what they understand. they understand. and we're not going back to the old days, even if tomorrow the whole administration changed, you've changed things. you've changed them in a way that is going to make everybody healthier in this country, and when we have a crisis, you're prepared to meet it because you speak truth and science to power. and that is the power. so all the folks listening, i guess you said there's hundreds, if not thousands of people listening. thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. there's an entire generation coming up that is learning from what you've done. i don't just mean learning about how to deal with the virus, learning about it makes a difference to tell the truth, to follow the science, and just wherever it takes you and be honest about it. and that's what you've all done. so we owe you a debt of gratitude at all the lives you've saved. i carry in my pocket, as doc knows, my schedule. on the back of my schedule i have listed every single day with the exact number of people who have died from covid the day before. i mean, cumulative. we're at 535,217 dead as of yesterday, last night. it's got to stop, but you're slowing it from stopping. and it really, really matters. that's more people that have died in all ofly -- americans, all of world war i, world war ii, vietnam war and 9/11 combined in a year. and you are the army. you're the navy, you're the marines. you're the coast guard. i really mean it. this is a war. and you are the front line troops. it sounds silly to say it that way. it sounds -- but think about it. finally we got the vaccines, we got the companies together, and then they didn't have the wherewithall to be able to produce all the vaccines. so there is this thing called the defense production act. as president i'm allowed to enforce it. i have people saying, stop making that and start making these. we found we put together -- did you ever think you would see the day, because you're involved with medicine, see two different drug companies cooperate for the good of the country? one came up with a drug and the other one said, we'll manufacture it for you? what you're doing really, really, really matters, not only -- i'll end with this -- not only in saving lives but changing the mindset of the country. changing the mindset of the country. this affected everything. not just inspected people's health. they're r. they didn't quite understand when i announced we had over 100 million shots in less than -- remember, i said my goal was to have 100 million shots in 100 arms before my first day as president, and everyone sounded like, oh, yeah, right. and now they're like, why didn't i say more? but here's the poichblt it is changing the way i look at a whole range of things. we landed a roefrld on marlz, because this is the united states of america, for god's sake. there is nothing, nothing, nothing we can't do if we do it together. that's what you're showing everybody. i came to say thank you. i really mean it. i have a whole lot of nice notes on here about the science, but i came here to say thank you. you're not only -- you're changing the psyche of the country. you're saving lives. you're saving lives. but you're changing the psyche of the country. and this, as i said, it's not being -- i don't think we're being chauvinistic about our country, but think about it. we're the only country in the world that has, every time we've gone into a crisis, have come out stronger immediately after the crisis than when we went into the crisis. think about it. that's who we are. closing comment. xi jinping in china, he was vice president, i was vice president. his president and mine wanted us to get to know each other because it was clear he was going to become the president. i traveled 17,000 miles with him in asia and the united states, met with him generally. it was he and i alone for 27 hours, and an interpreter. by the way, i handed in all my notes. mine are foreign. but all kidding aside, he asked me on the tibetan plateau, he said to me, can you define america for me? and i said, yeah, in one word. and i mean it. one word. possibilities. possibilities. that's what you guys believe in, possibilities, based on science and hard data. so i just thank you for not only intellectual skills but your heart. your heart, your determination. thank you, thank you, thank you. i shouldn't have talked so much because i wanted to yield to my vice president. >> there's not too much to add to that, mr. president. >> i'm sorry. >> i want to say this administration, with the leadership of our president, is without any question about science. everyone here knows before the president was president, he was dedicated to science. the moon shot -- my mother was a scientist. i grew up -- the first job i had, little known fact, was cleaning lab pets in her lab. i was awful, she fired me. then there was this moment of global crisis and the president takes calls with leaders around the world, we talk with people around the world, and they have named their centers of disease control after this center of disease control. they put their -- the name of their country and they call it cdc. you all are a model for the world around what can be done based on a pursuit of that which will uplift and improve human condition in life. and you guys do this work around the clock, and so we are here to say thank you because it's not easy. you're making difficult decisions right now, some of the most difficult, but you're making those decisions based on science, based on hard work, and based on a commitment to the public health. and therein lies part of the no nobility of your work. you do this for people who you will never know their names. thank you. >> thank you for your visit. thank you for reinvigorating us. i can promise you as long as this team of people are here, as long as i am here, we will bake into the cake of everything we do our commitment to equity, to science, and to bring back the health of the american people and to keep it there. thank you. >> i have no doubt about that. if you don't learn to sit, you'll never make it. >> thank you. [ applause ] >> so the president and the vice president really working hard to restore faith in the cdc right there, pump that agency back up after its faith in it took a nosedive during the trump administration, especially in the fallout for the testing and not being able to get a test up and ready and a functional test to figure out where this virus was and how