tonight marks one year since start of the pandemic. this has been the deadliest year in a century. literally it started one year ago with the presidential address on our watch and now a year later, literally to the hour, a very different president with a very different message. the biggest anti-poverty measure in a generation. the law aims to lift 11 million americans out of poverty and cut child poverty in half, but president biden spent most of his first address to the nation not taking a victory lap but rallying us for the rest of the race to come. a year ago we were hit with a virus that was met with silence and spread unchecked, denials for days, weeks, then months that led to more deaths, more infections, more stress and more loneliness. we knew what we needed to do to beat this virus tell the truth, follow the scientists and the science, work together. my fervent prayer for our country is that after all we ve been through, we ll come together as one people, one nat
is known up on capitol hill. thank you very much. now we saw house republicans flexing their muscles in another way today, holding a hearing on crime. no, but not here in washington in new york city. let s get the latest on that from our keras canal. carol. what are republicans trying to accomplish here? alex at this field hearing today in lower manhattan. the house republicans led by the house judiciary chairman jim jordan, we re pushing the narrative that the district attorney for manhattan, alvin bragg, was more focused on prosecuting donald trump that he is on combating violent crime in the city. now in this hearing, a number of house democrats, including new york s jerry nadler appeared they also brought a number of witnesses, and they testified that the crime rate, according to statistics is actually declining . it also criticized the gop for not passing gun legislation. if their concerns were focused on violent crime. take a listen. but here in manhattan. the scales of justice a
safety, mental health resources, crisis intervention programs and closes the boyfriend loophole and enhances background checks for people 18 to 21. chris cillizza is here to break it down. if this passes, how would it help reduce gun violence? let s go through a few specifics and note this is the first time since 1994 the assault weapons ban that congress looks to be close to passing gun legislation. let s go through what s actually in the bill. let s start with the so-called boyfriend loophole. it s federal law domestic abusers whether they are spouse, partner who lives with the other parter in and they have a child together, they cannot buy a gun. but this was the loophole. people who were intimate partners, they may not live together or may not share children, but they are partners.
as those doors open, of course we re waiting the president, john avlon, analyst, and former acting baltimore police commissioner. so john, the president pushed to do this in prime time, obviously rare for him to do so, demanding the television time in a very specific way at this time, at this second, so the bar is high. the bar is high, but this is an issue he cares deeply about. the third speech on fwuns in three weeks. he clearly thinks this is something his administration will be judged on and thinks there might be a chance, just maybe, that congress can get something done. he has a record of passing gun legislation as he is fond of pointing out back to the 1990s, much tougher bar now, but what constructive role can the president play in pushing this forward today. and commissioner, let s talk about that. the nation is on edge about gun violence, people angry on both sides of the political spectrum but divided on what to do about it.
my god. yeah, it really is unbelievable. mika, you know, guy on stage calling him a sick son of a bitch for actually bringing up guns. the one thing that was not brought up in the press conference. because, again, look over there. look over there. it is always something else. it s mental health. i haven t seen governor abbott funding mental health in texas. everybody goes, wow, he s really no. it s just an excuse today to make people forget about the slaughter. another slaughter. yet another slaughter in abbott s state. mika, you talk about a sick son of a bitch. the guy called beto the sick son of a bitch. the sick son of a bitch were on the stage, the freaks on the stage that keep passing gun legislation that allows