many people were affected for quite some time, trying to restore faith in that agency. now, though, trying to remind them that they are world leaders, that other countries look up to the cdc. they named their own health agencies after the cdc in various other countries, and to keep on following science. he kept saying science is back. joining me now is nbc news correspondent heidi presbela at the university of massachusetts, and for asian american security, amish doljek. some them were talking about a resistant to some of the drugs, the therapeutics used to treat covid, and the president briefly interrupted. you'll see why. >> this particular variant is resistant against one of our monochromals, one of our drugs for therapeutics we're use to go -- using to treat. >> make it clear it's a drug, not a therapeutic. >> it's a drug that's used early before you go into the hospital, one of those drugs that might prevent hospitalization or prevent death. >> i wasn't correcting you, i just know from experience that -- >> thank you. thank you very much. >> the president, as you might understand, wanted to make it clear that he was not talking about variant resistance to the vaccines, which are the key to getting us out of this pandemic, instead a therapeutic, a drug. more than 40 million americans, by the way, are now fully vaccinated. dr. adalja, i want your take on the new cdc guidelines today. they also announced major news for schools, 3 feet distance instead of 6. >> this is really great news because we've seen data that schools can be operated safely in the midst of this pandemic, and the 6-feet rule was something hard for schools to accommodate because of space considerations. now we have scientific data showing 3 feet with masks is something doable. this is just another step forward getting school going. this has to be done because children are being harmed not being in school, and hopefully this will push those last schools over the edge and back into in-person schooling along with vaccinations and the rest of it. >> heidi, in massachusetts, 3 feet is already the rule there, but talk to me about the nuance of these new rules and how it's not just about 3 feet. >> it's a big deal here, katy. some schools have been doing 6, some have been doing 3. i spoke with the massachusetts school district and they're already trying to recontract with teachers that were doing the 6-foot rule. this is not without concerned data. when you talk to the heads of these schools, they said all these mitigation measures need to be working in concert with this. when you look at this study, for instance, out of massachusetts, it is not the case that there is no difference in the risk level. it is simply that they couldn't statistically pinpoint what that difference might be. and that is a big deal because not all families, not all teachers are weighing the risks the same, katy. take a listen to what the teachers union official had to say. so not all families feel the same about hurrying back into these buildings? >> that's right. the conversation now is beginning to shift to the level of risk we're willing to assume. national surveys and statewide surveys show particularly black latinx and asian families are not willing to assume the same amount of risk that these experts within 3 feet are willing to assume. >> katy, weighing the risks that are also well documented about physical and mental effects that are not there for students in distance learning. there is not a big grab bag of asks by teachers, they simply want to be vaccinated. in massachusetts vaccinations are just beginning for these teachers, and they don't believe it's unusual that they would ask for teachers to have one shot in the arm going back into these classrooms where we know children will maybe not be hurt by covid but they are a factor, katy. >> thank you for joining us. we want to get back to the top story this hour, the violence against asian american women and the action it has sparked for women around the world. for many, it can look like the only way to gain your personal safety is to never leave. >> you can do everything right. she was on the phone to someone. she was walking home a good hour in a neighborhood where people work all the time, and you can play by every single rule, and you can do everything you were still meant to do and people in positions of power are going to use that against you, and it doesn't matter what you think or what you do or anything. you know, someone has decided to use that power to do this. >> a man has decided. >> yeah. >> i know this is kind of a hard transition but follow us here. esther was talking about the murder of sarah everhard while she was walking home, allegedly by a police officer. that's how we started this week, covering the fallout from that story. we're ending it trying to process the deaths of eight more people in atlanta, six of them asian women, who were told to police that he had a sex addiction problem. he said he did it because he saw them as the problem. not him, them. women carry this fear of being attacked, being blamed, maybe even killed. you've probably seen this on your social media feeds. it says, every woman you know has taken a longer route. has doubled back on herself, has pretended to dawdle by a shop window. has held her keys in her hand. has made a fake phone call. has rounded a corner and run. every woman you know has walked home scared. every woman you know. tina chen is with us and former advisory valerie jarrett. that tweet i saw in a couple of my feeds, and it really struck me because i've been every one of those women at one point in life or another. still am at some points when i'm walking around alone. i think we should just start here with the conversation of sarah everhard who was a woman walking home alone on brightly lit streets at a decent hour. she was wearing running shoes in case something went wrong, and it's alleged that a police officer found her and killed her. they found her body days later. in response to this, tina, the london police went around to the neighborhoods, told people to be careful, to watch out. then there was this uproar. why do we have to worry about staying inside because of what a man did? now this conversationally. >> no, absolutely, katy. here's the through line from the start of the week to the end of the week, and that is the actions of men. the mysogeny that is inherent in what happened in london to sarah with a woman who did everything right to the women who were just simply at work in atlanta and were the victims of someone who, you know, misogynistically went to a place for young asians. i heard you talk about women being related to sex, and we have to tell women to be safe without addressing this mysogeny. it's directly linked to white supremacy, it's directly linked to terror attacks in this part of the world, so we need to call it what it is and address did or we will all never be safe. >> so, valerie, it's not just changing the route you walk home on. it's how you dress, it's how you behave. don't be too nice because you might give him the wrong idea, don't be too mean because you might anger him. what do we do to fix this, to get past this? >> first of all, for far too long the burden has been on the women to take action to protect ourselves. part of what the white house council did to girls, this is a societal responsibility. it's up to all of us to stop the epidemic. every 73 seconds a woman is sexually assaulted in america. that is an epidemic and it has to stop, and this is why this weekend was so important that the house pass the violence against women act that started in 2017. you have to say why in america would we not take steps to prevent violence from happening in the first place? the other point i would make is we have a specific problem with younger women, starting at age 12, then college. we know as a result of this people are working from home in very stressful situations. so we ask why doesn't the senate move forward? but it's not just enough to have laws on the books, we have to change our culture, and thank you for highlighting these stories. we need the press' cooperation as well -- we're focusing on the specific challenges facing black women, trans survivors, and to say let's look at each individual category and let's figure out what we can do to tailor the solutions to meet the needs and to take the burden off of the survivor and put it on society and say stop this. >> i know there are a lot of men out there who are watching this and saying don't loop me in with all these bad actors, that is not me, it's not fair to paint me with this broad brush. how do we bring men into this conversation so it's not -- it doesn't come off as an us versus them situation, tina? >> no, it's critical. actually, one of the things we did start when we were in the obama white house in conjunction with our campus sexual assault efforts is something called it's on us, which continues to this day where valerie and i are on the board. that is to enlist young men on college campuses to say, it's on us to support survivors, to push back against racist culture. we need men actually to stand up and be part of this, to support the women in their lives, to support the women in their communities and to lead the charge. so i'm glad you raised that, because it is a critical piece of what we need. i've got to give president biden credit. this is something he has done his entire career is, as a male leader, to step up. the violence against women act was originally his, his creation and getting it enacted in the first place. he's used every bully pulpit he's had throughout his career to make this point. we need male leaders in every industry, in every sector, in every community to step up, to push back against police like that cherokee sheriff who decided he was going to be an a positively gist for the shooter here, for others. we theed colleagues from the house of representative. thank goodness to congresswoman meng, but we need the men to stand up as well. >> valerie, why don't you weigh in on this. >> if you're at a party and you see a woman in trouble, somebody is harassing her, if you're a guy, you should step in and do something about it. you shouldn't just ignore it because you're not doing it. you're not off the hook just because of your own behavior. we have to work for the common good, which is why we started this on our college campuses. if you want to feel free, you need to step up and empower what that power is. it's on all of us to be part of the solution. >> and just to end this conversation, i do want to mention that the world health organization has found that nearly one in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime, and that the number could be significantly higher than that. tina cheng, valerie barrett, thank you for coming on and having this extremely important conversation. coming up, how committed is the biden administration to a national high-speed, climate-friendly rail system? 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our flight is early tomorrow. and it's a long flight too. once we get there, we will need... buttercup! ♪ the white house confirmed today that five staffers asked to resign over past marijuana use. the biden administration announced some waivers for those who had minimal marijuana use, and while cannabis use is legal in 14 states and the district of columbia, it is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government. president biden has stopped short of endorsing full legalization while he was in the democratic primary. with me now is nbc news correspondent monica alba. monica, explain what's going on here. what happened to these staffers? >> this is a little bit of a complex situation, katy, and that's because at the heart of the matter, according to the white house, is you have to basically have a security clearance in order to get a lot of these white house jobs. in the past you would have to answer questions about drug use and all of this, of course, in the rearview mirror that could potentially disqualify you from getting that clearance. so the biden administration said they were going to relax some of those policies in order to take into account some of these younger staffers who wanted these jobs, who would want to answer those questions truthfully, of course, that then could potentially be told you can't have this white house job and this security clearance. so it seems that in some cases, they were able to grant a waiver but that at least five staffers have been dismissed from the white house and terminated from those positions after a security review. and white house officials are quick to point out that this isn't just necessarily then related to the use of marijuana, it could be because they talked about use of other hard drugs, potentially, in their past, or that there were other issues in their background. but what further complicates this right now is you have dozens and dozens of people that are working from the white house remotely at home, so staffers were wondering why they couldn't wait until this policy progressed further to make an ultimate determination, but the white house is saying this is only applying to a very small percentage 500 people who need to get clearance to the white house in which drug use is part of what they check while working at the white house, katy. >> monica alba, thank you. we appreciate it. the democrats are eyeing an infrastructure bill they want to pass. what it looks like and also what's at stake. it looks like what's at stake. one wash, stains are gone. daughter: slurping don't pay for water. pay for clean. it's got to be tide. if you wanna be a winner then get a turkey footlong from subway®. that's oven roasted turkey. piled high with crisp veggies. on freshly baked bread! so, let's get out there and get those footlongs. now on grubhub, buy one footlong, get one 50% off. subway®. eat fresh. footlong, get one 50% off. guy fieri! ya know, if you wanna make that sandwich the real deal, ya gotta focus on the bread layers. king's hawaiian sliced bread makes everything better! ♪ (angelic choir) ♪ and here's mine! 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... and on top of that, nobody gives you more entertainment you love like disney+, hulu and espn+ on select unlimited plans. you even get one of our best 5g phones on us when you buy one. and it all starts at just $35. only from verizon. my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching ...the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant™ with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. emerge tremfyant™ janssen can help you explore cost support options. 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? 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why can't we get it done? you are somewhere where they're trying to gelt it done. >> reporter: that's the question a lot of supporters of this rail are asking because if you go to japan, go to europe, france you can get to places fast. this is their future they believe, the only place where there's construction in america on high-speed rail. they've spent about $8 billion and in 2025 will start testing trains that will go more than 200 miles per hour. imagine instead of sitting in a car for 6 to 7 hours l.a. to san francisco you get on a train and it's 2 hours, 40 minutes. but at the heart of this debate is whether or not this is the future of travel, sustainable, job creating or if it's just a multibillion dollar waste of money. i talk to folks on both sides. take a listen. >> the federal government played a key role in building the interstate highway system in the '50s, '60s. we need that kind of commitment to passenger rail. building infrastructure is an investment and putting people to work now. these are things gnat we absolutely need coming out of the covid-19 pandemic. >> california's infrastructure is failing so the same jobs that we would have here we could put into fixing our water infrastructure, our canal system and railways and everything else. >> reporter: well, massachusetts congressman south moulton has put forth a bill, $205 billion for high-speed rail. and we'll see where that goes. but as you said the big debate is really going to start next week when transportation secretary pete buttigieg, big supporter of high-speed rail before he became transportation secretary goes before that committee, which is jam-packed full with some of the biggest supporters and some of the biggest opponents of these projects. katie? >> you would think that congress men and women would be onboard with this especially if they've ever used between washington, d.c. or anywhere on the east coast new york or boston. it can be a pain. chris jansing, thank you so much. appreciate it. and that's going to do it for me today. if you're going out, wear a mask. if you're staying in eamon picks up our coverage next. eamon pics up our coverage next and enjoy fresher smelling laundry for up to 12-weeks. needles. essential for pine trees, but maybe not for people with certain inflammatory conditions. because there are options. like an “unjection™”. xeljanz. the first and only pill of its kind that treats moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or moderate to severe ulcerative colitis when other medicines have not helped enough. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections, like tb and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra may increase risk of death. tears in the stomach or intestines and serious allergic reactions have happened. needles. fine for some things. but for you, there's a pill that may provide symptom relief. ask your doctor about the pill first prescribed for ra more than seven years ago. xeljanz. an “unjection™”. ♪♪ (car horn) ♪♪ (splash) ♪♪ turn today's dreams into tomorrow's trips... with millions of flexible booking options. all in one place. expedia. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. thank you! hey, hey, no, no limu, no limu! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ i've always focused on my career. but when we found out our son had autism, his future became my focus. lavender baths always calmed him. so we turned bath time into a business. and building it with my son has been my dream job. at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com this is how you become the best! [music: “you're the best” by joe esposito] [music: “you're the best” by joe esposito] [triumphantly yells] [ding] don't get mad. get e*trade and take charge of your finances today. good afternoon, everyone. i'm eamon mohideen in new york day 58 of the biden presidency. president biden and vice-kamala harris wrapped up a visit to the cdc headquarters in atlanta where the president talked and thanked employees for their hard work in fighting the pandemic. >> we owe you a gigantic debt of gratitude, and we will for a long, long, long time. you've changed things. you've changed them in a way that are going to make everybody healthier in this country. the big news today is that the president's visit to cdc comes hours after the agency said students only need to stay at least 3 feet apart from each other at school if there is universal mask wearing. we're going to have more details on that development in just a moment. but the trip has also taken an unexpected turn as later this hour the president and vice president will meet with asian-american leaders just